Director of Admissions

Purpose of the Role

The Admissions Director is the front door and first promise of Orion STEM Schools. This role is responsible for ensuring that every family who encounters Orion — from the first inquiry to enrollment to ongoing engagement — experiences the same values, warmth, and intentionality that define life inside the school. The Admissions Director curates the school community by attracting mission-aligned families, guiding them through a thoughtful admissions journey, and sustaining deep parent and community partnerships that strengthen Orion's roots. This role sits at the intersection of community building, enrollment strategy, and family partnership. The Admissions Director is the organizational leader most responsible for ensuring that Orion's external story — the way the school is perceived, experienced, and trusted by the community — is fully aligned with the internal reality of the Orion Way. When this role is done well, prospective families feel the Orion difference before their child ever sets foot in a classroom. The admissions experience is the first chapter of a family's Orion story. It must communicate the same belonging, belief, and purpose that students will experience every day inside our school.

Designer Profile Alignment

The Admissions Director embodies the Orion Designer Profile in community-facing leadership:

• Empathetic Partner: Listens deeply to families, understands their hopes and concerns, and builds trust through genuine care. Every interaction communicates that Orion sees the whole child and the whole family.
• Value-Driven Mentor: Holds the "Yes" Philosophy in every admissions conversation — saying yes to acceptance and belonging, to believing in big dreams, and to helping families see possibility for their child.
• Culture Builder: Designs the admissions experience, parent partnerships, and community events as extensions of the Orion Way — not as separate marketing exercises.
• Calm, Assertive Leader: Manages enrollment targets and community relationships with steady presence, integrity, and strategic clarity.

Core Responsibilities

1. Admissions Strategy and Enrollment Management

• Own the end-to-end admissions process: inquiry management, school tours, family interviews, application review, enrollment decisions, and onboarding coordination.
• Develop and execute an annual enrollment strategy that meets growth targets while maintaining mission alignment and community fit.
• Design the admissions experience to reflect the Orion Way: families should feel known, welcomed, and respected from the very first interaction.
• Manage the admissions funnel: track inquiries, applications, acceptance rates, yield, and retention data to inform strategic decisions.
• Coordinate with the Auxiliary Programs and PBEL Designer to connect newly enrolled families with the LaunchPad onboarding program.
• Lead the Admissions & Enrollment Coordinators, ensuring the team delivers responsive, warm, and professional service at every touchpoint.

2. Parent Partnership and Family Engagement

• Design and lead Orion's parent partnership strategy: building a family engagement model that treats parents as essential collaborators in their child's holistic success.
• Create structures for ongoing family communication, feedback, and participation that go beyond transactional updates to genuine relational partnership.
• Organize parent education events, workshops, and forums that connect families to Orion's pedagogy, culture, and the Path to Self-Efficacy framework.
• Serve as a point of trust and advocacy for families navigating the Orion experience, collaborating with School Designers to address concerns with empathy and responsiveness.
• Ensure that family voice shapes school improvement — creating feedback loops that inform culture, programming, and communication.

3. Community Partnership and Outreach

• Lead Orion's community outreach strategy: positioning the school as a valued, visible, and trusted institution in the local and regional community.
• Cultivate relationships with community organizations, civic leaders, local businesses, and educational partners that advance Orion's mission and visibility.
• Coordinate with the Auxiliary Programs and PBEL Designer to align community partnerships for the Design to Impact program with broader outreach goals.
• Oversee the Events and Community Outreach Coordinator in planning and executing school-wide events: open houses, community showcases, exhibitions of learning, and celebration events.
• Represent Orion at community events, education conferences, and public forums as an ambassador of the school's purpose and promise.

5. Admissions-to-Experience Alignment

• Partner with the Chief Experience Designer and Chief School Designer to ensure that the experience families are promised during admissions is the experience students actually live.
• Participate in regular cross-leadership alignment meetings to share family feedback, enrollment trends, and community insights that inform school-wide decision-making.
• Collaborate with the Marketing Department to ensure all admissions collateral, website content, and public messaging authentically reflect the Orion Way.
• Analyze enrollment, retention, and family satisfaction data to identify strengths and areas where the school's promise and practice may be misaligned.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Education, Communications, Business, Marketing, or a related field.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in school admissions, enrollment management, community engagement, or a related field.
• Demonstrated success in building enrollment, managing admissions pipelines, and cultivating family and community relationships.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, and public speaking skills.
• Deep commitment to mission-driven education and family partnership.

Preferred

• Master's degree in Education Leadership, Communications, or a related field.
• Experience in independent, charter, or innovative school environments.
• Familiarity with CRM systems and enrollment management platforms.
• Bilingual or multilingual proficiency is valued.

Core Dispositions

The Admissions Director must consistently demonstrate:

• Genuine warmth, empathy, and relational depth with families and community members.
• Strategic thinking with the ability to balance enrollment targets and mission integrity.
• Ambassador-level communication: the ability to tell Orion's story with authenticity and conviction.
• Organizational excellence and attention to detail across multiple workstreams.
• Values-driven integrity — never overpromising, always ensuring the admissions experience reflects the true Orion reality.
• Commitment to Orion's purpose: empowering every student to light the world.

Success Indicators

The Admissions Director's effectiveness will be reflected in:

• Enrollment health: Enrollment targets are met or exceeded. The admissions pipeline is strong, conversion rates are healthy, and retention is high. Families choose Orion because of its values, not just its offerings.
• Family trust and satisfaction: Families report feeling known, welcomed, and partnered from the admissions process through ongoing engagement. Parent satisfaction and trust deepen over time.
• Community presence and reputation: Orion is recognized and respected in the community. The school has a growing network of community partners, civic relationships, and public goodwill.
• Admissions-to-experience alignment: The Orion experience families are promised is the one students actually live. There is no gap between the school's public story and its internal reality.

Additional Requirements

Background Check

All offers of employment at Orion STEM Schools are contingent upon the successful completion of a comprehensive background check. This includes criminal history screening, sex offender registry verification, fingerprinting (as required by state law), and verification of educational credentials and employment history. Orion STEM Schools is committed to providing a safe environment for all students, families, and staff.

Work Authorization

Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Orion STEM Schools participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with Form I-9 information to confirm employment eligibility. Orion STEM Schools does not sponsor work visas unless otherwise specified for a particular role.

Physical Demands

This role involves standard office work including extended periods at a computer, as well as active participation in school tours, open houses, community events, and family-facing engagements. The Admissions Director will regularly be on their feet during events and campus visits. Reasonable accommodations will be made for individuals with disabilities.

Travel Expectations

Regular travel within the local community for outreach events, community meetings, partner visits, and networking is expected. Occasional travel between education fairs and conferences.

Other Duties

This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, or qualifications associated with the role. The employee may be asked to perform additional duties as assigned by their supervisor or organizational leadership to support the mission and evolving needs of Orion STEM Schools.

This response is AI-generated, for reference only.