About UMass Amherst

UMass Amherst, the Commonwealth's flagship campus, is a nationally ranked public research university offering a full range of undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University sits on nearly 1,450-acres in the scenic Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts and offers a rich cultural environment in a bucolic setting close to major urban centers. In addition, the University is part of the Five Colleges (including Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, and Smith College), which adds to the intellectual energy of the region.

Job Summary

The Assistant Director of Graduate Admissions serves as the primary contact for graduate admissions for the Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences (CICS). This position creates and implements recruitment and enrollment initiatives that support College and institutional goals. The Assistant Director develops and implements a comprehensive marketing/outreach/communication plan in collaboration with the CICS Marketing and Communications team to support the College's graduate admissions goals.

Essential Functions

• Serves as the primary point of contact for prospective graduate students interested in CICS in-person, online, and hybrid degree or certificate programs and hosts regularly-scheduled information sessions targeted to various prospective student audiences.
• Develops recruitment goals and implements initiatives to meet those goals. Creates a recruitment plan and travel schedule with a focus on institutions or events that will help improve the diversity of our applicant pool. Travels to agreed-upon institutions or events and advises prospective students about CICS graduate programs and admissions requirements. Designs and executes recruitment and admissions events on the Amherst and Mount Ida campuses, including the annual "Candidate Friday" for admitted PhD students.
• Develops yield goals, implements yield initiatives, and collaborates with CICS finance and graduate program leadership to determine yield rates which support College goals. Monitors and analyzes data in Salesforce and CRM software to track qualified leads from prospect to applicant to matriculated student and uses data to improve yields.
• Liaises with CICS Marketing and Communications to develop and run a targeted marketing and communication program. Designs, purchases, and ships promotional materials for graduate program recruitment events.
• Evaluates academic credentials presented by prospective MS students. Makes MS admissions recommendations, processes decisions, and reviews exceptions or problem cases.
• Serves on the faculty PhD admissions committee and makes recommendations to faculty regarding the growth of the programs. Creates and provides training to faculty, teaching best practices from application review through admission. Processes PhD admissions decisions in Slate and communicates decisions to applicants. Designs and runs a communication campaign for admitted students.
• Hires, trains, and supervises at least 20 PhD student application readers annually to review MS and PhD applications.
• Solicits and trains volunteers for the PhD Peer Mentor Program and makes peer mentor assignments.
• Tracks, evaluates, and verifies admissions data in the College's database. Makes adjustments to initiatives based on results and redesigns relevant pages on the College's website to better attract students to our programs. Ensures all information is up-to-date at all times.
• Collaborates with other academic programs staff, graduate program advisors, and the College's events team to implement effective new student orientation and PhD mentoring events. Manages, updates, and disseminates new student onboarding information in conjunction with the graduate program advisors.
• Regularly assesses the efficiency and efficacy of current processes and procedures and recommends improvements when necessary.

Other Functions

• Performs related duties as assigned or required to meet Department, College, or University goals and objectives.
• Keeps abreast of pertinent developments at the university, in higher education, and in the field of professional admission work. Attends admissions related conferences as needed.
• Serves on College committees as needed.
• Understands responsibilities with respect to conflicts of interest and behaves in ways consistent both with law and with University policy.
• Contributes toward creating a positive and respectful workplace defined by personal and professional competence, integrity, and collaboration.
• Understands and contributes to implementation of departmental and institutional goals for achieving non-discrimination and creating a respectful, inclusive environment that is supportive of diversity.
• Uses access to sensitive and/or not yet public university related information only in the performance of the responsibilities of position and exercises care to prevent unnecessary disclosure to others.

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

• Bachelor's Degree and at least three (3) years of related experience OR a Master's Degree or higher and at least one (1) year of related experience.
• Must have a valid driver's license upon hire and be able to maintain a valid license at all times while in this position.
• Reliable transportation and willingness and ability to drive to recruiting or other events within Massachusetts or surrounding states. Willingness and ability to fly to recruiting or other events throughout the U.S.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to interact effectively and create and maintain harmonious relationships within the academic programs team, the college, and across the university with a diverse population of staff, faculty, students, and off-campus constituents. Ability and willingness to work empathetically with a diverse student population and contribute to their success.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills. Ability to write concisely, express thoughts clearly, and develop ideas in a logical sequence.
• Independent initiative. Must have the ability to stay on task and work productively with a minimum amount of supervision or guidance.
• Willingness to take on a variety of tasks related to the successful operation of the academic programs. The ability to adapt and work effectively as the College and academic programs team grows.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail with the ability to complete assignments in a timely manner, balancing the demands of concurrent and potentially competing projects.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment and maintain confidentiality.
• The ability to think through problems, organize and seek out data/information, identify key factors and underlying causes, and generate solutions.
• Strong computer skills including at least intermediate expertise with:
  • Email.
  • Calendar systems such as Outlook or Google.
  • Word processing software such as Microsoft Word or Google Docs.
  • Spreadsheets such as Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets.
  • Databases such as Microsoft Access or FileMaker.

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

• Experience with recruitment of individuals from underrepresented populations.
• Computer Science knowledge and experience.
• Prior experience working with Salesforce.
• Prior experience working with Slate.

Physical Demands/Working Conditions

• Typical Office Environment
• Travel to events and conferences outside of the UMass system.

Work Schedule

• Monday-Friday, 37.5 hours.
• Will be required to work occasional 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

PSU Level 26.

Exempt Hiring Ranges.

Special Instructions to Applicants

Applicants must submit a resume and the contact information for 3 professional references.

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.