Director of Graduate Recruitment and Admissions

Position Details

Position Information

Announcement Number STAFF - VA - 27079 For questions regarding this position, please contact:

Matthew Lovern

406-994-4145

matthew.lovern@montana.edu

Classification Title Managing Director Working Title Director of Graduate Recruitment and Admissions Brief Position Overview

Join the Graduate School team to lead MSU's graduate recruitment and admissions strategy, shaping the journey from prospect to enrollment. This role drives a dynamic, centralized approach to application processing, evaluation, and decision-making while enhancing the graduate student experience through impactful orientation programs. As a key partner to academic departments, the Director plays a pivotal role in attracting top talent and elevating MSU's graduate community.

Position Number 4C5314 Department Graduate School Division Office of Academic Affairs Appointment Type Professional Contract Term Fiscal Year Semester If other, specify From date If other, specify End date FLSA Exempt Union Affiliation Exempt from Collective Bargaining FTE 1.0 Benefits Eligible Eligible Salary $78,000 annually, commensurate with experience, education, and qualifications Contract Type MUS If other, please specify Recruitment Type Open

Position Details

General Statement

The Graduate School at Montana State University supports one of the nation's leading research universities by fostering excellence in graduate education, research, and professional development. Serving more than 2,000 master's and doctoral students across a wide range of disciplines, the Graduate School partners with faculty, departments, and campus leaders to promote student success, advance innovative research, and ensure high-quality graduate programs. Through a collaborative, student-centered approach, the Graduate School provides leadership in graduate admissions, academic policy, funding opportunities, and professional development while helping prepare graduates to make meaningful contributions in academia, industry, government, and their communities.

Reporting to the Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Director of the Graduate School, the Director of Graduate Recruitment and Admissions is responsible for overseeing the centralized recruitment and admissions processes of the Graduate School. The position provides leadership for graduate student recruitment, admissions, application processing, and enrollment operations, ensuring compliance with university and Board of Regents policies and procedures. The Director develops and implements recruitment, marketing, communication, and outreach strategies to attract and enroll high-quality graduate students; oversees recruitment events and initiatives; and collaborates with academic departments, faculty, and campus partners to support effective recruitment and admissions practices, student funding requirements, process improvement, and compliance.

The Director provides leadership and supervision for recruitment and admissions staff and student employees, including performance management, training and professional development. The position oversees graduate admissions and recruitment technology systems, data reporting and system integration, end-user training, and the development of online resources and orientation materials to support graduate students and campus stakeholders. The Director also serves as a key resource and campus liaison for graduate recruitment and admissions policies, processes, systems, and initiatives.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Oversees all operations involving graduate student application processing, including decisions (admissions/denials) and review of residency requirement in accordance with the BOR policies and procedures; serves as contact for BOR residency audits.
• Collaborates with department graduate coordinators, faculty, and administrative staff regarding recruitment practices, admission policies and procedures, and application processing, including providing guidance on student funding requirements as well as promoting process improvement and compliance.
• Develops and implements effective goals, strategies, and initiatives to facilitate the recruitment of high-quality graduate students to Montana State University, including management of prospects at all stages.
• Oversees the creation and dissemination of the Graduate School's short-and long-term marketing strategies and communication plans in collaboration with University Communications.
• Develops and executes professional, high-quality in-person and online recruiting events, including hosting recruitment events for MSU undergraduates to encourage continued education on the MSU campus, as well as staff and faculty to utilize their tuition benets.
• Directly supervises recruitment and admissions coordinators, and several graduate student assistants and/or student workers, providing effective leadership and performance management.
• Engages with CollegeNET, the application and recruitment software company, to maintain and update accurate application information and regularly update CRM recruitment plans. Independently develops and continuously conducts end-user training programs across the MSU campus for faculty and staff. Concurrently, provides updated training videos on utilizing the software system.
• Oversees the development of reports for accurate data compilation and reporting of enrollment statistics. This includes using software interface to decrypt and process admissions data (e.g., English proficiency exams) from outside sources into the BANNER system, and the development of a bridge program to link scores and other pertinent student information from BANNER directly to the CollegeNET system
• Creates and updates online orientation for new graduate students using the Canvas system for each term, while having a parallel website containing the same information for existing students.

Required Qualifications - Experience, Education, Knowledge & Skills

• Bachelor's degree in higher education administration, student services, communications, marketing, or a related field.
• Progressively responsible experience in graduate admissions, student recruitment, enrollment management, higher education administration, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience developing and implementing student recruitment, admissions, or enrollment strategies and initiatives.
• Demonstrated ability to interpret and apply complex requirements across varying scenarios and records, including international documents.
• Excellent written, verbal, interpersonal, and organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and complex processes with minimal supervision.
• Demonstrated experience supervising employees, including training, assigning work, providing feedback, and managing performance.

Preferred Qualifications - Experience, Education, Knowledge & Skills

• Master's Degree
• Experience managing and utilizing relational databases, student information systems, CRM or recruitment systems, and data/reporting tools to support admissions or recruitment operations.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with faculty, academic departments, administrators, and other campus stakeholders.
• Detailed knowledge of principles surrounding academic programs, opportunities, and services available for students, University policies, procedures, deadlines and practices related to graduate admission.

The Successful Candidate Will

• Excellent interpersonal skills, including sensitivity to the needs of a varied prospective applicant population
• Excellent decision-making skills, judgement and initiative;
• Demonstrated ability to work efficiently and effectively both independently and as part of a team;
• High degree of accuracy in one's work and attention to detail, meeting deadlines, multitasking, and prioritizing competing demands;
• Possesses skills to deal with sensitive or difficult situations effectively;
• Possess the ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines.
• Possess the clear ability to maintain confidentiality;
• Demonstrate the ability to present oneself professionally, while maintaining a calm, pleasant, and positive demeanor in difficult situations.
• A strong sense of initiative, independence, and motivation

Position Special Requirements/Additional Information

This job description should not be construed as an exhaustive statement of duties, responsibilities or requirements, but a general description of the job. Nothing contained herein restricts Montana State University's rights to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time.

Physical Demands

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily with or without reasonable accommodations. The requirements listed above are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

This position has supervisory duties? Yes

Posting Detail Information

Number of Vacancies 1 Desired Start Date At the conclusion of a successful search Position End Date (if temporary) Open Date Close Date Applications will be:

Screening of applications will begin on September 18, 2026; however, applications will continue to be accepted until an adequate applicant pool has been established.

Special Instructions

This position is not eligible for sponsorship.

EEO Statement

Montana State University is an equal opportunity employer. MSU does not discriminate against any applicant on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, political ideas, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, national origin, physical or mental disability, or any other protected class status in violation of any applicable law.

In compliance with the Montana Veteran's Employment Preference Act, MSU provides preference in employment to veterans, disabled veterans, and certain eligible relatives of veterans. To claim veteran's preference, please complete the veteran's preference information located in the Demographics section of your profile.

Applicant Documents

Required Documents

• Resume
• Cover Letter

Optional Documents

Supplemental Questions

Required fields are indicated with an asterisk (*).