Executive Director Of Enrollment Experience & Engagement

Posting Details

Dickinson College is a premier four-year residential liberal arts institution chartered in 1783 and widely recognized as a leader in global and sustainability education. Dickinson College is located in Carlisle, named a "most livable city" by Forbes and is minutes from the state capital of Harrisburg. The campus is connected to a vibrant downtown that offers eclectic dining, shopping and entertainment options. Within a two-hour drive are Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.; New York City is three hours away.

Dickinson College offers full-time employees a broad range of benefits, including a comprehensive medical insurance plan, life insurance, flexible spending accounts, generous time off, parental leave, homebuyer assistance, and tuition benefits for eligible employees and dependent children under the age of 24. Upon eligibility, the College contributes 8% of an employee's base salary to a retirement account with an additional .5% matching contribution; all money paid by the college into the employee's retirement plan is immediately and fully vested in the employee.

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Position Department

Enrollment Management

Job Summary/Basic Function

Position Summary

The Executive Director of Enrollment Experience & Engagement provides strategic leadership for the design, coordination, and continuous improvement of the student experience from inquiry to matriculation. Reporting to the Vice President for Enrollment, this position leads a comprehensive engagement strategy that integrates communications, outreach, daily student visitor experience, programming (virtual, on-campus, and off-campus), and other initiatives to support institutional enrollment goals and strengthen the college's brand with students and families.

This role serves as the enrollment division's chief student experience officer and as the architect of the student journey, ensuring that communications, programming, and engagement strategies are aligned, data-informed, audience-centered, and designed to increase conversion throughout the recruitment and enrollment funnel. This position is the creative heart and lead innovator when it comes to enrollment communication and engagement strategy. The Executive Director partners closely with recruitment leadership, enrollment operations, institutional marketing and communications, and data/systems teams to create cohesive, personalized, and measurable engagement strategies that reflect the institution's mission and value proposition.

The Executive Director supervises communications and visit/engagement staff and fosters a culture of innovation, collaboration, responsiveness, and continuous improvement. Serves as a strategic partner in the division, collaborating with recruitment, operations, data, and enterprise optimization leads. Collaborate with academic departments, student affairs, athletics, and other campus stakeholders to support prospective student engagement efforts.

Essential Functions

• Lead the strategic design and ongoing optimization of the prospective student experience from first inquiry through matriculation. Develop and implement engagement strategies that support enrollment growth, student connection, and conversion across all stages of the recruitment funnel. Ensure alignment between communications, events, recruitment outreach, and institutional brand messaging. Collaborate with recruitment leadership to align engagement strategies with territory management, recruitment priorities, and yield goals. Manage relationships with external communication and marketing vendors as appropriate.
• Oversee the development and execution of integrated multi-channel communication strategies for prospective students, parents, counselors, and other key audiences. Design and direct strategic communications planning across email, SMS, print, digital, and emerging communication platforms. Ensure communication plans are audience-specific, behavior-informed, and aligned with enrollment objectives. Partner with institutional Marketing & Communications teams to maintain alignment with institutional brand standards while advancing enrollment goals.
• Provide strategic oversight for and leadership of all campus visit and engagement programs, including daily visits, group visits, virtual engagement, off-campus events, and large-scale recruitment and yield events. Ensure visit and event experiences reflect institutional priorities, support recruitment and yield objectives, and deliver high-quality prospective student experience. Develop innovative engagement opportunities designed to strengthen student connection and improve conversion outcomes.
• Develop and execute, in collaboration with divisional and campus partnerships such as the coordinator of access and inclusion, targeted engagement strategies for key student populations, including but not limited to first-generation students, underrepresented students, athletes, international students, and high-interest students.
• Utilize data, analytics, and engagement metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of communications, outreach strategies, engagement initiatives, and programming. Partner with enrollment data and systems staff to develop dashboards, assess engagement trends, and identify opportunities for optimization. Explore and implement emerging technologies, automation strategies, and AI-enhanced tools to improve personalization, operational efficiency, and student engagement. Foster a culture of experimentation, assessment, and continuous improvement.
• Supervise and support staff responsible for communications, campus visit programs, and engagement initiatives. Establish clear goals, priorities, and performance expectations for team members. Support staff development, innovation, and professional growth. Ensure operational effectiveness and strong coordination across engagement functions.

Other Duties and Responsibilities

• Occasional travel
• Other duties as determined or assigned.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Supervises work of others, including planning, assigning, scheduling and reviewing work, ensuring quality standards. Is responsible for hiring, terminating, training and developing, reviewing performance and administering corrective action for staff. Plans organizational structure and position content.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree
• Valid driver's license for the operation of a company-owned, rented or leased vehicle

Minimum Work Experience

• More than 8 years

Independence of Action

• Results are defined; incumbent sets own goals and determines how to accomplish results with few or no guidelines to follow, although precedents may exist; supervisor/manager provides broad guidance and overall direction.

Equipment Used

• Standard office equipment

Physical Environment Demands

• Office environment
• No specific or unusual physical or environmental demands

EEO/Diversity Statement:

The College is committed to building a representative and diverse faculty, staff, and student body. We encourage applications from all qualified persons.