Associate Director Graduate Admissions

University of New England Career•Biddeford, ME

About The Position

The Associate Director of Graduate Admissions will supervise, coach, and evaluate Graduate Admissions Counselors serving assigned programs in WCHP, CAS, CDM, and COM. This role coordinates program assignments, caseloads, backup coverage, and cross-training based on program complexity, cycle timing, applicant volume, and staff capacity. The Associate Director will set clear expectations for applicant contact, service, pipeline management, advising, program partnership, data accuracy, and progress toward enrollment goals. They will conduct regular one-on-one meetings, team pipeline reviews, workload discussions, and developmental coaching, providing timely feedback and recognizing strong performance. This position also supports counselor hiring, onboarding, training, professional development, and continuity planning in partnership with the Director and Vice President. The role oversees applicant service from documented inquiry handoff through application, admission, deposit, matriculation, and transition to the appropriate university partners. They will coordinate with the Associate Director of Graduate Recruitment & Visitor Experience to maintain a clear and consistent transition from recruitment to counseling, ensuring prospective students, applicants, admitted students, and deposited students receive timely and appropriate communication at each stage of the process. The Associate Director will identify barriers related to application completion, affordability, financial aid, competing offers, decision timing, and outstanding enrollment requirements, coordinating appropriate follow-up and support. They will lead counselor participation and follow-up for applicant and admitted-student events in partnership with Recruitment. Additionally, this role oversees procedures for application completion, review, interviews, decisions, deposits, conditions of admission, and matriculation tracking, maintaining consistent Graduate Admissions procedures while accommodating approved program-specific and accreditation requirements. The Associate Director will address routine operational questions and exceptions within established policy and refer matters requiring broader review to the Director or other appropriate partners. They will monitor decision accuracy, communication timing, data completeness, compliance, and recurring errors, coordinating corrective action when needed. This position also coordinates testing, training, and documentation when admissions procedures or system-supported workflows change. The Associate Director supports counselors as the primary day-to-day admissions contacts for their assigned programs and addresses program concerns that require management involvement. They will work with academic leadership, Admissions Operations & Analytics, and the Director to align admissions criteria, review practices, decision timelines, and compliance requirements. Coordination with the Assistant Director on shared processes and cross-applicant activity involving COM, CDM, and CPS is also a key responsibility. The role works with the Director, Financial Aid, and other university partners to ensure scholarship and financial aid information is timely and accurate and that unresolved affordability concerns are directed appropriately. Finally, the Associate Director represents counseling and admissions-process needs in Slate and Centralized Application Service planning, testing, and reporting discussions, reviews funnel activity, application completion, decision timing, enrollment conversion, counselor caseloads, service levels, errors, and data quality to identify concerns and opportunities, and provides the Director with analysis and recommendations related to applicant service, enrollment conversion, workload, and admissions processes. They will lead post-cycle reviews and incorporate approved improvements into procedures, training, systems, and staff expectations. Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree
Eight or more years of progressive experience in graduate admissions or enrollment management, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
At least two years of direct supervisory experience managing admissions, enrollment, or student-service professionals.
Demonstrated experience improving applicant service, enrollment conversion, or team performance.
Experience managing complex admissions processes for health-professions or professional graduate programs.
Experience with customer relationship management and student information systems.
Strong organizational, analytical, coaching, communication, and judgment skills.
Demonstrated ability to balance consistent practices with program-specific needs, accuracy, compliance, and applicant experience.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in a relevant discipline.
Experience with health-professions Centralized Application Services.
Experience with Slate-supported admissions processes, testing, workflow improvement, or operational quality assurance.
Knowledge of financial aid, scholarship timing, yield, and melt prevention.
Experience supporting multiple program portfolios with overlapping admissions cycles.

Responsibilities

Supervise, coach, and evaluate Graduate Admissions Counselors serving assigned programs.
Coordinate program assignments, caseloads, backup coverage, and cross-training.
Set clear expectations for applicant contact, service, pipeline management, advising, program partnership, data accuracy, and progress toward enrollment goals.
Conduct regular one-on-one meetings, team pipeline reviews, workload discussions, and developmental coaching.
Support counselor hiring, onboarding, training, professional development, and continuity planning.
Oversee applicant service from documented inquiry handoff through application, admission, deposit, matriculation, and transition to university partners.
Coordinate with the Associate Director of Graduate Recruitment & Visitor Experience for a clear transition from recruitment to counseling.
Ensure timely and appropriate communication to prospective students, applicants, admitted students, and deposited students.
Identify and address barriers related to application completion, affordability, financial aid, competing offers, decision timing, and outstanding enrollment requirements.
Lead counselor participation and follow-up for applicant and admitted-student events.
Oversee procedures for application completion, review, interviews, decisions, deposits, conditions of admission, and matriculation tracking.
Maintain consistent Graduate Admissions procedures while accommodating approved program-specific and accreditation requirements.
Address routine operational questions and exceptions within established policy.
Monitor decision accuracy, communication timing, data completeness, compliance, and recurring errors; coordinate corrective action.
Coordinate testing, training, and documentation for admissions procedure or system changes.
Support counselors as primary day-to-day admissions contacts for their assigned programs.
Work with academic leadership, Admissions Operations & Analytics, and the Director to align admissions criteria, review practices, decision timelines, and compliance requirements.
Coordinate with the Assistant Director on shared processes and cross-applicant activity.
Ensure scholarship and financial aid information is timely and accurate and that unresolved affordability concerns are directed appropriately.
Represent counseling and admissions-process needs in Slate and Centralized Application Service planning, testing, and reporting.
Review funnel activity, application completion, decision timing, enrollment conversion, counselor caseloads, service levels, errors, and data quality to identify concerns and opportunities.
Provide the Director with analysis and recommendations related to applicant service, enrollment conversion, workload, and admissions processes.
Lead post-cycle reviews and incorporate approved improvements into procedures, training, systems, and staff expectations.
Perform other duties as assigned.