Executive Director of Admissions (E-DOA)

Summary

The Executive Director of Admissions leads National American University 's admissions organization and is responsible for achieving new student enrollment goals through effective leadership, coaching, operational excellence, and performance management. Reporting to the Chief Marketing and Operations Officer, this position oversees admissions personnel, forecasting, admissions operations, and cross-functional collaboration to deliver an exceptional prospective student experience.
Minimum Qualifications

The Executive Director of Admissions will satisfy the following minimum qualifications:

- Bachelor's degree required; Master's degree preferred.

- Five or more years of progressively responsible admissions leadership experience in higher education.

- Demonstrated experience leading admissions managers and admissions representatives within online, private, proprietary, or primarily online higher education environments.

- Demonstrated success leading remote admissions teams while achieving enrollment goals.

- Strong knowledge of admissions operations, admissions funnel management, enrollment forecasting, CRM systems, admissions technologies, and admissions performance metrics.

- Demonstrated ability to coach, develop, and hold admissions teams accountable for measurable performance outcomes.

Skills and Attributes

Ability to lead, direct, implement, evaluate, and continuously improve all aspects of admissions operations within a fully remote environment. Exceptional leadership, coaching, communication, organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills. Demonstrated ability to build high-performing admissions teams through accountability, performance management, and professional development. Strong understanding of admissions technologies, CRM systems, workflow optimization, enrollment forecasting, operational reporting, and data-informed decision making. Ability to collaborate effectively across departments while maintaining a student-centered approach to enrollment operations.
Essential Functions

The Executive Director of Admissions performs the following essential functions:

- Executes admissions strategies and operational plans that support the University's enrollment goals and Strategic Plan.

- Assists in developing departmental budgets, staffing plans, and resource recommendations while effectively managing admissions operations.

- Monitors admissions performance and is accountable for achieving key operational metrics, including:
- Lead response times

- Phone activity

- Contact rates

- Appointment activity

- Application volume

- Application completion rates

- Conversion rates throughout the admissions funnel

- New student starts

- Re-entry student starts

- Admissions representative productivity

- Monitors enrollment forecasts and admissions performance while providing operational analysis, trend reporting, recommendations, and risk assessments to executive leadership.

- Leads and manages all day-to-day admissions operations for a fully remote admissions organization.

- Recruits, hires, develops, coaches, evaluates, and retains Admissions Managers, Admissions Representatives, and other admissions personnel.

- Establishes performance expectations, productivity standards, coaching practices, and accountability measures for all admissions personnel.

- Identifies operational barriers affecting enrollment performance and develops solutions that improve admissions effectiveness and the prospective student experience.

- Develops, implements, and continuously improves admissions policies, procedures, workflows, and operational best practices.

- Partners with Marketing to improve lead quality, lead conversion, admissions messaging, and enrollment performance.

- Collaborates with Financial Aid, Registrar, Student Advisory Services, Academic Affairs, and Technology Services to improve operational efficiency and the student enrollment experience.

- Oversees admissions technologies, CRM utili