Manager of Student Recruitment & Engagement - Art, Drama, & Music (Full-Time, Grant-Funded)

Job Duties

• Assist Arts, Drama, and Music faculty in identifying prospective students for Del Mar College programs and maintain proactive, personalized communications with prospective students.
• Design and execute a comprehensive recruiting and engagement plan for students and patrons.
• Work as a recruitment liaison between DMC departmental faculty and area high school music, theater, visual arts or creative programs.
• Build relationships with high school teachers, counselors, fine arts directors, community arts organizations, music organizations, theatre groups, private instructors, families, and community partners.
• Build and manage digital databases for potential and existing students and patrons.
• Use the College’s CRM and other college software to track prospective students, event attendees, auditions, portfolio interests, program interests, communication history, and progress through the enrollment funnel.
• Conduct timely, personalized outreach by email, text messaging, phone calls, events, and in-person engagement to guide students from inquiry to application to enrollment and event attendees to patrons supporting art, drama, and music programing.
• Support prospective students as they complete next steps including applications, residency, financial aid referrals, orientation, advising referrals, auditions, portfolio requirements, and registration readiness.

Job Duty

• Work alongside Arts, Drama, and Music faculty and staff for project planning, promotion, marketing, event engagement, and branding.
• Plan, produce, coordinate, and support regular and timely content for social media, web presence, CRM campaigns, email, text messaging, newsletter, and event promotion for Arts, Drama, and Music programs.
• Design and execute digital marketing and CRM engagement campaigns for department events, student recruitment, performances, exhibitions, auditions, concerts, open houses, showcases, and program information sessions.
• Design and execute special events with departmental faculty, including camps, recruitment events, workshops, campus visits, music major days, audition days, portfolio days, theatre previews, gallery experiences, backstage tours, school group visits, and community engagement events.
• Support digital/photo/video documentation of student work, drama productions, music performances, concerts, art exhibitions, student showcases, and recruitment events.
• Design and manage recruitment-focused marketing campaigns using print, digital, social media, web, event registration, and CRM tools.
• Work on retaining current patrons and recruiting new patrons for exhibitions, productions, concerts, performances, and arts-related events.

Other duties as assigned.

Position Summary

• The Manager of Student Recruitment for Art, Drama, & Music is an exciting opportunity for someone who wants to work with prospective students, current students, faculty, families, schools, and community members and has a passion for the arts.
• The primary goals of this position are to increase the number of students enrolled in Del Mar College Arts, Drama, and Music programs and to use the area’s high volume of exhibitions, drama productions, music performances, concerts, auditions, showcases, workshops, and other arts-related events as recruitment opportunities that bring prospective students, families, school partners, community members, and patrons onto campus.
• This position will provide leadership, management, and hands-on execution for developing strategic and comprehensive student/patron recruitment, retention, and engagement plans.
• Plans should include strategy, tactics, metrics, CRM follow-up, event participation, and evaluation components that lead to achievable, measurable, and sustainable enrollment and engagement efforts.
• This position serves as a recruitment and engagement liaison between marketing, events, recruitment, academic faculty, department chairs, school partners, community arts organizations, and prospective students.
• The position will support the College’s broader enrollment goals by helping prospective students move from inquiry to application to registration-ready status and enrollment.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university.
• One (1) year of experience in one or more of the following: marketing, communications, recruiting, arts management, music administration, admissions, sales, fundraising, membership or volunteer management, event management, audience development, or related experience pertinent to this position.

Required Job Knowledge, Skills, Abilities

• Strong analytical skills and attention to detail.
• A high degree of grit and resilience.
• Flexibility, excellence, and passion are vital qualities.
• Ability to think strategically and create comprehensive recruitment, retention, and engagement plans for students and patrons.
• Ability to use performances, exhibitions, concerts, auditions, showcases, workshops, open houses, and other arts events as recruitment opportunities for prospective students.
• Ability to drive prospective students, families, school partners, and community members to arts-related events through targeted outreach, CRM communication, school relationships, and event promotion.
• Ability to coordinate multiple projects and tasks, including setting priorities and meeting deadlines.
• Dynamic interpersonal, verbal, presentation, and written communication skills.
• Ability to explain academic pathways, performance opportunities, portfolio or audition expectations, career outcomes, transfer options, admissions steps, deadlines, and student support services.
• Demonstrated experience or knowledge in professional writing and editing; digital communications; webpage content; social media; event promotion; email, text, and phone outreach; digital campaigns; and/or CRM-based communication.
• Ability to use data, CRM systems, event registration data, and communication tools to track prospective students, patrons, audience engagement, and progress through the enrollment funnel.
• Knowledge of or ability to learn arts, drama, music, creative education, performance, exhibitions, and community college pathways.
• Ability to establish and maintain excellent working relationships within all organizational levels and with outside constituents.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience creating or working within customer relationship management (CRM) databases.
• Experience with Element451 or similar CRM, marketing automation, event registration, or student communication platform.
• Experience in special event management.
• Experience in planning and producing social media content on media platforms for a professional business, nonprofit, college, or institution.
• Basic working knowledge in graphic design, photography, video, or digital content creation.
• Experience in marketing and promotions.
• Experience in recruiting, admissions, fundraising, sales, arts administration, music promotion, audience development, nonprofits, or community engagement.
• Experience working with high school music, theater, visual arts or creative programs.
• Bilingual communication skills.