Careers

About UMass Amherst

The flagship of the Commonwealth, the University of Massachusetts Amherst is a nationally ranked public land-grant research university that seeks to expand educational access, fuel innovation and creativity, and share and use its knowledge for the common good. Founded in 1863, UMass Amherst sits on nearly 1,450-acres in scenic Western Massachusetts and boasts state-of-the-art facilities for teaching, research, scholarship, and creative activity. The institution advances a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community where everyone feels connected and valued—and thrives, and offers a full range of undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees across 10 schools and colleges, and 100 undergraduate majors. We believe every member of our university community can contribute to our ongoing success by striving for the highest level of excellence as we seek breakthrough solutions to mounting environmental, social, economic, and technological challenges in our world.

Job Summary

Reporting to the Associate Dean of Isenberg Graduate & Professional Programs, the Director of Recruitment & Marketing Communications is responsible for the development and implementation of recruitment strategies for the Isenberg Graduate and Professional Programs, including the full-time MBA, online and part-time MBA, MSA, MSBA, MFAI, certificates, and continuing education programs.

This position works closely with the Associate Dean and program directors to fully understand the target market, curriculum, and the competitive landscape for each graduate program, and develop recruiting strategies for each program, while working with external constituents and the internal team of business information specialists to implement these strategies. Develops communications plans for each program, targeting prospective students through enrolled students, graduating students and alumni, and coordinates these plans with program directors. Directs lead management efforts, and acts as liaison with centralized Isenberg marketing to develop and execute marketing and recruitment plan for the entire portfolio of graduate and professional programs. Guides and extensively utilizes department usage of the Customer Relationship Management system (Salesforce), as well as the integrated email marketing platform (Marketing Cloud) to execute the recruitment and communications plans. The Director of Recruitment & Marketing Communications works closely with all program personnel and across departments, including Isenberg Marketing & Communications, University Relations, Continuing & Professional Education, UMass Online, Central OIT, Isenberg TSS and other external partners.

Essential Functions

• Recruitment Plans:
  • Works closely with the Associate Dean and Program Directors to develop, lead and execute strategic, programmatic recruiting plans for each graduate program, to meet program enrollment goals using research and data analysis to increase effectiveness. 
  • Analyzes enrollment data, marketing metrics, industry reports, etc. to uncover insights and trends in enrollment and recruitment.
  • Implements recruitment and promotional events for Isenberg Graduate Programs, to include, but not limited to, in-person and virtual information sessions, presentations and tabling on campus and at local colleges.
• Communication Plans:
  • Works closely with the Associate Dean and Program Directors to develop, lead and execute strategic communication plans for each graduate program, including communications during the admissions process, and communications directed toward enrolled students and alumni.
  • Works with the Program Directors and the Director of Organizational Metrics to administer student, alumni and external ranking surveys, assessing program effectiveness and enhancing participation in external rankings. Utilizes an integrated email marketing platform (Marketing Cloud) for all communications, tracking response rates and other metrics to improve outreach efforts. Manages content and scheduling of the graduate programs newsletter to support programs’ communication plans and to enhance survey response rate.
• Lead Management & Personnel Supervision:
  • Directs lead management efforts for graduate programs in keeping with higher education best practices. Supervises a team of Program Information Specialists who represent Isenberg Graduate Programs to prospective students and organizations, and works to increase inquiries and convert applications to enrolled students.
  • Creates a culture of excellence in customer service and metric driven decision making. In collaboration with program directors, oversee all aspects of recruitment and evaluation of staff, and coordination of office activities.
• Marketing Strategy:
  • Serves as the primary liaison and collaborates with Isenberg Marketing & Communications and the school’s media partner to develop a strategic marketing plan for Graduate & Professional Programs, to include channels such as SEM, digital advertising, social media, digital and print initiatives.
  • Understands strategic goals and curriculum for each graduate program and guides the strategic marketing plan for each program to align with the program goals and curriculum. Evaluates the success of these efforts on an ongoing basis. Ensures that the strategic goals, strengths and curriculum of each program are accurately represented in all promotional materials including Isenberg and university websites.
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM-Salesforce) and Communication Systems (Marketing Cloud):
  • Establishes strategy and directs the configuration of CRM tools to support the Graduate Programs office for journeys, campaigns, documentation, and reporting. Continuously explores new and innovative ways to utilize CRM tools to improve prospective and enrolled student services.
  • Oversees documentation and training for CRM tools, as performed by business information specialists.
  • Serves as liaison with Isenberg Technology Support & Service and Office of Information Technology, and works with University Relations to provide demonstrations as an exemplar implementation of Salesforce.

Other Functions

• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Education, Experience, Certifications, Licensure)

• Bachelors degree with seven (7) years of related professional experience. A Master of Business Administration (MBA) may be substituted for two (2) years of the required experience.
• Previous supervisory experience.
• Relevant experience demonstrating production of creative outputs.
• Relevant experience with budget preparation and fiscal management.
• Extensive experience with CRM systems (i.e. Salesforce) and the integrated email marketing platform (i.e. Marketing Cloud).
• Strong leadership skills in lead management and lead cultivation.
• Strong oral and written communications, proof reading and public speaking/presentation skills.
• General understanding of data analytics, web design/content management and social media.
• Experience with publicizing and marketing academic services, inside sales, marketing strategies/campaigns and recruitment initiatives.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, and Excel).

Preferred Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Education, Experience, Certifications, Licensure)

• Master of Business Administration.
• Experience working in a higher education setting.

Physical Demands/Working Conditions

• Typical office environment activity. 

Work Schedule

• Monday - Friday, 8:30am - 5:00pm.
• Required to work some nights and weekends.
• This position has the opportunity for a hybrid work schedule, which is defined by the University as an arrangement where an employee’s work is regularly performed at a location other than the campus workspace for a portion of the week. As this position falls within the Professional Staff Union, it is subject to the terms and conditions of the Professional Staff Union collective bargaining agreement.

Salary Information

Level 29

PSU Hiring Ranges

Special Instructions to Applicants

Along with the application, please submit a resume and cover letter. Reference will be checked at the finalist stage. Please be prepared to provide contact information for three (3) professional references. Applications will be reviewed on a continuous basis until the position is filled. Early submissions are encouraged.

UMass Amherst is committed to a policy of equal opportunity without regard to race, color, religion, caste, creed, sex, age, marital status, national origin, disability, political belief or affiliation, pregnancy and pregnancy-related condition(s), veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, genetic information, natural and protective hairstyle and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination in employment, admission to and participation in academic programs, activities, and services, and the selection of vendors who provide services or products to the University.  To fulfill that policy, UMass Amherst is further committed to a program of affirmative action to eliminate or mitigate artificial barriers and to increase opportunities for the recruitment and advancement of qualified minorities, women, persons with disabilities, and covered veterans.  It is the policy of UMass Amherst to comply with the applicable federal and state statutes, rules, and regulations concerning equal opportunity and affirmative action.