What are the responsibilities and job description for the Senior Manager of Retention - BYU-Pathway Worldwide position at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?
Job Description
The primary responsibilities of this role include:
Principal Duties and Expected Outcomes
(50%) Retention Function Leadership and Execution
Education and work experience:
Reports to: (Supervisor’s Title)
Director of Enrollment and Retention
Titles and number of regular full- and part-time positions reporting to this position:
Decisions made independently: This position can independently make decisions that affect process and workflows within their department.
Decisions Referred To The Supervisor Or Other Individual
Decisions that would set a new precedent, vary from current policy and protocols, and/or decisions that require budget allocation.
Regulations
Federal Regulations:
FERPA, Title IX
State Regulations: FERPA
Institutional Regulations
Organization policies, procedures, and standards
Work Schedule
Regular Schedule: 8:00-5:00 MST
Weekend / Holiday / On Call: As necessary within the scope of stewardship and accountability.
Travel: Yes, as necessary.
Qualifications
Skill Set:
Church employees find joy and satisfaction in using their unique talents and abilities to further the Lord’s work. From the IT professional who develops an app that sends the gospel message worldwide, to the facilities manager who maintains our buildings— giving Church members places to worship, teach, learn, and receive sacred ordinances—our employees seek innovative ways to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with the world. They are literally working in His kingdom.
Only members of the Church who are worthy of a temple recommend qualify for employment. Apart from this, the Church is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in its employment decisions on any basis that would violate U.S. or local law.
Qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, national origin, color, gender, pregnancy, marital status, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or other legally protected categories that apply to the Church. The Church will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities.
The primary responsibilities of this role include:
- Leading the execution of retention efforts that support student persistence and progression
- Managing retention operations, including outreach, interventions, and mentoring processes
- Overseeing retention staff and ensuring consistent, high-quality delivery of support
- Monitoring retention performance (data) and driving improvements in persistence and completion
- Collaborating across teams to align and strengthen retention efforts organization-wide
Principal Duties and Expected Outcomes
(50%) Retention Function Leadership and Execution
- Own the execution of retention efforts across the student lifecycle, from engagement through completion, with a focus on improving student progression and persistence
- Oversee the design, coordination, and execution of retention processes, including student outreach, interventions, and support workflows
- Ensure retention efforts are proactive, timely, and aligned to student needs across all populations
- Maintain clear visibility into student progression and risk, ensuring appropriate interventions are consistently deployed
- Drive accountability for retention performance across the team, ensuring efforts translate into measurable improvements in persistence and completion
- Provide oversight of the mentoring function as a key component of the retention strategy
- Partner closely with the Mentoring Manager to ensure mentoring is aligned with retention priorities and student needs
- Ensure mentoring efforts are effectively integrated into broader retention processes and interventions
- Monitor mentoring program performance, including mentor engagement, student experience, and contribution to retention outcomes
- Identify opportunities to strengthen the impact of mentoring as a lever for student persistence and completion
- Monitor retention, persistence, and progression outcomes to assess effectiveness of retention efforts
- Analyze trends in student engagement and attrition to identify gaps and opportunities
- Translate insights into improvements in retention processes, workflows, and interventions
- Partner with the Director to inform priorities and refine approaches based on performance data
- Partner with internal stakeholders (e.g., digital operations, services, curriculum, instruction global engagement & operations) to align retention efforts across the organization
- Maintain visibility into retention-related initiatives outside of direct reporting lines and identify opportunities for alignment
- Influence cross-functional efforts that impact student persistence and completion, ensuring a cohesive student experience
- Elevate risks, gaps, and opportunities to the Director to inform broader strategy and decision-making
Education and work experience:
- Bachelor’s Degree required, Advanced degree preferred
- Possess 5 years of experience in higher education, student success, retention, or related field
- Demonstrated expertise in leading teams and managing operational performance
- Experience working across functions to drive outcomes in a complex organization
- Demonstrated ability to navigate ambiguity and adapt processes and team execution in real time based on performance data, student behavior, and evolving organizational priorities
- Strong leadership and operational management skills
- Ability to drive performance through people, processes and systems
- Strong data literacy and ability to identify data needs and translate insights into action
- Experience collaborating with IT to build and operate systems that drive execution
- Excellent communication, collaboration, and follow-through skills across teams
- Ability to influence without direct authority across functions
- Demonstrated organizational and prioritization skills
- Stewardship and Initiative: Proactively identifies needs, takes ownership, and drives work forward without continual prompting.
- Follow-Through: Consistently completes work with accuracy and reliability, ensuring commitments are met.
- Creativity in Identifying and Presenting Solutions: Brings forward thoughtful, actionable solutions to problems.
- Technology Proficiency: Effectively uses tools and adapts to new systems
- Flexibility and Adaptability: Adjusts to swiftly changing priorities and institutional needs
- Engagement and Responsiveness: Communicates in a clear and timely manner, participates actively, and is responsive to communication in a hybrid work environment.
Reports to: (Supervisor’s Title)
Director of Enrollment and Retention
Titles and number of regular full- and part-time positions reporting to this position:
- Mentoring Manager and associated employees (1 FTE, 2PTTs, 5 Partner/Vendor Success Managers, 500 part-time mentoring contractors)
- Through Vendor/Contracting Partnerships: 500 BYU-Pathway Worldwide international students.
Decisions made independently: This position can independently make decisions that affect process and workflows within their department.
Decisions Referred To The Supervisor Or Other Individual
Decisions that would set a new precedent, vary from current policy and protocols, and/or decisions that require budget allocation.
Regulations
Federal Regulations:
FERPA, Title IX
State Regulations: FERPA
Institutional Regulations
Organization policies, procedures, and standards
Work Schedule
Regular Schedule: 8:00-5:00 MST
Weekend / Holiday / On Call: As necessary within the scope of stewardship and accountability.
Travel: Yes, as necessary.
Qualifications
Skill Set:
- Demonstrated ability to navigate ambiguity and adapt processes and team execution in real time based on performance data, student behavior, and evolving organizational priorities
- Strong leadership and operational management skills
- Ability to drive performance through people, processes and systems
- Strong data literacy and ability to identify data needs and translate insights into action
- Experience collaborating with IT to build and operate systems that drive execution
- Excellent communication, collaboration, and follow-through skills across teams
- Ability to influence without direct authority across functions
- Demonstrated organizational and prioritization skills
Church employees find joy and satisfaction in using their unique talents and abilities to further the Lord’s work. From the IT professional who develops an app that sends the gospel message worldwide, to the facilities manager who maintains our buildings— giving Church members places to worship, teach, learn, and receive sacred ordinances—our employees seek innovative ways to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with the world. They are literally working in His kingdom.
Only members of the Church who are worthy of a temple recommend qualify for employment. Apart from this, the Church is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in its employment decisions on any basis that would violate U.S. or local law.
Qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, national origin, color, gender, pregnancy, marital status, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or other legally protected categories that apply to the Church. The Church will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities.