Senior Associate Director for Campus Visits & First Year Experience

Essential Job Functions/Primary Responsibilities

• Provide direct supervision, mentoring, and professional development for enrollment staff members assigned to campus visits, events, and campus experience operations.
• Recruit, hire, train, schedule, and supervise all student ambassadors and front desk student staff; provide ongoing coaching, performance evaluation, and leadership development opportunities.
• Oversee staffing plans and daily coverage for the front desk and lobby operations to ensure a consistently high-quality visitor experience.
• Oversee cross-campus communication for visit programming, ensuring timely and consistent information is shared with campus constituents to support a seamless and welcoming guest experience.
• Attend all Student Experience team meetings.
• Create and refine programs, policies, and workflows that ensure exceptional service and a seamless experience for individual visitors, families, and group visits.
• Serve as the primary institutional contact for all admissions-related visits and events, acting as liaison with prospective students and families, faculty, staff, alumni, presenters, vendors, and campus partners.
• Coordinate all aspects of daily visit programming, including individual visits, high school and special group visits, information sessions, counselor experiences, virtual visits, and specialty programming.
• Collaborate closely with specialty enrollment areas (arts, international, transfer, graduate, financial aid) to design tailored visit and event opportunities that support recruitment goals.
• Work in partnership with Summer Programs and other campus units to expand visit opportunities for students both on and off campus.
• Design, implement, and evaluate comprehensive orientation programs to welcome and acclimate new students and families, including Fall and Spring Orientations.
• Collaborate with campus partners to ensure programming addresses academic, social, and cultural aspects of the college experience.
• Oversee logistics, including scheduling, communications, and event execution for both orientations.
• Oversee the creation and implementation of the Pre-Orientation Canvas Course and ensure new students complete the course.
• Lead efforts to support student transition from deposit to matriculation, coordinating outreach, engagement, and onboarding experiences to enhance student connection and preparedness.
• Serve as a main point of contact/concierge for all deposited undergraduate students prior to their arrival on campus for their first semester.
• Collaborate with the Center for Student Involvement and Student Experience unit on programming for first-year students.
• Coordinate and lead the Orientation Planning Committee and serve on the Retention Council.
• Assess the effectiveness of welcome activities to ensure they foster engagement and retention.
• Use data to inform decision-making and enhance the student transition experience.
• Act as an advocate for new students, ensuring their needs are represented in institutional planning and decision-making.
• Analyze visit and event participation data, survey feedback, yield, and orientation program outcomes to evaluate effectiveness and inform strategic enhancements.
• Maintain and update admissions presentation materials and digital content to ensure accuracy, relevance, and alignment with enrollment messaging.
• Oversee and maintain the Campus Visit Portal and registration systems for admissions and orientation events, ensuring timely updates and strong user experience.
• Serve as the institutional lead for the ZeeMee social engagement platform, developing and executing a strategy to enhance admitted student engagement, community building, and yield.
• Supervise staff and student moderators supporting ZeeMee engagement, content creation, and community management.
• Collaborate with Marketing, Communications, and Enrollment Operations to align ZeeMee strategy with recruitment campaigns, communications flow, and institutional branding.
• Analyze engagement data and outcomes to assess impact and recommend enhancements to digital engagement strategies.
• Work closely with Marketing and Communications and Enrollment Operations to promote all visits, events, and engagement initiatives across channels and to execute a communication plan for deposited and enrolled new students.
• Work closely with the Student Experience unit and participate in leadership team meetings, retreats, and campus traditions.
• Oversee lobby operations and front desk appearance; manage supplies, hospitality services, and visitor amenities to ensure a welcoming environment.
• Manage assigned budgets related to visits, events, hospitality, and student staffing, ensuring effective stewardship of resources.
• Present admissions information sessions on-campus, off-campus, and virtually as needed.
• Provide backup support for the main admissions phone line and front-line services as necessary.
• Pursue ongoing professional development and remain current with national trends and best practices in campus visits, events, enrollment engagement, and orientation and first year programs.

Qualifications

• Progressive experience in admissions, enrollment management, campus visits, orientation and first-year programs, or student experience, with demonstrated supervisory experience.
• Strong leadership and staff supervision skills, with experience managing professional staff and student employees.
• Excellent organizational, project management, and customer service skills.
• Ability to communicate effectively and professionally with faculty, staff, students, families, and senior leadership.
• Strong interpersonal skills with a collaborative and student-centered approach.
• Demonstrated experience in program planning, implementation, and assessment.
• Creative problem solver with strong attention to detail and ability to manage multiple priorities in high-pressure environments.
• Working knowledge of Slate and CRM systems preferred.
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, including inclusive hiring, training, and supervision of student staff.
• Formal Education: Bachelor's Degree required; Master's Degree in higher education, student affairs, or related field preferred.
• Experience: Successful candidate will have at least three+ years of event coordination and customer service experience, ideally in a higher education capacity.

Benefits

The position offers a competitive salary range of $65,000 - $70,000 annually.