Director of Enrollment - Field Operations - (Immediate Opening)

In 2022-23, IDEA Public Schools will serve more than 80,000 students at 145 schools across 12 regions in four states—Texas, Louisiana, Florida, and Cincinnati. IDEA Public Schools is searching for a Director Of Enrollment to lead a team—at the campus, regional, and national levels—to drive enrollment across the entire network and to build support structures and resources for internal and external stakeholders. The Director of Enrollment will develop innovative, successful, and sustainable recruitment and enrollment strategies to support IDEA’s growth plan as well as provide data analyses required to support strategic decision-making. They will serve as the national expert charged with achieving key objectives in the areas of the annual student enrollment cycle and professional development of recruiters. The ideal candidate will have significant experience and expertise leading in these areas across multiple regions and/or states, along with the ability to create and implement a vision for enrollment, policies that reflect the network’s core values, and appropriate targets. Furthermore, they will design a program that maximizes and prioritizes a student’s and family’s experience throughout the enrollment cycle and through the first weeks of school by influencing, coaching, and developing leaders throughout our organization in support of our mission of 100% College For All. The Director of Enrollment will report directly to Vice President of Enrollment and Launch Operations

In this role, you will:

• Directly manage a team of National Enrollment Manager and Regional Enrollment Managers. Including all aspects of onboarding, goal settings, accountability, and continued development. You will also indirectly manage a team of Enrollment Coordinators that are based at each IDEA campus nationwide.
• Establish and maintain an in-person presence for enrollment team in the field operations by traveling weekly for observations, coaching, and partnering, partnering with Principals, APO’s, Enrollment Coordinators, RDO’s and other Regional Leaders.
• Define and transform the district’s enrollment philosophy while enforcing all tactics and strategies used by schools are sustainable and aligned to the core tenets of the district-wide vision and policies
• Plan, direct, and set the strategic direction of student recruitment and enrollment to ensure that 100% of IDEA schools are fully enrolled and are always maintained higher than the district’s budget driver
• Analyze KPIs and use data insights to course correct, drive direct-response plans, and implement interventions to ensure the district reaches all milestones within the annual enrollment cycle
• Work across departments to lead aspects of a new family onboarding (NFO) process that provides comprehensive, best in-class customer service and family engagement for new students who accept post-lottery and ensures that accepted students persist through their first year at IDEA
• Develop goals, track toward progress using strong accountability systems, and provide ongoing feedback on execution of recruitment plans in partnership with regional and campus-based leaders
• Develop accountability systems to track progress, coach, and develop regional leaders to build their leadership acumen to drive their portfolio to meet ambitious enrollment and readiness goals
• Monitor the enrollment program to ensure that IDEA complies with each state’s requirements and caps
• Codify the essential knowledge, skills, and exemplar materials and to develop best-in-class training with the Director of Rhodes Fellowship to prepare launching staff for a successful school year

Required Experience and Certifications:

• Bachelor’s degree required, Master’s degree or other advanced degree in relevant field preferred
• Licenses or Certifications: None
• At least 8 years of professional experience
• At least 4 years of people management experience with at least 3 years of managing through layers within an organization
• 4 years of student recruitment-related leadership experience, with experience leading across multiple regions highly preferred
• K-12 education experience highly preferred

