Assistant Director for Graduate Programs

University of Pennsylvania•Williamsburg, VA

About The Position

The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School is one of the nation’s oldest and most distinguished law schools. Penn Carey Law offers a distinctive approach to legal education that emphasizes cross-disciplinary study, collaboration, and curricular innovation. Its highly interdisciplinary faculty achieves scholarly excellence while fostering a shared commitment to advancing the understanding of the law. The result is a vibrant intellectual community that bridges traditional academic boundaries within a renowned culture of collegiality, making Penn Carey Law School an extraordinarily supportive academic environment for students, faculty, and staff. Each year, Penn Carey Law attracts outstanding legal practitioners and scholars from around the world to its LLM, LLCM, SJD, and Visiting Scholars Programs. The Office of Graduate Programs is responsible for recruiting, matriculating, and supporting these students and scholars; delivering exceptional academic and co-curricular programming; and cultivating strong relationships with alumni. Reporting to the Assistant Dean for Graduate Programs, the Assistant Director supports the mission and strategic goals of the Office of Graduate Programs and the law school. The Assistant Director represents the law school throughout the graduate admissions process, both on campus and internationally, and provides critical organization, analytical and operational support across all stages of the recruitment, admissions, enrollment, and student engagement. The ideal candidate is a dynamic, detail-oriented professional with strong interpersonal, organizational, and public speaking skills, and a demonstrated ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, international academic environment.

Requirements

A Bachelor’s degree (required), with a Master’s Degree preferred.
Two to four years of progressively responsible experience in higher education administration, with admissions experience preferred
Strong proficiency in Excel and admissions databases such as UNITE.
Experience working in an international or globally focused environment and engaging with individuals from diverse cultural and geographic backgrounds.
Excellent organizational, analytical, written, and verbal communication skills.
The ability to build and maintain strong professional relationships with faculty, staff, students, alumni, and external partners.

Nice To Haves

Foreign language skills and international work experience are valued but not required.

Responsibilities

Counsel prospective students via email, phone, and in-person or virtual appointment regarding the admissions and enrollment processes.
Manage, track, and report admissions data using UNITE and other databases.
Review files and make admissions and scholarship recommendations as assigned by Assistant Dean.
Assist with the development and updates of the viewbook, marketing materials, and other prerecruitment collateral.
Coordinate on-campus visits for prospective and accepted students.
Support the planning and execution of Admitted Student Week, Pre-Term, and other on-campus and virtual events.
Represent Penn Carey Law at domestic and international recruitment events; evening, weekend, and international travel are required.
Collaborate with law school and university partners to plan social, cultural, and professional events that support onboarding, community-building, networking, and student well-being for LLM, LLCM, SJD students and Visiting Scholars.
Coordinate with departments, including Financial Aid, Registrar, Student Affairs, Off-Campus Housing, and International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) regarding the enrollment and orientation processes.
Support the Graduate Programs Coordinator in processing more than 1,400 applications annually for the LLM, LLC, SJD, and Visiting Scholar programs across UNITE and other application platforms.
Assist the Associate Director with all social, co-curricular, surveys, and workshops.
Prepare and produce statistical reports for internal planning and external reporting purposes.
Perform additional responsibilities as assigned.

Benefits

Penn offers comprehensive medical, prescription, behavioral health, dental, vision, and life insurance benefits to protect you and your family’s health and welfare.
You can also use flexible spending accounts to pay for eligible health care and dependent care expenses with pre-tax dollars.
Take advantage of Penn's exceptional tuition benefits. You, your spouse, and your dependent children can get tuition assistance here at Penn. Your dependent children are also eligible for tuition assistance at other institutions.
Penn offers generous retirement plans to help you save for your future. Penn’s Basic, Matching, and Supplemental retirement plans allow you to save for retirement on a pre-tax or Roth basis. Choose from a wide variety of investment options through TIAA and Vanguard.
Penn provides you with a substantial amount of time away from work during the course of the year. This allows you to relax, take vacations, attend to personal affairs, recover from illness or injury, spend time with family—whatever your personal needs may be.
In partnership with Genworth Financial, Penn offers faculty and staff (and your eligible family members) long-term care insurance to help you cover some of the costs of long-term care services received at home, in the community or in a nursing facility. If you apply when you’re newly hired, you won’t have to provide proof of good health or be subject to underwriting requirements. Eligible family members must always provide proof of good health and are subject to underwriting.
Penn is committed to supporting our faculty and staff as they balance the competing demands of work and personal life. That’s why we offer a wide variety of programs and resources to help you care for your health, your family, and your work-life balance.
Penn provides an array of resources to help you advance yourself personally and professionally.
As a member of the Penn community, you have access to a wide range of University resources as well as cultural and recreational activities. Take advantage of the University’s libraries and athletic facilities, or visit our arboretum and art galleries. There’s always something going on at Penn, whether it’s a new exhibit at the Penn Museum, the latest music or theater presentation at the Annenberg Center, or the Penn Relays at Franklin Field to name just a few examples. As a member of the Penn community, you’re right in the middle of the excitement—and you and your family can enjoy many of these activities for free.
From arts and entertainment to transportation and mortgages, you'll find great deals for University faculty and staff. Not only do Penn arts and cultural centers and museums offer free and discounted admission and memberships to faculty and staff. You can also enjoy substantial savings on other goods and services such as new cars from Ford and General Motors, cellular phone service plans, movie tickets, and admission to theme parks.
Flexible work options offer creative approaches for completing work while promoting balance between work and personal commitments. These approaches involve use of non-traditional work hours, locations, and/or job structures.
Penn offers a forgivable loan for eligible employees interested in buying a home or currently residing in West Philadelphia, which can be used for closing costs or home improvements.
Penn will reimburse eligible employees on qualified expenses in connection with the legal adoption of an eligible child, such as travel or court fees, for up to two adoptions in your household.