Assistant Director, MBA Enrollment Management Operations

Rice University • Houston, TX

3d • Onsite

About The Position

Rice Business is a globally recognized, top-ranked graduate business school offering Full-Time, Professional (Weekend and Evening), Hybrid, Executive, and Online MBA programs. As part of the Recruiting and Admissions Office’s newly formed Operations team, the Assistant Director supports daily management of the admissions system, including Slate and related platforms used throughout prospective students’ application journeys. The role collaborates with operational stakeholders across Rice Business and reports directly to the Director of Operations.

The Assistant Director supervises the MBA Admissions Ambassadors program and manages the operational aspects of the application interview process across MBA programs. The position provides technical expertise in technology, systems, workflows, and data throughout the admissions lifecycle, helping advance strategic priorities and enrollment targets. It contributes operational best practices to the applicant assessment journey and serves as a subject matter expert in enrollment operations.

The role is exclusively on-site at McNair Hall on a five-day, in-office schedule, with standard hours of 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Remote work may be considered on an as-needed basis after successful completion of the probationary period. Rice Business activities and events often occur in the evening and on weekends, and domestic and international travel may be required. Business professional attire is often required, with flexibility for business casual attire when not attending events or external-facing interactions. The position is exempt and not eligible for overtime.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree; no substitutions permitted.
• At least 2 years of professional experience in higher education, systems management, and/or operations. Additional related education beyond the required degree may substitute for experience on an equivalent year-for-year basis.
• Strong knowledge of enrollment management systems and operations.
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills.
• Excellent planning and organizational skills.
• Demonstrated creativity, problem-solving, critical-thinking, initiative, judgment, and decision-making skills.
• Ability to achieve goals through formal and informal channels while demonstrating diplomacy and tact.
• Ability to manage priorities and multiple time-sensitive projects with competing deadlines.
• Ability to work in person on campus on a five-day schedule; remote work is limited and may be considered as needed after the probationary period.
• Ability to accommodate a high volume of professional events during evenings and weekends and domestic and international travel as needed.

Nice To Haves

• Experience working in enrollment management.
• Experience working in application management operations.
• Experience working in graduate management education environments.
• Experience working with Slate or a comparable CRM system.
• Experience supervising student volunteers.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the subject matter expert for application management workflows, guiding prospective student applications from submission through final review.
• Supervise Full-Time and Working Professional MBA student ambassadors who facilitate candidate assessments.
• Manage the prospective student interview process, including availability of interview opportunities and applicant communications in collaboration with Assistant Directors.
• Oversee the incomplete application process, coordinating communications and helping drive applications to completion throughout the application cycle.
• Support the creation and maintenance of CRM forms associated with application review.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for integrated external systems and ensure external application requirements are accurately connected to prospective students’ application files.
• Support management of term-limited Application Readers as they review applications for completeness and conduct initial evaluations of candidate materials.
• Provide operational support during admissions committee meetings and candidate evaluation processes.
• Support internal requests for data, queries, and reports to enable effective candidate engagement throughout the application process.
• Provide operational support to strategic partners during the annual review and implementation of application updates.
• Support annual review and optimization of application workflows and processes.
• Maintain collaborative relationships with departments throughout Rice Business and across the university.
• Recommend process improvements based on findings and operational needs.
• Produce reports throughout the recruiting cycle in close collaboration with the Director of Operations.
• Provide ad hoc support to Assistant Directors of Recruiting regarding events and communications.
• Keep current with graduate management education trends and competitive market conditions, applying that knowledge to support Rice Business’s market position.
• Identify potential misalignments with brand strategy and recommend and implement solutions to maintain brand integrity.
• Provide comprehensive operational support for recruitment and admissions activities throughout the enrollment lifecycle.
• Perform all other duties as assigned.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level