The Assistant Director, Student Engagement (AD) leads a team supporting key stages of the student life cycle for Carnegie’s university partners. This hands-on role involves setting daily priorities, coaching staff, and ensuring consistent, high-quality service aligned with client expectations. The manager uses strong project management and data-driven insights to optimize performance, collaborates with internal teams and external partners, and must be flexible with scheduling, including potential evening and weekend coverage.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Enrollment Strategy & Performance
  • Develop and execute enrollment strategies that drive application volume, yield, and start rates through phone, email, text, and virtual engagement channels.
  • Partner with marketing and academic leadership to align outreach efforts with institutional recruitment goals.
• Admissions Operations Management
  • Oversee the full application lifecycle through centralized, virtual workflows, including inquiry handling, application support, document collection, interview coordination, and admissions decisions.
  • Ensure consistent, high-quality service delivery across all contact channels.
• Student Recruitment & Virtual Engagement
  • Lead virtual recruitment team and their initiatives such as call campaigns, virtual open houses, online info sessions, and targeted outreach to prospective students.
  • Understanding of and expertise in high-touch engagement methods
• Client Relationship & Pipeline Development
  • Build and sustain strong relationships with the client schools through regular communications and meetings.
  • Manage the day-to-day operations of assigned enrollment pipelines, ensuring appropriate engagement strategies are deployed.
  • Apply a proactive approach to managing the student life cycle, ensuring performance benchmarks are met or exceeded.
• CRM, Data & Reporting
  • Operate with the client school’s CRM and contact center systems, ensuring accurate tracking of leads, applications, and enrollment milestones.
  • Analyze funnel performance, contact effectiveness, and agent productivity to inform staffing, outreach strategies, and process improvements.
  • Prepare regular performance and enrollment reports for executive leadership.
• Compliance & Process Governance
  • Ensure all admissions processes comply with institutional policies, accreditation standards, FERPA, and applicable state and federal regulations.
  • Maintain consistent documentation and audit-ready admissions workflows.
• Call Center Leadership & Workforce Management
  • Recruit, train, coach, and evaluate admissions representatives operating in a high-volume contact center environment (Five9/Zoom).
  • Set performance expectations for service quality, conversion outcomes, and regulatory compliance.
  • Partner with workforce management or operations teams to align staffing with inquiry and application demand.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities:

• Experience leading admissions, enrollment services, or education-focused contact centers in higher education, career education, or K-12 environments.
• Proven ability to manage teams in structured, metrics-driven environments while maintaining strong student-centered service values.
• Strong operational and workflow management skills, including the ability to design, adjust, and optimize processes.
• Effective communicator able to provide clarity, guidance, and alignment across multiple teams and partners.
• Ability to interpret and apply CRM data to operational improvements and to manage performance and enrollment pipelines.
• Proficient in admissions CRMs, student information systems, call center platforms, and productivity tools (Slate/Five9/Slack/Zoom/Google Workspace).
• Ability to navigate telephony platforms (preferably Five9) to identify performance trends.
• Strong decision-making and critical-thinking abilities in a fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrated capacity to work cross-functionally and influence operational outcomes without direct supervision.
• Excellent organization, prioritization, and time management skills.
• Ability to learn and navigate multiple technology platforms simultaneously.

Performance Metrics

• Achievement of enrollment, start, and persistence targets
• Improvement in inquiry-to-application and applicant-to-enrolled conversion rates
• Contact effectiveness (speed to contact, contact rate, follow-up completion)
• Staff performance metrics including quality scores, productivity, and adherence to compliance standards in conjunction with CC data and quality personnel

Credentials and Experience:

• Bachelor’s Degree preferred; equivalent experience considered.
• Graduate level education or experience preferred
• Experience in enrollment services, student support operations, contact centers, higher education administration, or process management strongly preferred.
• Experience with CRM systems and enrollment communication workflows required.