Director of Enrollment Management

Position Type Full-time, senior administrative leadership position (calendar and benefits per school policy) Department Enrollment Management (Admission, Retention, and Enrollment Marketing) Reports To Head of School Leadership Team Status Member of the School’s Leadership Team Supervises Director of Early Childhood Admission; Director of K–8 Admission; Director of 9–12 Admission; Digital Marketing/Communications Specialist; Admission Assistant (and additional seasonal/temporary staff as needed) Collaborates Closely With Business Manager/CFO; Director of Development/Advancement; Director of Digital Communication (or equivalent); Division Directors; Director of Alumni/Community Engagement (as applicable); faculty and staff who support retention and student experience; board leadership and relevant board committees Board Committee Service Serves on the Board’s Development Committee and Marketing Committee (or comparable committees, per governance structure) Position Summary The Director of Enrollment Management is the School’s chief strategist and operational leader for enrollment health. This role has principal responsibility for achieving short- and long-term enrollment goals and for leading a comprehensive enrollment management program that integrates admission, retention, marketing/communications, and financial-aid strategy into a single, outcomes-driven system. Reporting directly to the Head of School, the Director is accountable for building an enrollment plan aligned to mission, program, and financial sustainability, and for ensuring that the School’s market position and messaging are clear, differentiated, and consistently executed. Contemporary independent-school benchmarks increasingly define this role as owning the full enrollment lifecycle—sourcing, attracting, yielding, enrolling, and retaining students—supported by data-informed decision-making and close partnership with finance, advancement, and communications. The Director is also responsible for overseeing the School’s financial aid strategy and annual financial aid budget deployment in accordance with Board policy. Given the central role of net tuition revenue in independent-school sustainability, the Director must be fluent in the relationship among tuition pricing, enrollment composition, discounting, and net tuition revenue, and must be able to communicate clearly with leadership and trustees about options and tradeoffs. Core Responsibilities Strategic enrollment leadership and institutional planning Develop, implement, and continuously refine a multi-year strategic enrollment plan that advances the School’s mission and strategic priorities. The plan should include clearly defined goals and tactics for enrollment by division and grade, inquiry/applicant pipeline health, yield optimization, retention, compositional priorities, and net tuition revenue sustainability—reflecting the sector’s move toward “strategic enrollment management” rather than admissions in isolation. Serve as a strategic thought partner to the Head of School and leadership team on enrollment forecasting, program-market fit, school size/composition, and the competitive landscape. Peer-school searches explicitly position the director as a leader on optimal school size and enrollment composition to support net-revenue goals and long-term mission success. Prepare regular enrollment updates and planning documents for the Head of School, Leadership Team, and Board of Trustees, translating data into decision-ready insights and actionable recommendations. Admission operations and enrollment pipeline management Provide direct leadership for all aspects of admission across divisions, ensuring a consistent, mission-aligned, high-touch family experience from inquiry through enrollment. Recent benchmark postings emphasize that prospective families should experience clarity, warmth, and authentic connection through the entire decision cycle. Oversee recruitment strategy, outreach, campus visit programming, event strategy, interview and review protocols, and decision communications. Maintain high standards of professionalism, hospitality, and responsiveness across all touchpoints. Develop and manage annual yield strategy, including targeted engagement for admitted families and a disciplined approach to follow-up and conversion. Financial aid leadership and net tuition revenue stewardship Manage and oversee admissions and financial aid; administer the annual financial aid budget and the deployment of institutional financial aid resources in alignment with Board policy and the Head of School and Business Manager/CFO. Partner with finance leadership to align enrollment outcomes with the School’s financial model, recognizing that net tuition revenue is a foundational metric for independent schools and is explicitly defined in NAIS/DASL as gross tuition and fees less tuition discounts (financial aid, merit awards/scholarships, or tuition remission). Lead development of a yearly financial aid awarding plan that advances access, mission alignment, and enrollment sustainability, and supports a well-composed student body across divisions. NBOA’s framing of shared stewardship among board, head, business officer, and enrollment leader supports positioning this work as a leadership responsibility rather than a back-office function. Oversee needs analysis and file review processes (including use of third-party systems such as FACTS, if applicable), ensuring consistent documentation, confidentiality, and timely communication with families. Retention strategy and re-enrollment execution Develop and implement, in partnership with Division Directors, an annual retention plan aimed at supporting student success, strengthening family engagement, and reducing attrition. Sector guidance explicitly pushes enrollment leaders to treat retention as central to the job, not peripheral. Design and manage re-enrollment workflows, including annual family communications, re-contracting timelines, retention risk identification, and interdepartmental coordination for at-risk situations. Design and administer satisfaction and exit-feedback processes (surveys and/or interviews), analyze trends, and recommend improvements to enhance the family experience and strengthen long-term enrollment health. Marketing, communications, and brand stewardship Design, implement, and coordinate a comprehensive enrollment marketing and communications program that clearly articulates the School’s value proposition and differentiators and supports the full admission decision cycle. Partner closely with communications and digital strategy leaders to deliver integrated, consistent messaging across website, print collateral, email journeys, social media, and events. Benchmark roles emphasize disciplined storytelling and bold, outcomes-based narratives that resonate with families in competitive markets. Collaborate with the Director of Development/Advancement on strategy and activities that strengthen the School’s visibility, reputation, and resources, recognizing the close relationship among enrollment, philanthropy, and community trust. Data analytics, market intelligence, and reporting discipline Build and maintain a robust enrollment analytics program, including funnel metrics (inquiry → application → admit → enroll), yield analysis, retention/attrition analysis, financial-aid distribution patterns, and longitudinal trend tracking across divisions. Use research and data to identify internal and external factors affecting enrollment and to advise leadership on market trends and strategic opportunities. EMA frames enrollment management as increasingly reliant on integrating data to build predictive models and varied pathways to enrollment success. Use benchmark research to evaluate investment and effectiveness in recruitment and admission practices. NAIS’s Cost-Per-Enrollment study offers sector benchmarks for cost-per-inquiry, cost-per-enrollment, and tuition ROI, reinforcing the expectation that enrollment leaders understand the relationship between investment and outcomes. Team leadership, culture, and professional standards Lead and manage the admission and enrollment team by setting clear goals, performance expectations, professional growth plans, and consistent accountability. Benchmark job profiles emphasize empathy-driven but outcome-oriented leadership, including empowering and developing a seasoned team to deliver results in recruitment, retention, and overall strategy. Strengthen cross-school enrollment culture by building shared ownership for retention and ensuring faculty and staff understand enrollment priorities, timelines, and key messaging. Ensure all enrollment operations reflect high ethical standards, nondiscrimination commitments, confidentiality expectations, and professionalism in working with families.