Director of Admissions Palo Alto University Department:

Enrollment Management Reports to:

Vice President of Enrollment Management Location:

Palo Alto and Mountain View, CA, In-Person Status:

Full-Time, Exempt Salary Range:

$120,000-$160,000 About Palo Alto UniversityA Palo Alto University (PAU) is a private, nonprofit university dedicated to advancing human understanding through innovative education, research, and practice in behavioral science. Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, PAU offers graduate and undergraduate programs in psychology, counseling, social work, and behavioral science, including the PAU-Stanford PsyD Consortium with Stanford Medicine. PAU is entering an exciting period of growth and transformation, with new leadership, a bold institutional vision, and an opportunity to reimagine how behavioral science education responds to the needs of a changing world. The Opportunity PAU is seeking a strategic, collaborative, and data-informed Director of Admissions to lead the university's recruitment and admissions function. Reporting to the Vice President of Enrollment Management, the Director will oversee the full prospective student journey, from first inquiry through matriculation, across PAU's academic programs. This is an opportunity for an experienced admissions leader to help build a modern, high-performing enrollment operation. The ideal candidate combines strategic thinking with strong execution, understands graduate and professional enrollment, uses data to improve outcomes, develops strong teams, and keeps the student experience at the center of the work. Key Responsibilities Develop and execute comprehensive recruitment and admissions strategies aligned with PAU's enrollment goals, academic priorities, and mission. Establish and monitor key performance indicators across the admissions funnel, including inquiry, application, admission, yield, and enrollment. Use enrollment analytics, funnel data, yield modeling, and source data to improve recruitment effectiveness and conversion. Design innovative, multi-channel recruitment strategies that expand PAU's reach and strengthen qualified applicant pipelines. Build relationships with schools, community colleges, professional associations, community organizations, and employer partners. Collaborate with marketing and communications partners on recruitment campaigns, digital outreach, events, and program-specific messaging. Oversee admissions operations, including inquiry management, application review, prospective student advising, decision communications, and yield activities. Maintain an effective annual admissions calendar and ensure recruitment events, application cycles, deadlines, and related activities are executed successfully. Partner with academic programs, Student Success, Financial Aid, the Registrar, Institutional Research, and other university departments to support a seamless student experience. Lead the effective use of CRM, application management, student information, and reporting systems. Ensure admissions data integrity, accurate forecasting, consistent workflows, and reliable reporting. Develop standard operating procedures, training resources, and processes that support compliance, efficiency, and continuous improvement. Recruit, develop, and lead a high-performing admissions team with clear expectations for accountability, service, collaboration, and professional growth. Represent PAU at recruitment events, conferences, professional networks, and community engagements. Required Qualifications Master's degree in higher education, counseling, business, or a related field. Five or more years of progressive experience in higher education admissions. At least three years of leadership or people-management experience. Demonstrated success supporting or advancing enrollment goals in graduate or professional education. Strong knowledge of admissions operations, CRM systems, enrollment analytics, and data-informed decision-making. Demonstrated ability to lead teams through change and build effective cross-functional partnerships. Strong communication, relationship-building, and organizational skills. Commitment to equity, belonging, student success, and a high-quality applicant experience. Ability to work regularly and consistently on campus. Preferred Qualifications Experience with graduate and doctoral admissions, particularly in psychology, counseling, social work, behavioral science, healthcare, or related fields. Experience using HubSpot, Liaison/PsyCAS, Jenzabar, or comparable higher education admissions systems. Experience supporting enrollment growth during organizational change or institutional transformation. Experience with digital recruitment, social media, paid media, or content-driven recruitment strategies. Who We Are Looking For We are looking for a leader who is strategic and analytical while also deeply people-centered. The successful candidate will be comfortable building systems, improving processes, developing teams, using data to make decisions, and collaborating across a university environment. This individual should bring strong emotional intelligence, sound judgment, accountability, curiosity, and enthusiasm for connecting prospective students with programs that can transform their lives and communities. Work Location This is a full-time, in-person leadership position based at PAU's Palo Alto and Mountain View, California campuses. Regular on-campus presence is essential. Occasional evening and weekend availability may be required during peak recruitment and admissions periods. This position is not eligible for a remote work arrangement. Compensation The salary range for this position is $120,000-$160,000 annually, commensurate with qualifications and experience. Equal Opportunity Palo Alto University is an equal opportunity employer committed to non-discrimination and to creating a high-quality work environment that welcomes employees from a wide range of backgrounds. Reasonable accommodations are available to qualified individuals with disabilities in accordance with applicable law.