Executive Director of International & Graduat

Harrisburg University•Harrisburg, PA

7d•$100,000 - $115,000

About The Position

The Executive Director of International & Graduate Admissions leads comprehensive student recruitment strategies to attract, recruit, engage, and enroll highly qualified graduate and international students. The Executive Director is a key member of the strategic Enrollment Management team and reports to the Vice President of Enrollment Management. This is a strategic and operational role requiring the experience and market knowledge to develop and manage international recruitment partnerships, navigate graduate and undergraduate international markets, and drive enrollment growth through both partnerships and direct recruitment activity.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution required; Master's degree strongly preferred or relevant work experience within the international recruitment field.
At least 5 years of experience in admissions, recruitment, or enrollment management in a post-secondary setting, with a minimum of 3 years focused on international and graduate admissions or recruitment.
Demonstrated experience managing or working directly with international recruitment partnerships and agreements.
Demonstrated knowledge of international higher education markets, including distinctions between graduate and undergraduate international recruitment pipelines.
Familiarity with international social media and communication platforms used for student recruitment, including WhatsApp, Douyin, Weibo, and comparable tools.
Ability to collaborate effectively with marketing teams, creative teams, and program directors.
Experience managing a complex workload across multiple programs with varied admission cycles.
Demonstrated ability to work under pressure and consistently meet deadlines while maintaining attention to detail.
Ability to plan, prioritize, and manage multiple concurrent tasks and deadlines.
Ability to work both independently and collaboratively within a team environment.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree strongly preferred or relevant work experience within the international recruitment field.

Responsibilities

Develop, grow, and manage the recruitment of international students for both graduate international and domestic markets.
Maintain relationships with international recruitment partners, with the guidance of Executive Cabinet.
Leverage an established personal network of international recruitment agents to generate immediate pipeline activity, particularly for PhD and undergraduate international programs.
Track and report enrollment volume as a primary KPI, including info session registrants, inquiry counts, application counts, and confirmed enrollments attributed to agent networks as a first source.
Ensure all partnership agreements comply with institutional policies and applicable regulatory requirements; escalate contract and compliance concerns to the Vice President of Enrollment Management.
Direct the implementation and maintenance of a strategic engagement and recruitment plan for graduate, online, and international enrollment; assess and evaluate the effectiveness of recruitment initiatives on an ongoing basis.
Facilitate and expand student networks for international recruitment at all levels through travel, info sessions, conference attendance, and other appropriate channels.
Represent the University at key international recruitment conferences including ICEF, NAFSA, and AIRC.
Develop and execute international social media strategies for target markets, including proficiency in international platforms such as WhatsApp, Douyin, Weibo, and comparable channels relevant to target student populations.
Design and deliver information sessions for international prospective students across academic programs, including executive session audiences, PhD programs, and undergraduate international pipelines.
Develop relationships and maintain regular communication with all graduate program directors to collaborate on enrollment strategies for graduate programs.
Lead recruitment strategy for PhD programs as an immediate priority, including international and domestic pipelines.
Oversee domestic graduate admissions operations, including programs such as MBAi, until enrollment volume warrants a dedicated position.
Collaborate with the Office of Institutional Research, University partners, Deans, and Program Directors to forecast graduate admissions enrollments.
Support international undergraduate recruitment as an immediate priority alongside graduate and doctoral pipelines, leveraging partnerships and direct outreach strategies.
Coordinate with the Marketing and Communications team on the development of a strategic marketing, engagement, and recruitment plan for graduate and global enrollment; develop target market profiles for each program to drive recruiting activities.
Communicate with graduate faculty, Marketing and Communications, and IT/web services for review and updates of all program admissions marketing materials and website information.
Analyze data to track students through the application and enrollment process to gauge the success of recruiting efforts and strategies.
Coordinate with the Director of Admissions Operations to ensure enrollment data collection, process integrity, and accurate reporting.
Work directly with the Vice President of Enrollment Management on budget planning and development of graduate and global recruitment activities.
Responsible for institutional reporting through annual assessments.
Coordinate on-campus and off-campus recruiting activities for all graduate programs; travel to recruiting, admissions, and community-based events to market HU's academic programs to prospective students.
Hire, train, supervise, support professional development, and evaluate professional staff members.
Represent the Office of Graduate Admissions on university committees, both internal and external, to contribute to decision-making and institutional development regarding graduate, online, and international student recruitment, retention, and student success.