Stephens College seeks an entrepreneurial and effective enrollment management professional to provide vision, strategic analysis and collaborative leadership in recruiting and retaining new generations of students to our historic campus in Columbia, Missouri.

We are looking for a VP who thrives in a culture comfortable with change but who can also share our deep commitment to the College’s historical mission; an experienced professional who understands that today’s students are not like any other generation in history; and a leader ready to guide and inspire our dedicated team to connect with those students – and to recruit, enroll and retain a significant number of them.

This is an exciting, competitive, and highly rewarding opportunity for the right candidate – one who values original thinking and new solutions, who understands the difference between a job and a life’s work, and who knows how to achieve measurable results. We are ready to invest in that leadership and expertise.

Responsibilities and Priorities:

The right candidate will bring at least five years’ experience and demonstrated success in higher ed enrollment management, and will arrive on campus prepared to:

• collaborate with colleagues across offices and programs to develop and execute on a comprehensive and data-driven enrollment management plan to produce measurable results.

• work closely with the Directors of Student Admission and Student Retention to develop and execute on an effective, analytics-driven, and dynamic strategic enrollment and retention plan.

• manage, inspire, motivate, and promote staff engagement, performance, and retention.

• support and contribute to the College’s energetic commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

• continue to build enrollment analytics and actionable data reporting to inform key decisionmakers.

• work closely with the Vice President of Strategic Marketing to vision, develop and distribute effective marketing and advertising campaigns based on market analytics and targeted search.

• develop and support investment and enrollment pipelines with academic, research and professional partners.

• continue to create efficiency, effectiveness, and accuracy of admissions data processing and reporting; and

• work with the Office of Financial Aid and the Vice President for Finance and Administration to develop annual institutional financial aid budgets and monitor scholarship expenditures to ensure adherence to both enrollment and net tuition revenue goals.

Education, Experience, and Skill Requirements (or Qualifications):

The successful candidate will have:

• The successful candidate should have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution; Master’s degree preferred.

• Minimum of five (5) years of successful experience in demonstrated data-driven and goals-oriented enrollment management operations and administrative leadership at a senior level in a higher education institution, including the management of one or more functional areas of enrollment management.

• Proven record of success in student recruitment and enrollment; exceptional communication, organizational, and interpersonal skills, including the demonstrated ability to problem solve and deal collegially with the various internal and external constituencies of a comprehensive college.

• Experience with all aspects of assessment of personnel needs, including recruitment and selection of personnel.

• Knowledge and proficient use of admissions related software, data analysis tools, predictive modeling, and digital campaigns for recruiting purposes.

• Commitment to equity and the enrollment of students from diverse backgrounds.

Stephens College:

Established in 1833, Stephens College is a comprehensive Master’s institution with a robust undergraduate women’s college preparing students for successful careers in business, communication, fashion design, education, creative writing, filmmaking and the health sciences (including a new nursing degree program jointly owned and operated by a local private healthcare system); a new co-ed Conservatory for the Performing Arts launching in August 2022; and thriving co-ed graduate programs in the health sciences (Physician Assistant, Counseling, Health Information Management), and the performing arts (MFA in Script and Television Writing located at the Jim Henson Studios in Los Angeles).

Located in the heart of Columbia, Missouri – ranked as one of the top university towns in the nation and home to the University of Missouri – Stephens offers students all the social experiences and benefits of an SEC university town, in combination with all the personal and academic benefits of a small, individualized, student-focused private college on 50 historically beautiful and wooded acres in the center of the city. Rated in 2021 among the top colleges in the country by the Princeton Review, Stephens was ranked by U.S. News & World Report as #36 among all Midwestern regional universities and #3 in “social mobility” for its success in accepting, supporting, and graduating first-gen and disadvantaged students.

Stephens says yes first. As a result, it is the pet-friendliest campus in the nation; home to the first all-women’s competitive esports team; and the only college that requires every student to complete a non-credit Career and Professional Development curriculum of more than 20 learning experiences and assignments as a graduation requirement. Stephens operates its own pre-K/elementary lab school; its own professional summer theatre in Okoboji, Iowa; its own student-designed and operated campus store selling student-designed fashions and accessories; its own equestrian stables offering academic and recreational riding; and its own hybrid online graduate degree in script and television writing that meets for 10 days every semester at the Jim Henson Studios in Los Angeles.

For more information, visit stephens.edu.