Director of Scholar Recruitment
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Job Description
Director of Scholar Recruitment at Thrive Scholars, focusing on recruitment of high-achieving students. Leading strategic initiatives for national recruitment and managing a high-performing team.
Responsibilities:
- Design, own, and continuously refine a comprehensive, data-informed Scholar recruitment strategy that aligns with Thrive’s organizational priorities and supports growth of the Six-Year Program.
- Set annual recruitment goals and establish leading indicators and dashboards to monitor progress throughout the cycle; conduct a rigorous end-of-cycle analysis to evaluate efficacy and drive continuous improvement.
- Build and own the systems, workflows, and processes that govern the Scholar recruitment and application experience—ensuring clarity, consistency, and scalability as Thrive grows into new markets.
- Design the applicant communication and stewardship strategy, including the sequencing and framing of outreach to prospective and applied students, to maximize both application completion and yield of accepted scholars.
- Develop and lead Thrive’s recruitment partnership strategy—identifying, cultivating, and stewarding relationships with high schools, school districts, community-based organizations, and other partners in both existing and emerging markets—with a focus on building recurring, sustainable student pipelines.
- Own the Scholar Recruitment budget; make budgetary recommendations based on resource needs and strategic priorities, and ensure responsible cost management.
- Stay current on trends in student recruitment, college access, and the broader competitive landscape; bring external perspectives to inform internal strategy.
- Hire, onboard, coach, manage performance, and develop talent on the Recruitment team, fostering a culture of accountability, ambition, and continuous growth.
- Provide ongoing coaching and direction to Recruitment staff on data-informed outreach, yield strategies, and partnership development—ensuring all team members are equipped to meet ambitious goals.
- Promote ongoing learning and development by identifying team areas for growth and implementing appropriate strategies in collaboration with relevant organizational leaders.
- Foster a positive team culture by connecting tasks to mission impact and cultivating an environment of dialogue, feedback, and shared success.
- Own the design and strategic framework for the Scholar application and selection process across all programs, in collaboration with program directors and the Associate Director of Admissions and Enrollment.
- Establish evaluation rubrics, selection criteria, and quality standards for the admissions process; ensure consistent, equitable, and high-quality evaluation at scale.
- Collaborate with the Operations team to ensure recruitment and admissions data is tracked, reported, and used to drive decisions.
- Cultivate relationships with university admissions offices and other external partners relevant to scholar recruitment and enrollment.
- Partner with program directors across College Access, College Success, Summer Academy, and Career Development to ensure recruitment strategy is integrated with broader program goals and scholar experience.
Requirements:
- Bachelor’s degree required.
- 8+ years of experience in student recruitment, college admissions, or a related field in a nonprofit or educational setting.
- 3+ years of direct people management experience, with a demonstrated track record of leading teams toward ambitious goals.
- Proven ability to design and own complex recruitment or admissions strategies, build systems from the ground up, and adapt to evolving organizational needs.
- Strong analytical skills and experience using data, dashboards, and leading indicators to set strategy and evaluate outcomes.
- Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to lead large group presentations and workshops for diverse audiences.
- Highly skilled relationship-builder with experience cultivating partnerships with high school counselors, community-based organizations, and other external partners.
- Proficiency with CRM systems required; Salesforce preferred.
- Alignment to Thrive’s mission and a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in all aspects of the work.
- Entrepreneurial mindset with a focus on continuous improvement and innovation.
Benefits:
- High-quality health and dental insurance
- Paid vacation
- Employer-matched retirement plan
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