Assistant Director of Graduate Admissions and Operations

Department: Schar School Policy and Government

Classification: Education Support Spec 3

Job Category: Classified Staff

Job Type: Full-Time

Work Schedule: Full-time (1.0 FTE, 40 hrs/wk)

Location: Arlington, VA

Workplace Type: Hybrid Eligible

Pay Band: 04

Salary: Salary commensurate with education and experience

Criminal Background Check: Yes

 

About the Department:

The Schar School of Policy and Government's objective is to prepare our students for high-level decision making in a complex and technological world.

About the Position:

Reporting to the Director of Graduate Recruitment and Admissions, the Assistant Director of Graduate Admissions and Operations supports efforts to enhance the school’s reputation as a preeminent school for policy, government, and international affairs. This position combines efforts across recruitment, admissions and operations providing opportunities for growth and strong support for professional development. The Assistant Director engages with prospective students, works with them throughout the admissions process, and ensures that the admissions and admissions operations processes are managed effectively.

Responsibilities:

Admissions Processing/Operations

• Develops and maintains appropriate tracking system for assigned candidate pipeline, documenting and resolving issues in Salesforce/TargetX;
• Effectively uses Salesforce/TargetX, Microstrategy, Banner, PatriotWeb, and other university-supported software to develop, run, and analyze admissions related reports;
• Monitors data and follows up with candidates where necessary;
• Establishes knowledge of Schar School and Mason-wide admissions and enrollment requirements and processes;
• Adheres to processes and procedures in University systems and with candidates;
• Serves as the primary team member for Schar School admission letter generation and admissions decision notification utilizing advanced Microsoft Excel, Word and mail-merge skills;
• Coordinates the Schar School master’s and certificate financial award tracking system and posting of awards to student accounts to including workflows with GMU Foundation, Financial Aid Office, Schar School Budget/Finance Office and the Registrar’s Office;
• Develops and maintains a strong working relationship with central admissions processing team to ensure quality control in the application submission and completion process;
• Escalates concerns and technical errors where appropriate to relevant teams;
• Collaborates with the Director of Graduate Admissions on admissions annual updates including tracking, testing and implementation;
• Liaises with central admissions and student services to identify, communicate, and collect documentation to clear admitted students from admissions audit holds, escalating cases requiring temporary waivers to the Director of Graduate Admissions where appropriate; 
• Addresses logistical challenges to ensure the admissions process is running smoothly, coordinating with central admissions where required; and
• Exercises sound judgment when unexpected situations arise. 

Engagement of Applicants Through the Enrollment Funnel

• Serves as the first point of contact for inquires including monitoring phone, personal and general email boxes, Zoom, and in-person engagement with prospective students as well as logs the appropriate documentation in the Salesforce/TargetX Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system;
• Serves as a primary point of contact for a set of Schar School graduate programs from inquiry to enrollment, utilizing Salesforce/TargetX;
• Attends recruitment and admissions events both on-campus, virtually, and regionally as requested;
• Communicates with prospective students through phone, email, virtual meeting (Zoom/Teams), and in-person appointments;
• Develops and executes virtual and in-person sessions that engage the larger prospective student audience that include but are not limited to: information sessions, drop-in hours, tours, class visits, faculty-led information sessions, career services sessions, and other events that showcase Schar School programs and unique features;
• Monitors candidate application status to encourage application submission and review application submissions for missing materials to ensure timely completion for committ