Online Graduate Enrollment Lead

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faculty, and a reputation for creating meaningful change in the world. Learn more about
American University
Department:
School of Public Affairs
Time Type:
Full time
Job Type:
Regular
FLSA Status:
Exempt
Work Modality:
Hybrid 01 (On Campus 3-4 Days/Week)
Union:
SEIU Local 500 - Provost & Enrollment Division
This position is part of a collective bargaining unit represented by SEIU Local 500 - Provost & Enrollment Division. That means the terms and conditions of your employment are governed by university policy (including the Staff Personnel Policies Manual) and any collective bargaining agreement entered into between American University and SEIU Local 500 - Provost & Enrollment Division.
Job Description:
Summary:
The Online Graduate Enrollment Lead is a new and integral, position in the Office of Graduate Admissions (OGA) at the School of Public Affairs (SPA). The primary purview of the position is to support the development and execution of a comprehensive, data-driven, online recruitment strategy, manage the application, admissions, and merit aid allocation, conduct timely yield events and initiatives and lead as well as contribute to reporting for SPA’s Master of Public Administration and Policy (MPAP) and MS in Counter-Terrorism and Homeland Security (CTHS) degrees. The incumbent will be required to establish and prioritize a high-touch, personalized, and mission-aligned enrollment lifecycle experience for all interested students (prospect to enrollee).

The Online Graduate Enrollment Lead will serve as the CRM lead. They will be responsible for making full use of the campus’ Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform, Salesforce (SF), as well as the Salesforce Marketing Cloud (SFMC) to support the online enrollment cycle. In addition to the CRM’s management of the application, admissions, and merit aid processes, the incumbent is charged with the implementation and use of a Virtual Agent, a technology capability in SF that will function as a "digital team member" enhancing response time and driving operational efficacy. The SFMC will be leveraged for the release of communications, establishing communication workflows, as well as creating dedicated degree journeys for SPA’s online programs.

With a supervisory line to the School’s Assistant Dean of Graduate Enrollment, the Online Graduate Enrollment Lead will leverage established strategy, processes, and reporting tools, when applicable, in the OGA and will work closely with the associated staff in aligning online operations as well as administration. The Online Graduate Enrollment Lead’s purview also requires close and detailed work with SPA’s online Faculty Program Directors, OGA team members, online advisor(s), SPA Communications & Marketing, Office of Graduate and Professional Studies (OGPS), Office of Information Technology (OIT), and, most importantly, valued online prospective students.

As an important part of the OGA, the
Online Graduate Enrollment Lead
will also, on occasion, be requested to contribute to operational projects and/or reporting as well as participate in (and, as pertinent, lead) major recruitment events (online and on campus), virtual sessions, relevant School, campus, and team meetings, as well as required and desired professional development initiatives.
Essential Functions:
1.) Online Graduate Recruitment, Communication, & Events
The Online Graduate Enrollment Lead is responsible for leveraging expertise in online student recruitment to create and execute a data-driven strategic recruitment plan, developing targeted initiatives that drive high-quality inquiries and applications. The recruitment plan should be grounded by landscape research and market analysis to identify relevant trends to ensure the programs’ competitive and unique positioning in the market at large as well as around SPA’s top-ranked, comparable on-campus degree offerings.
And, in collaboration with SPA Communications & Marketing, develop a complementary, sophisticated multi-channel communication plan designed to nurture a diverse, high-quality cohort of online students for the MPAP and CTHSP degrees. The internal communication plan should leverage the SFMC and, as much as viable for the online market segment, align with SPA’s communication strategy for the School’s on-campus programs.
The incumbent is also responsible for designing, implementing, and leading, as relevant, virtual information sessions (i.e., recruitment, application coaching, Post-Admission Workshops), establishing regular "Live Chat" opportunities that allow prospective students to interact with faculty and current students, and instituting relevant yield events (i.e., virtual topical sessions, Admit Day and/or Open Houses).

2.) Admissions & Graduate Merit Aid

In consultation and collaboration with the Assistant Dean and Online Program Directors, administers the faculty-driven admissions and merit award processes for SPA’s online graduate programs. Leads the cultivation and timely processing of graduate applications and rendering of decisions for SPA’s online programs. This includes establishing recurring initiatives to support applicants in completing applications and prioritizing responsiveness to address questions and concerns from online applicants, as well as faculty directors and related staff regarding the SPA online program application/admissions processes. Updates and maintains the School’s online admission committee lists and relevant, degree-specific admission criteria. In collaboration with the assistant dean, serves as a primary point of contact for the online faculty program directors in matters related to admissions processes and policies. Conducts admission interviews for online applicants as requested. Supports the online graduate program merit aid process by releasing award-specific communications as well as tracking, reporting,  auditing, and loading awards for all new/incoming online graduate students for each entry term.

3.) Graduate Enrollment Reporting & Analytics
Leads, contributes, and provides analysis of online graduate enrollment data. This requires leveraging the university enterprise system (Microstrategy Business Intelligence (BI)) and the campus’ CRM, Salesforce. The
Online Graduate Enrollment Lead
will support the current, weekly BI reporting in the OGA, lead responses to ad hoc online data requests, and contribute to OGA’s monthly Graduate Enrollment Report as well as the annual, comprehensive analytics report(s) to/for School- and University-based stakeholders.

4.) CRM Lead

Serves as the CRM Lead for SPA’s online graduate programs, working closely with the OGA’s Associate Director of Graduate Admissions & Enrollment Analytics, Office of Information Technology (OIT), Office of Graduate and Professional Studies (OGPS), and other CRM Leads, as needed, across the AU campus. The position is responsible for troubleshooting system issues, testing post-production upgrades and/or updates, training, as needed, of SPA faculty, staff, and student workers associated with SPA’s online programs, and serving as the primary point of contact for users (including online prospective students as they interface with the application portal). Serves as the CRM expert as it relates to online graduate program enrollment processes including application and admission management, view and dashboard development, advanced queries, workflow implementation and modification, and reporting. Coordinates with OGA’s Associate Director of Graduate Admissions and Enrollment Analytics in adhering to University/School data security and confidentiality policies and in maintaining the CRM access and users list.

5.) Supervision & Operational Support

The Online Graduate Enrollment Lead will be expected to manage the designated Graduate Student Ambassador(s) and Virtual