Vice President for Enrollment

serves as a key institutional leader in retention and persistence. The VPE partners closely with other campus leaders to align recruitment, transition, and student success strategies that support both enrollment growth and student outcomes, including retention and persistence.

Primary Responsibilities

● Provide campus-wide leadership for enrollment strategy and outcomes across the College, including the development of multi-year enrollment plans, annual targets, forecasting, and resource allocation aligned with institutional priorities and financial sustainability.

● Develop and execute an enrollment growth strategy that materially expands Menlo’s undergraduate and graduate populations while maintaining appropriate academic fit, net revenue, and retention, and the residential character of the College.

● Establish and enforce recruitment governance and policy for all campus recruitment activity, setting standards for brand/messaging, lead management, communications practices, recruitment events, CRM utilization, data integrity, regulatory compliance, and service expectations to ensure consistency, compliance, and a high-quality prospective student experience.

● Oversee traditional undergraduate recruitment and enrollment management from prospect development through enrollment, including territory strategy, travel and event planning, funnel strategy, and yield programming. 

● Drive data-informed decision-making and executive reporting, building a disciplined rhythm of performance reviews, market insights, scenario planning, and actionable recommendations for the President and senior leadership.

● Serve as a campus leader for retention and persistence by partnering on strategies that begin in recruitment (fit, expectations, affordability messaging, early connection points) and continue through transition-to-college, melt reduction, and first-year persistence initiatives.

● Direct enrollment operations and infrastructure (systems, processes, team performance, and service delivery), ensuring scalable, high-integrity execution and continuous improvement across recruitment touchpoints.

● Continuously evaluate and implement emerging technologies, AI-enabled tools, automation, data systems and innovative recruitment practices that improve lead generation, response time, personalization, counselor productivity, funnel conversion and the prospective student experience. 

● Develop and lead a high-performing enrollment organization, including hiring, coaching, performance management, and professional development; foster a collaborative culture with clear accountability for results. Building on the professional development program designed for traditional undergraduate counselors, ensure those responsible for recruitment across the college engage in appropriate training in recruitment, relationship development, territory management, communication, ethical use of AI, CRM discipline, financial-aid conversations, funnel management, conversion, and yield.

● Establish and evaluate return-on-investment measures across recruitment expenditures and activities, including travel, college fairs, events, purchased leads, digital marketing, vendors, and other enrollment initiatives. 

● Provide strategic leadership for marketing and communications supporting enrollment across all student populations, integrating campaign planning, brand-aligned messaging, digital performance, and content strategy to drive awareness, inquiries, and conversion. Communicate and collaborate with other campus leaders whose roles also engage with the College’s marketing and communications team for other marketing support. 

● Operate with urgency in a rapidly changing enrollment environment, continuously monitoring leading indicators and adjusting strategy, tactics, staffing, resources, messaging and market emphasis when performance or market conditions warrant. Build an enrollment culture in which testing, learning, and rapid course correction are expected rather than annual activities.

Key Cross-Functional Relationships

President, Menlo College

● Provide strategic counsel on enrollment health, market opportunities, and risk mitigation.

● Deliver regular updates on funnel performance, projections, and scenario planning to senior leadership and trustees as requested; recommend timely course corrections.

● Align enrollment strategy with institutional priorities, brand positioning, and resource planning.

Vice President for Athletics

● Coordinate student-athlete recruitment strategy in alignment with institutional enrollment goals, roster planning needs, regulatory compliance, and admissions processes.

● Partner on yield and retention initiatives for student-athletes, including monitoring key indicators and strengthening handoffs into student success resources.

● Support compliant and consistent communication strategies that elevate Menlo’s value proposition for prospective student-athletes.

Director, MASPP Program (Graduate Enrollment)

Director, MS(S and MSFT Programs (Graduate Enrollment)

● Partner with Graduate Program Directors to develop and coordinate program-specific recruitment strategies, enrollment targets, market development, partnerships, conversion, and yield, while aligning these efforts with institutional enrollment policies, systems, and goals.

● Strengthen coordination on lead management, communications strategy, and applicant experience to increase conversion and reduce cycle time.

Executive Director of Advising and Retention

● Contribute to a shared strategy that links right-fit recruitment to retention, including transition support, melt reduction, and first-year persistence priorities.

● Establish shared KPIs and feedback loops (melt, early alerts, engagement signals, course progress indicators) to strengthen both recruitment messaging and persistence interventions.

● Align student communications and handoffs to ensure continuity from admission through the first year.

Additional Internal Partners 

● Academic Leadership/Program Directors: program differentiation, student outcomes narratives, and market-relevant recruitment priorities.

● Financial Aid/Business Office: packaging philosophy, affordability messaging, and coordinated counseling to support yield and accessibility.

● Institutional Research/IT/Registrar: data governance, dashboarding, CRM optimization, and enrollment reporting integrity.

Required Qualifications

● Bachelor’s degree required.

● Progressive leadership experience in enrollment management, admissions, or related student recruitment functions with demonstrated accountability for measurable results (e.g., growth, yield improvement, pipeline conversion, market expansion).

● Proven ability to build and execute an end-to-end enrollment strategy, including funnel management, forecasting, and conversion optimization.

● Demonstrated experience diagnosing the performance of recruitment operations to maximize the effectiveness of people, processes, technology, funnel performance, and enrollment outcomes.

● Demonstrated success leading teams, managing performance, and implementing scalable processes that improve outcomes and service quality.

● Strong analytical fluency, including use of CRM and enrollment data to drive decisions, resource allocation, and continuous improvement.

● Exceptional communication skills and executive presence with the ability to influence across diverse stakeholders and priorities.

Preferred Qualifications

● Master’s degree (e.g., Higher Education, Business, Organizational Leadership, or related field).

● Experience in private, residential, or mission-driven institutions; familiarity with enrollment dynamics in competitive markets.

● Demonstrated success partnering with athletics leadership on student-athlete recruitment strategies and retention coordination.

● Experience supporting graduate enrollment strategies and adult/professional program recruitment.

● Expertise with CRM platforms and enrollment analytics tools; comfort driving process improvement and change management.

● Record of advancing access, inclusion, and student-centered practices in recruitment and enrollment.

About Menlo College

Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, Menlo College is a small, residential liberal arts and business college dedicated to preparing students to be Future Ready Now. Through a highly personalized educational experience that combines rigorous academics, applied learning, mentorship, and direct access to one of the world’s most innovative economies, Menlo College helps students convert education into measurable career and life outcomes. Guided by advisors invested in every student’s journey, Menlo empowers graduates to explore, adapt, lead with purpose, and launch lives of impact in a rapidly changing world.

Application process

Submitted applications should include a letter of interest, a current resume, and names and contact information for 3 references. Please send materials to: 

Menlo College

Attn: Human Resources Department

1000 El Camino Real, Atherton, CA 94027-4301

Or via email to hr@menlo.edu

Menlo College is an Equal Opportunity Employer with a strong commitment to diversity.  All prospective Menlo College employees are required to satisfy a background check, as well as clearance annually for the operation of a motor vehicle on behalf of Menlo College.

Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. All prospective Menlo College employees are required to satisfy a criminal background check. Menlo College is committed to a firm policy of equal employment opportunity.