Executive Director-Strategic Enrollment Initiatives

Since 1911, City Colleges of Chicago has been connecting students from across Chicago’s neighborhoods to economic opportunity. By offering a quality education at an unprecedented value, City Colleges provides our students and alumni with a pathway to upward mobility. City Colleges of Chicago is the city’s most accessible higher education engine of socioeconomic mobility and racial equity—empowering its students to take part in building a stronger and more just city. As Illinois’ largest community college system, City Colleges is comprised of seven colleges and five satellite sites across Chicago.

CCC’s Office of Student Experience (OSX) partners with college leadership, district academic affairs leadership, and district institutional advancement leadership to deliver strong student enrollment and retention, completion, transfer, and employment outcomes across CCC, and to drive equity of access and success for students of all backgrounds. Moreover, OSX seeks to ensure an exceptional experience for every student at every stage of their CCC career from enrollment to post-CCC success. Within OSX, the Office of Enrollment Management leads district-wide enrollment management planning and supports the delivery of services at all seven colleges to contribute to student recruitment, enrollment, and success. Enrollment Management provides services and programs that are seamless, customer friendly, student-centered and efficient, and which help maximize student enrollment and student satisfaction. Enrollment Management also operates the City Colleges’ Call Center to support inbound and outbound communications with students.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE

Reporting to the Vice Chancellor-Student Enrollment Management (VC-SEM), the Executive Director of Strategic Enrollment Initiatives (ED-SEI) serves as a key strategic advisor for the VC-SEM, priority project and partnerships leader, and team-wide facilitator in support of an exceptional student enrollment experience and achievement of institutional enrollment objectives.

The Executive Director of Strategic Enrollment Initiatives leads districtwide efforts to drive sustainable new student growth through the integration of strategic enrollment planning, robust data analytics, and strong external partnerships. This role builds and maintains collaborative pipelines with K-12, community-based organizations, employers, and other stakeholders while using data to inform innovative and inclusive enrollment strategies. Serving as a link between external stakeholders and City Colleges of Chicago (CCC) for enrollment purposes, the position functions in a key role in bridging the gap between CCC and partners/potential partners, while providing information on programs and services available to potential students and families. This position plays a critical leadership role in achieving City Colleges of Chicago’s mission to increase equitable student access and success.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES

·         Analyzes enrollment patterns and external factors—including demographic, economic, and social trends—to provide actionable, data-driven recommendations to the Vice Chancellor to inform districtwide enrollment strategies and support executive leadership decision-making in response to .

·         Partners with Decision Support and campus teams to monitor enrollment trends, identify opportunity areas, and drive responsive strategies to optimize recruitment and retention outcomes.

·         Develops and manages tools, dashboards, and reports to measure performance, drive accountability, and foster a culture of data-informed decision-making.

·         Establishes and manages strategic partnerships with high schools, community-based organizations, employers, and civic institutions to build and strengthen enrollment pipelines.

·         Drives strategic enrollment planning initiatives to expand the operational capacity and impact of the Office of Student Enrollment Management.

·         Leads the development and execution of MOUs that promote enrollment opportunities and align with CCC programs.

·         Represents CCC in key external meetings and initiatives that support community engagement and college access.

·         Identifies and addresses barriers to enrollment through coordinated stakeholder engagement and the development of targeted, data-informed solutions.

·         Leads coordination of districtwide initiatives that showcase CCC’s degree and non-degree offerings to prospective students and families, including campus tours, streamlined admissions processing, candidate communications, placement testing, and support with next steps toward enrollment.

·         Oversees the design and delivery of professional development for staff in enrollment planning, external engagement, and the use of data tools.

·         Facilitates a professional learning community with recruiting staff at all seven colleges, ensuring staff are highly trained and facilitating best practice sharing and progress monitoring relative to goals across college teams

·         Leads strategic research projects to evaluate external factors impacting enrollment and forecast future demand.

·         Partners with Marketing and Communications to align outreach campaigns align with enrollment goals and effectively engage prospective students and influencers.

·         Works closely with the Vice Chancellor of Student Enrollment Management and the Marketing and Communications team to implement best practices that elevate CCC’s visibility and effectively promote its programs to prospective students.

·         Partners with Legislative and Community Affairs team to engage civic and community partners in enrollment initiatives, advocacy efforts, and shared community impact goals.

·         Conducts comprehensive analyses by reviewing environmental scan data, enrollment trends, and evolving community metrics—including demographic shifts, economic changes, and local employment factors—to identify effective enrollment management strategies for individual campuses and across the district.

·         Promotes CCC’s brand, programs, and student success stories across multiple platforms and stakeholder networks.

·         Performs and assists in other duties pertaining to enrollment management as assigned.

REPORTING RELATIONSHIPS

Reports To                        Vice Chancellor-Student Enrollment Management

Direct Supervision          TBD

Indirect Supervision       College Recruiters

QUALIFICATIONS

·         Master’s Degree from an accredited college or university, preferably in Education, Higher Education Administration, or a related field

·         Five years of work experience in higher education, preferably in the areas of enrollment management, admissions, and recruitment

·         Three years of experience in a leadership role within higher education, with demonstrated success in leading teams and/or managing complex projects that advance strategic goals, manage change, and achieve measurable outcomes related to student enrollment and/or student success

·         A combination of education and experience may be taken into consideration

·         Knowledge of best practices in enrollment management and strategic planning

·         Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to synthesize quantitative and qualitative data to develop innovative solutions

·         Strong understanding of secondary/higher education partnerships and community-based outreach models.

·         Demonstrated ability to lead in a multi-site environment, cultivating relationships with a broad range of stakeholders, including college leadership, faculty, and student services departments

·         Excellent relationship-building skills, with the ability to engage and collaborate with employees at all organizational levels, including academic and administrative staff

·         Must be able to effectively represent CCC with internal and external stakeholder

·         Excellent interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills

·         Ability to handle high-level sensitive and confidential information, maintaining strict confidentiality in all matters

·         Ability to work well with employees at all levels of the organization

·         Ability to cultivate and maintain partnerships with key stakeholders

·         Ability to work within a culturally diverse environment

·         Ability to handle all situations with tact, persuasiveness and diplomacy.

·         Must be self-directed and innovative; able to meet deadlines in a timely manner.

·         Must be able to work some evenings and weekends; some travel within District required

·         High level of proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams)

Offered salary will be determined by the applicant's education, knowledge, skills and abilities, as well as other factors such as internal equity.

Benefits information is found at https://www.ccc.edu/departments/Benefits/

WE OFFER: Excellent health and welfare benefit package and long-term savings and investment programs including 403(b) & 457(b) Investment Plans and a pension plan with the State University Retirement System (SURS) Plan. Generous vacation, holiday, personal and sick days, and tuition reimbursement. For a more detailed overview of benefits, please visit the benefits page of our website.

We are an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. Chicago residency is required for all full-time employees within 6 months of hire. Thank you for your interest in CCC!