Director of Student Recruitment

Director of Student Recruitment

Job Summary

The Director of Student Recruitment leads Spalding Universitys recruitment efforts across first-time undergraduate, transfer, masters, and doctoral student populations. This position provides hands-on leadership to the student recruitment team and drives prospective student engagement from initial inquiry through enrollment. The Director builds a relationship-centered recruitment culture focused on personalized guidance, intentional outreach, strong follow-through, and enrollment results, while recognizing the distinct markets, recruitment cycles, and decision factors associated with undergraduate, transfer, and graduate students. The Director partners with the Associate Vice President for Admissions, academic leaders, and campus partners to advance institutional enrollment goals.

Responsibilities

• Lead, supervise, coach, and develop the student recruitment team, establishing clear expectations for student engagement, recruitment performance, territory ownership, and enrollment results.
• Build a relationship-centered recruitment culture where counselors understand prospective students goals, needs, and concerns and provide personalized guidance throughout the enrollment journey.
• Lead recruitment across first-time undergraduate, transfer, masters, and doctoral populations from inquiry through enrollment, recognizing the distinct markets, recruitment cycles, and strategies required for each.
• Monitor enrollment funnels, pipelines, territory and program performance, and recruitment outcomes; use data to identify opportunities, address challenges, and guide counselor outreach, conversion, and yield strategies.
• Partner with the Associate Vice President for Admissions to develop and implement recruitment, market, conversion, and enrollment strategies that support institutional goals.
• Lead undergraduate and transfer market development, including territory planning, high school and community college relationships, transfer pathways, travel, events, and community outreach.
• Partner with academic leaders and faculty to understand graduate program goals, audiences, admissions requirements, and enrollment needs and develop program-specific recruitment strategies and pipelines.
• Develop graduate recruitment opportunities through employers, professional organizations, community partners, feeder institutions, alumni, and other prospective student sources.
• Collaborate across the University to connect prospective students with faculty, programs, experiences, resources, and support that strengthen recruitment and remove barriers to enrollment.
• Ensure effective use of Slate to manage prospective student relationships, document meaningful interactions, monitor pipeline movement, and support enrollment decision-making.
• Provide ongoing training and professional development that strengthens counselor knowledge of Spalding, its programs and student populations, and effective recruitment practices.
• Lead prospective and admitted student engagement through conversion, deposit, transition, and enrollment, including strategies designed to strengthen yield and reduce summer melt.
• Promote and support the mission and values of Spalding University and perform other duties as assigned.
• The Director partners with the Associate Vice President for Admissions, who maintains oversight of admissions operations and final admissions decision-making.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelors degree required.
• Five years of progressively responsible experience in admissions, enrollment management, recruitment, higher education, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience leading, coaching, mentoring, or developing staff or teams.
• Strong interpersonal, communication, relationship-building, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze enrollment data, identify opportunities, and support recruitment and enrollment decision-making.
• Ability to build collaborative relationships with students, families, faculty, academic leaders, and campus partners.
• Ability to manage recruitment priorities across multiple student populations, programs, and enrollment cycles.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications and enrollment management technologies.
• Ability to travel and work evenings and weekends as recruitment activities require.

Preferred Qualifications

• Masters degree.
• Experience supervising admissions counselors or recruitment staff.
• Experience with undergraduate, transfer, graduate, adult learner, or professional program recruitment.
• Experience with territory management, funnel management, conversion, and yield strategies.
• Experience working directly with academic programs, faculty, employers, or community partners to support recruitment.
• Experience with Slate or a comparable CRM platform.

ABOUT SPALDING UNIVERSITY:

Spalding University offers a comprehensive package including medical, dental, vision, Spalding matching contribution up to 5% to your 403b/Roth retirement plan, generous Paid Time Off program, Parental Leave, paid holidays, paid life insurance and long-term disability, paid time for volunteering, and more.

Situated in the heart of downtown Louisville, Kentucky's largest city, Spalding University combines a rich social justice history and a commitment to community service as we attract students who desire a high-quality education in a very personalized setting. An engaged faculty serves nearly 2,000 students at the bachelors', master's and doctoral levels, providing real-world learning in liberal and professional studies.

Faculty, staff and students are united by the institutional mission: Spalding University is a diverse community of learners dedicated to meeting the needs of the times in the tradition of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth through quality undergraduate and graduate liberal and professional studies, grounded in spiritual values, with an emphasis on service and the promotion of peace and justice.

With a focus on service and leadership, Spalding offers all students a mission-driven connection to community and comprehensive learning resources while striking a distinctive balance serving the educational needs of both the traditional student and the working student. In addition, our unique 8-week class delivery format affords students scheduling flexibility amidst other life responsibilities.

Spalding aspires to become the first choice for students of compassion and service. Celebrated for a rigorous yet nurturing environment, emulated for interdisciplinary collaborations, and acclaimed for contributions to the community.

Spalding University is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. The University complies with all federal, state and local equal employment opportunity laws. It is the University's policy not to discriminate against any individual or group of individuals and to provide equal employment opportunity to all qualified persons regardless of race, color, national origin, age, disability, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, military status, veteran status or other protected status. All job offers are contingent upon successful completion of a criminal background check.