Director of Graduate Technical Operations

Santa Clara University • Santa Clara, CA

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Director of Graduate Technical Operations is responsible for the administration, optimization, and strategic use of the Graduate Admissions Office’s constituent relationship management system, Slate CRM, and its integration with the university’s student information system, Workday Student. This position serves as the primary functional expert for enrollment technology supporting graduate admissions operations. The Director of Graduate Technical Operations collaborates with Graduate Admissions leadership across 6 graduate schools, IT, and other campus partners to design and support business processes, data integrations, and reporting solutions that support Santa Clara University’s graduate recruitment, admissions, and enrollment goals. The role includes responsibility for analyzing business requirements, recommending system improvements, and implementing technology solutions using Slate and Workday Business Process delivered capabilities. This position reports directly to the Vice Provost for Graduate Programs and supports strategic initiatives across all graduate programs. The position has the option to be fully remote (with required in person meetings/trainings as needed) or hybrid from Santa Clara main campus in Santa Clara, CA.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree required
• 4+ years working in a professional academic and/or business environment
• An interest in technology and the Internet
• Willingness to learn to use new tools (SQL, HTML)
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team
• Detail-oriented work style
• Must have excellent oral and written communication skills
• Proficient in multitasking
• Focus on providing excellent customer service to support technology
• Advanced Windows and MS Office skills
• Strong initiative and motivation
• Knowledge and experience with higher education system software, particularly Technolutions Slate and Unite, is highly desired.
• Knowledge of full-cycle admissions, undergraduate or graduate (preferred)
• Must be able to prioritize multiple responsibilities and projects simultaneously, maintain a positive attitude while working under pressure, and think creatively and analytically.
• He/she must maintain confidentiality of data.
• Stay up-to-date with industry developments and technologies.
• Understand and support of the Jesuit tradition of education; commitment to the fundamental values of service to others, community, and diversity.
• Demonstrated business process improvement experience
• Advanced problem-solving skills applicable to issues of operations and data management
• Ability to develop and maintain strong communication and collaboration with other IT systems specialists and data stewards
• Demonstrated ability to identify, learn and creatively use additional applications that enhance service to university stakeholders

Nice To Haves

• Previous experience with Technolutions Slate CRM is preferred.
• Advanced problem-solving skills applicable to issues of admissions operations and data management
• Previous experience with implementing an admissions application system
• Familiarity with higher education environment and knowledge of Santa Clara University’s unique culture and administrative systems preferred
• Advanced knowledge of functional and Slate setup requirements
• Advance knowledge of functional Workday Student Admissions
• Working knowledge of Student recruiting, applications, application evaluations, self-service
• Comprehensive knowledge of reporting fundamentals
• Comprehensive knowledge of systems analysis tools and techniques

Responsibilities

• Configure and maintain Slate-hosted applications for 6 different graduate school bases, including system configuration, workflow automation, testing, documentation, and production monitoring.
• Review current business practices and translate business requirements into functional specifications
• Coordinate and manage annual application cycle updates, including system configuration, workflow automation, testing, documentation, and production monitoring.
• Evaluate external vendor product capabilities and enhancements to determine alignment with institutional needs and strategic enrollment goals
• Manage system enhancement requests and translate business requirements into functional specifications in collaboration with technical teams and campus partners.
• Implement and maintain new functionality within the Technolutions Slate platform to support enrollment growth and operational efficiency.
• Serve as a subject-matter expert and internal resource for staff implementing new features and best practices within Technolutions Slate.
• Support and optimize Workday Student business processes related to admissions, matriculation, and student lifecycle events within Workday.
• Collaborate with campus stakeholders to maintain Workday business process workflows including approvals, notifications, and task routing.
• Assist in testing and implementing new Workday business process configurations and enhancements.
• Monitor integration points between Slate CRM and Workday Student to ensure accurate synchronization of applicant and student records
• Create and maintain role-based security permissions aligned with operational responsibilities for staff and faculty.
• Maintain and review system security roles and user access permissions within Slate and Santa Clara’s Entitlement Application
• Conduct periodic audits of security configurations to ensure compliance with institutional policies.
• Provide strategic oversight for graduate admissions reporting and analytics, developing and maintaining operational reports, queries, and dashboards within Slate to support data-informed enrollment management.
• Plan, prepare and produce a variety of queries and reports for campus stakeholders
• Customize and build applications, create forms, queries and reports to support all stages of the admissions cycle.
• Manage annual application updates including configurations, automation, testing, training, and monitoring.
• Direct the production and distribution of recurring recruitment and enrollment performance reports (daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly) to monitor admissions trends, pipeline activity, and enrollment outcomes.
• Assist the Vice Provost for Graduate Programs with enrollment reports and figures as needed for all graduate schools
• Facilitate review of new system features with end users, assessing usability, operational impact, and opportunities for process improvement.
• Evaluate the impact of updates and deployment of system enhancements.
• Conduct fit-gap analysis and develop documentation related to system upgrades and configuration changes.
• Coordinate user acceptance testing for system upgrades and enhancements.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for user support requests within Technolutions Slate, independently managing and resolving support tickets while collaborating with stakeholders to troubleshoot issues and implement solutions.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for troubleshooting system issues related to Slate CRM and related integrations.
• Investigate and resolve complex system issues, including replication and documentation of errors.
• Coordinate with vendor support teams and campus IT partners to resolve system issues.
• Manage integrations and data feeds from third-party testing and credential evaluation vendors including: ETS (TOEFL, GRE) GMAT IELTS WES Duolingo SPANTRAN
• Maintain automated data imports and ensure accuracy of applicant data within Slate.
• Create and maintain Source Format for both automated and manual data import Eduvantis Net Natives/Akero Everspring/Brightspot SEED Law Unite
• Serve as the primary training resource for admissions staff using Slate CRM.
• Develop documentation and training materials to support new users.
• Attend annual Slate meetings and conferences as required
• Coordinate regular Slate/Workday user group meetings to promote best practices and knowledge sharing.
• Collaborate with campus partners including Admissions, Registrar, Institutional Research, and Information Technology.
• Support institutional governance processes related to admissions systems and enrollment data management.
• Represent the university in regional and national Slate user groups and conferences.
• This position also collaborates with campus constituents and manages their access to Slate as needed.
• Provides Work Direction Student Office Assistants

Benefits

• The position has the option to be fully remote (with required in person meetings/trainings as needed) or hybrid from Santa Clara main campus in Santa Clara, CA.

What This Job Offers

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