Senior Associate Director, Predegree Advising and Admissions Policy Management

Company Description

By working at Harvard University, you join a vibrant community that advances Harvard's world-changing mission in meaningful ways, inspires innovation and collaboration, and builds skills and expertise. We are dedicated to creating a diverse and welcoming environment where everyone can thrive.

Why join the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences?

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) is the historic heart of Harvard University. It is the home of Harvard’s undergraduate program (Harvard College, founded in 1636) as well as all of Harvard’s Ph.D. programs (the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, founded in 1872), Harvard Athletics and the Division of Continuing Education. The 40 academic departments and 30+ centers of the FAS support a community unparalleled in its academic excellence across the broadest range of liberal arts and sciences disciplines. Together, the FAS seeks to foster an environment of ambition, curiosity and shared commitment to knowledge and truth that elicits excellence from all members of our community and prepares the next generation of leaders through a transformative educational experience.

Job Description

Job Summary:

Lead admissions operations and planning that may include applicant recruitment and evaluation, event planning, data analysis and policy and workflow development.

Job-Specific Responsibilities:

The Senior Associate Director oversees the consistent interpretation and administration of predegree advising and admissions policies and processes and supervises the advising team. The role provides leadership on complex student matters and institutional risk; manages key departmental operations; and uses data to inform policy, planning, decision-making, and continuous improvement.

Other duties and responsibilities:

• Ensure compliance with School and University admissions and academic policies and applicable legal requirements.
• Research, analyze, interpret, and resolve policy questions, providing accurate and timely guidance to department, School, and University staff and leadership.
• Identify, monitor, and mitigate potential risks to School and University administration, operations, community, and reputation arising from admissions-related policies, practices, and student matters.
• Maintain departmental procedural resources, records, and databases to support consistent practices, informed decision-making, and continuous improvement to policy understanding and administration.
• Ensure the consistent and appropriate application of policy by the advising team through initial and ongoing training, guidance, and quality oversight.
• Manage and administer the policy petition process for all predegree students, including evaluating complex requests, issuing communications, and preparing materials for escalation to the Administrative Policy Committee and Administrative Board.
• Evaluate and resolve complicated predegree student concerns and complaints, engaging with students in a helpful, respectful, and accessible manner.
• Directly manage predegree and admissions advisors and the Assistant Director of Predegree Advising and Admissions Policy Management, providing coaching, performance management, professional development, and operational guidance; model and reinforce departmental values to support a collaborative, accountable, and student-centered work environment.
• Participate as a member of the OPA&A leadership team in annual and seasonal departmental processes for managing degree program changes, application and admission eligibility reviews and reporting, and student communications.
• Integrate, extract, and analyze quantitative and qualitative data from multiple HES systems and external sources, developing clear and concise reports, dashboards, presentations, and other data visualizations that communicate findings, trends, implications, and recommendations to stakeholders in an accessible and actionable manner.
• Serve as a strategic thought partner to OPA&A leadership and a policy and operational resource for peer and senior DCE colleagues, informing stakeholders  and participating in relevant meetings and cross-functional initiatives as needed.

Working Conditions:

This position will be based in Cambridge, MA. Hybrid workplace models in place at DCE with a minimum of 2 days per week on campus. DCE or department may adjust these as necessary or appropriate.

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience required
• Minimum of 7 years’ relevant work experience

Additional Qualifications and Skills:

• Master's degree in higher education administration, business admi