Director of Online Admissions Operations

About the Position

The Director of Admissions – Online Studies is responsible for providing strategic and operational leadership for the recruitment, admissions, and enrollment activities. This position oversees the online admissions team and is accountable for achieving enrollment objectives while delivering a high-quality prospective student experience from initial inquiry through enrollment and orientation.

The Director will develop and execute comprehensive admissions strategies aligned with the University’s enrollment goals and the unique needs of the online education market. The role requires close collaboration with Marketing, Academic Affairs, Student Services, Financial Aid, and other key departments to strengthen lead generation, improve conversion rates, optimize admissions processes, and support sustainable enrollment growth.

This position is responsible for managing, coaching, and developing admissions professionals while establishing clear performance expectations and maintaining accountability for individual and team results. The Director will leverage enrollment data, CRM systems, pipeline analytics, and performance indicators to evaluate results, identify opportunities, forecast enrollment, and implement strategies to improve productivity and conversion throughout the admissions funnel.

The successful candidate will be a results-oriented enrollment leader who thrives in a fast-paced, performance-driven environment. The individual should demonstrate strong knowledge of contemporary enrollment management practices, online student recruitment, admissions technologies, and consultative enrollment approaches. The Director must be capable of motivating a high-performing team while maintaining a strong commitment to student service, institutional standards, and regulatory compliance.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership and day-to-day management of the Online Admissions team.
• Develop and execute an admissions operating plan aligned with the University’s strategic enrollment objectives.
• Establish recruitment, admissions, conversion, and enrollment strategies designed specifically for online programs and prospective online students.
• Lead the admissions process from initial inquiry and lead engagement through application, acceptance, enrollment, and transition to orientation.
• Establish measurable individual and team goals related to lead management, contact rates, applications, conversion, enrollment, and other key performance indicators.
• Monitor admissions performance through CRM reporting, dashboards, enrollment data, pipeline analysis, and other performance management tools.
• Analyze historical results, market trends, lead sources, conversion rates, and enrollment patterns to identify opportunities and improve admissions outcomes.
• Develop and maintain enrollment forecasts and provide regular performance updates to senior leadership.
• Ensure prospective student inquiries and leads are managed effectively, consistently, and within established service-level expectations.
• Continuously evaluate the admissions funnel and implement strategies to improve lead-to-application and application-to-enrollment conversion rates.
• Recruit, onboard, train, coach, develop, and evaluate admissions professionals to build a high-performing and accountable team.
• Conduct regular individual and team performance reviews, coaching sessions, pipeline reviews, and professional development activities.
• Strengthen the team’s consultative communication, student engagement, follow-up, objection-handling, and enrollment skills through ongoing training and coaching.
• Collaborate closely with Marketing to evaluate lead quality, campaign performance, prospective student behavior, and opportunities to strengthen online student acquisition.
• Partner with Academic Affairs, Financial Aid, Registrar, Student Services, and other departments to provide prospective students with a coordinated enrollment experience.
• Collaborate in the development and continuous improvement of recruitment communications, digital outreach strategies, admissions materials, and prospective student engagement initiatives.
• Evaluate market conditions, competitor activity, online education trends, and student preferences to recommend strategies that strengthen the University's competitive position.
• Ensure accurate and timely documentation of prospective student interactions, follow-up activities, applications, and enrollment activity within the University's CRM and student information systems.
• Develop and maintain standardized admissions processes, procedures, workflows, and performance expectations.
• Ensure admissions practices comply with institutional policies and applicable accreditation, regulatory, and legal requirements.
• Respond appropriately to internal audits, compliance reviews, student concerns, and inquiries related to admissions operations.
• Identify opportunities to improve processes through technology, automation, data analytics, and enrollment management best practices.
• Prepare and present admissions performance reports, forecasts, strategic recommendations, and operational updates to senior leadership.
• Perform additional responsibilities related to admissions and enrollment management as assigned.

Leadership and Supervisory Responsibilities

The Director provides direct leadership and supervision to the admissions professionals supporting the University's online programs in Puerto Rico.

Responsibilities include recruiting and selecting employees; onboarding and training staff; establishing individual and team performance expectations; assigning and directing work; monitoring productivity and enrollment results; conducting performance evaluations; providing ongoing coaching and professional development; recognizing strong performance; addressing performance concerns; and resolving operational or employee-related issues in accordance with University policies and applicable employment laws.

The Director is expected to foster a collaborative, accountable, student-focused, and results-oriented culture within the Online Admissions organization.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Communications, Education, Management, or a related field. Master's degree preferred.
• Minimum of three (3) to five (5) years of progressive admissions, enrollment management, recruitment, sales, or related experience, preferably within higher education.
• Minimum of three (3) years of supervisory or team leadership experience, preferably managing admissions, enrollment, recruitment, or other performance-driven teams.
• Experience with online education, online admissions, distance-learning programs, or digitally driven student recruitment strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated experience managing teams against measurable enrollment, conversion, productivity, or performance goals.
• Strong understanding of the prospective student lifecycle and enrollment funnel, including inquiry management, follow-up, application, conversion, enrollment, and orientation.
• Experience working with CRM, student information systems, enrollment management platforms, and performance reporting tools.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret enrollment data, conversion metrics, pipeline activity, forecasts, and performance trends.
• Proven ability to coach, motivate, develop, and hold professionals accountable for achieving individual and organizational objectives.
• Excellent verbal, written, presentation, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Strong organizational and problem-solving abilities with the capacity to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to collaborate effectively across departments and organizational levels.
• Ability to prepare and present reports, business recommendations, and enrollment strategies to senior leadership.
• Knowledge of higher education admissions standards, regulatory requirements, and compliance expectations preferred.
• Bilingual proficiency in English and Spanish preferred.
• Flexibility to work extended hours, including occasional evenings or weekends, based on enrollment cycles and business needs.