Desired Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Bilingual (English/Spanish) preferred
• Ability to travel up to 60% of the time by plane, car during the busiest parts of the year
• Knowledge and expertise in recruitment through leading the creation of content, messaging, boots-on-the-ground, and marketing strategies across multiple regions
• Knowledge of the K-12 education landscape, especially with charters highly preferred
• Skill in making a recruitment or sales pitch, along with building that capacity in others
• Skill in critical-thinking and problem-solving, along with the ability to coach and develop these in others
• Skill in organization, prioritization, follow through, and attention to detail
• Skill in effective and interpersonal communication, both verbal and written, with ability to clearly explain and invest others in recruitment plans and goals
• Skill in building strong relationships and mutually beneficial business partnerships through trust, empathy, and credibility
• Skill in designing professional development and coaching others
• Ability to manage and monitor multiple projects at once, often under pressure with competing priorities and tight turnarounds while maintaining composure, ensuring quality, and achieving results
• Ability to demonstrate sound judgment and excellent decision-making
• Ability to analyze and interpret data and statistics to identify trends, draw conclusions, and develop strategies and tactics that that yield results and achieve goals; builds this competency in others
• Ability to advocate, influence, motivate, and hold others accountable through consistency and clarity of expectations
• Ability to manage adults to achieve results through influence rather than named managerial responsibility
• Ability to design, evaluate, and improve existing policies and procedures to ensure maximum effectiveness and efficiency
• Ability to interpret, condense, and communicate state charter and enrollment requirements to ensure all stakeholders follow them with fidelity
• Ability to achieve quantifiable results through commitment, personal responsibility, and accountability
• Ability to provide, receive, and implement feedback that continually improves performance and results

Team Goals:

In this role, you will be responsible for supporting the team to reach the following ambitious goals:

• 100% Projected Enrollment by the 10th day of School (District)
• IDEA student recruitment staff are developed professionally and supported with resources and coaching, such that the team achieves 85% retention of all national, regional, and campus-based enrollment staff
• 90% new student persistence
• 90% of new students attend a New Family Onboarding event
• Increase family engagement and quality of onboarding so that retention from lottery acceptances to the FWOS increases by 10% and the new student no-show rate during FWOS decreases by 50%

Commitment to Diversity and Core Values:

To achieve our mission of 100% College For All, IDEA commits to being a diverse, equitable, inclusive and anti-racist organization, where we honor and include the voices, values, and beliefs of all our students, staff, alumni, families, and community members. Click here to learn about IDEA’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Anti-Racist and Anti-Bias commitment. 

Our core values are:

• We Act with Integrity: We put the best interests of the IDEA Team & Family—and most importantly our students—at the forefront of all our decisions and actions, taking personal responsibility to model the honest and ethical behavior we want our students and each other to demonstrate every day.
• We Build Team & Family: We foster a sense of belonging and inclusivity by treating every member of the IDEA Team & Family—our students, staff, families, and community—with compassion, respect, and humility. We maximize our individual best efforts through collaboration and support of each other in the focused pursuit of our collective mission.
• We Achieve Academic Excellence: We believe ensuring college success for 100% of our students is the best way to help them succeed in life and in seeing obstacles they face as opportunities for learning and growth. Every member of the IDEA Team & Family works together to ensure each student on every campus and in every classroom receives a high-quality education.
• We Deliver Results: We set ambitious goals, hold ourselves and each other accountable for achieving results, and believe that our students will succeed to and through college.  Our results show what’s possible when the adults in the system get it right and represent the collective effort and focus of the entire IDEA Team & Family.
• We Ensure Equity: We set high expectations and share compassion and empathy for every member of the IDEA Team & Family. We differentiate our support and resources, proactively address racism and discrimination, and advocate alongside our students and staff to empower them with the opportunities to succeed and ensure the respect they deserve.
• We Bring Joy: We create a positive, uplifting, and joyful environment for every member of the IDEA Team & Family, every single day. We operate with a sense of optimism, and our traditions celebrate learning, growth, and the accomplishments of our students, staff, and community.
• We Sweat the Small Stuff: We embrace that achieving excellence lies in paying attention to and carrying out the details—the ‘small stuff’—that go into effective execution and positive implementation. Every step of the way, the IDEA Team & Family prioritizes actions contributing to our mission of College for All.

Compensation & Benefits:

Salaries for this role typically fall between $82,090 and $100,971, commensurate with relevant experience and qualifications. This role is also eligible for a performance bonus based on individual and organizational performance and goal attainment.

Location: 

The Director of Enrollment must currently live in or be willing to relocate to Texas, with preference for one of our regions in Austin, El Paso, Houston, Permian Basin, Rio Grande Valley, San Antonio, or Tarrant County.