General Summary:
The Graduate Program Administrator for Outreach and Recruitment, within the Department of Public Policy and Public Affairs, is responsible for devising and implementing robust strategies for outreach and recruitment to all departmental graduate programs, which currently consist of the PhD in Public Policy program, the Master of Public Administration program (including two tracks), and the Global Comparative MPA program.
The incumbent is responsible for publicizing all programs and identifying and cultivating prospects from the first point of contact through the admissions application process. The incumbent has responsibility for outreach and recruitment activities which will involve outward-facing tasks that support communication and a positive interaction with prospective students and organizations that have connections to prospective students; and will be responsible for outreach and recruitment publication tasks that support the message about the MPA, GCPA and PhD in Public Policy programs. The incumbent will also provide alumni engagement tasks related to maintaining relationships with graduates of the program; and for data collection and reporting, including gathering data about who is interested in the programs and where they are in the pipeline, as well as gathering data that can be used in outreach and recruitment materials.
Examples of Duties:
- Work with Graduate Program Director to design and implement recruitment plans and attend recruiting events; attend and represent the programs at outreach and recruitment events, such as the Idealist Fair, career fairs, graduate school fairs, and meetings of professional organizations, such as the National Forum for Black Public Administrators, as directed by the Office of Graduate Studies, McCormack Graduate School Dean’s office, and departmental faculty;
- Respond to frequent inquiries from prospective applicants via email, telephone, and in-person meetings for the programs; maintain contact with incoming students to prevent attrition prior to matriculation; schedule in-person visits to campus for incoming students who request them after being admitted, providing informal tours and one-on-one guidance on the program, connecting students with available faculty whenever possible;
- Schedule and participate in informal information sessions with MPA and Global Comparative MPA Graduate Program Director, current students, and prospective students; meet with prospective PhD in Public Policy students and provide follow-up to encourage application or connection to faculty and students;
- Plan and facilitate annual MPA Alumni Career Panel and Honor Society Induction (Pi Alpha Alpha) under the guidance of the Graduate Program Director and Pi Alpha Alpha advisor, as well as the Public Policy Research Seminar; responsibilities include booking space, creating publicity materials, ordering food, ordering awards, sending invitations and collecting RSVPs, guiding off-campus guests and providing special accommodations for the event;
- Along with the MPA and GCPA Graduate Program Directors, the PhD in Public Policy Graduate Program Director and Graduate Program Administrator for Student Services and Retention, co-create a long-term alumni engagement strategy; lead the implementation of alumni engagement strategies for all programs and work closely with University Advancement to align program-level efforts with the university’s policies and best practices; plan, execute, and attend special events and meeting opportunities according to the newly developed alumni engagement strategy; work closely with the Graduate Program Administrator for Student Services and Retention to collect data systematically, assess and make regular improvements to the strategy;
- Work with MPA and Global Comparative MPA Graduate Program Directors, PhD in Public Policy Graduate Program Director and University Creative Services to write, edit and review printed marketing materials, including fact sheets, brochures, and publicity flyers and banners; schedule photo shoots of students, faculty, and alumni for use in printed and online publicity materials;
- Work with the Graduate Program Directors and the Graduate Programs Administrator for Student Services and Retention to develop accurate and appealing copy for the program websites; review program information to ensure the accuracy of the copy; add events to the website for the programs whenever they occur, directing viewers to RSVP as appropriate;
- Responsible for the development and implementation of social media strategy, including Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, for all master’s and PhD programs; publicize outreach and recruitment events, program changes and applications, as well as accomplishments of alumni, students and faculty; connect with alumni, students and faculty and communicate with members of the program’s network as appropriate; develop and post original content related to public administration professions;
- Participate in the admissions committee for all tracks of the MPA and Global Comparative MPA programs, as well as the Public Policy PhD program; book space for, attend, and take notes at admissions committee meetings; summarize committee decisions after each meeting via email and summarize conversations/correspondence with admitted applicants for the committee via email regularly throughout the entire admissions process;
- Maintain an accurate list of leads for the all programs, including using Salesforce according to the requirements of the Office of Graduate Studies; provide reports about lead statuses to all Graduate Program Directors;
- Maintain an accurate list of accomplishments by students and alumni in the all programs;
- Perform other duties as assigned.
Qualifications:
Bachelor's Degree and a minimum of three-five (3-5) years of progressively responsible administrative experience in an academic, government or non-profit setting required. Experience in program recruitment and/or marketing required. Willingness to work flexible hours including evenings and occasionally weekends required. Ability and willingness to travel for work related purposed required.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Graduate study or Master’s degree in public administration or a closely related field preferred.
- Experience with navigating social media, as well as experience with customer relations management systems and website development and maintenance preferred.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
- Knowledge of administrative software programs, including database, student account programs such as WISER, word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation programs such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint; willingness to learn new programs as necessary;
- General knowledge of standard administrative, personnel, and operational procedures;
- Demonstrated ability to maintain a harmonious working relationship with a variety of professional, students, and community persons from different racial, ethnic, cultural, and/or economic backgrounds as well as persons with disabilities;
- Ability to work independently within the department and partner with other offices on campus as well as with partners from external organizations;
- Ability to maintain accurate records and to prepare summary reports;
- Ability to act with discretion and judgment and maintenance of confidentiality;
- Ability to exercise independent judgment when emergency or discretionary decisions must be made in the absence of the director;
- Ability to manage multi-phase projects from inception to completion;
- Strong oral and written communication skills;
- Ability to prioritize and work under pressure in a deadline-oriented environment;
- Strong commitment to student service.
Application Instructions:
Please apply online with your resume, cover letter and list of three professional references.
Review of candidates will begin following the application closing date.
Only Internal candidates in the Professional Staff Bargaining Unit will be considered during the first 7 business days of the posting. All other candidates will be considered after that period.
Salary Ranges for the appropriate Pay Grade can be found at the following link: