WHO ARE WE?
The Marvelwood School is a college preparatory private school of 125 students, grades 9- post graduate, located in Kent, Connecticut. Founded in 1956, Marvelwood is located on Skiff Mountain in Kent, CT, 2 hours from New York City and 50 miles west of Hartford. 80% of the Marvelwood student body are boarding students, 11% are international, coming from countries such as China, Afghanistan, or Japan, and 46% of all students are receiving financial aid. Marvelwood boasts a big extended family. Our core values – honesty, respect, responsibility, service to others – were born in the earliest days of the school and are the link across generations. All members of the community have shared dreams, weathered challenges, and forged lasting partnerships in pursuit of each student’s growth and happiness. The academic program is customized to each student's interests and needs, one that is intentionally challenging and appropriately supportive, one that is sensitive to and accommodating of learning differences. Our approach to the academic life of our students is geared toward providing a strong preparation for college and laying the foundation for a lifetime of curiosity, inquiry, and learning. We continually adjust our curricula with an eye to providing the most engaging and stimulating student experience possible.
WHAT WILL YOU DO?
Reporting to the Head of School and CFO/COO, the Director of Enrollment Management (DEM) at Marvelwood School is a member of the senior administrative team and works with several departments across the school as well as the Board of Trustees. The Director is responsible for understanding the strategic and operational components of enrollment and the research necessary to inform decision-making, as well as the oversight of student recruitment, retention, and enrollment-related marketing efforts. The Director of Enrollment Management facilitates discussions and strategic initiatives in enrollment and marketing and guides these efforts across the Admission, Marketing, and other offices of the school. The DEM is attentive to the processes that support the school’s enrollment and re-enrollment efforts, and the school’s public presence in all its manifestations.
The Director of Enrollment Management plays a vital role in the Marvelwood community and will be expected to create an enrollment management infrastructure, building on the existing strengths of the Admission and Marketing Offices, along with providing initiative and leadership in the adoption of an enrollment management mindset among all employees. The DEM will conduct research and implement strategies to ensure that the school achieves the enrollment goals set by the Board of Trustees and Head of School.
As a member of the senior leadership team and one of the school’s most visible spokespersons, the Director of Enrollment Management represents Marvelwood to all constituents, including students, parents, alumni, faculty, administration, and the Board of Trustees.
In addition, the position includes the following responsibilities:
- Provides proven leadership in enrollment management, which includes admission, marketing, recruitment, and retention. Sets annual enrollment and admission goals, in accordance with the school’s mission, to promote economic, racial, and ethnic diversity in the student body, based on enrollment goals set by the Board of Trustees.
- Works closely with the Director of Admission and Financial Aid, CFO/COO, and Head of School to organize and administer the school’s financial aid program.
- Manages new student enrollment and assists with the reenrollment of current students in close connection with the admission team, division heads, the Head of School, and the CFO/COO.
- Understands and informs the Board, senior team, staff and community about research and demographics and admission and enrollment trends, ensuring that changes and challenges are anticipated, understood, and addressed.
- Enriches, develops, and oversees the staff of the Marketing, and Admissions departments., and leads Marvelwood’s recruitment plan and outreach.
- Oversees admission- and marketing-related publications, social media, website messaging, and admission process communications, including work on the production of the school view book or other print materials.
WHO ARE YOU?
You are an experienced educator with a willingness to learn. In fact, it is your willingness to learn that extends to all you do. You have excellent communication and public relations skills, both written and spoken. You are facile with data, comfortable thinking strategically, and possess strong interpersonal, organizational, and managerial skills. You have a high level of energy, creativity, flexibility, and a sense of humor and have outstanding judgment and maturity. You can lead and execute and have a proven ability to work with colleagues and stakeholders at all levels. You possess a minimum of five years’ experience in admission and financial, and/or communications marketing, in an independent school or college, or in the non-profit sector, which must include prior leadership experience. In addition, you have a demonstrated commitment to a 9-12 independent, boarding school education. You also must possess a bachelor’s degree and preferably a master’s degree too. You love challenges, thrive in collaborative environments, and balance the gravity and joy of working in a boarding school. You seek a deeply relational and intentionally small community where you will be encouraged and supported to bring your full self to all aspects of your work with high energy, flexibility, warmth, and sense of humor.
HOW DO I APPLY?
Please submit in an electronic file, your resume, a one to two-page cover letter, and names and contact information of three references directed to: Christine H. Baker at: cbaker@thebakergrp.com. Please submit materials by February 1, 2023.
