Director of Student Recruitment and Enrollment

Position Summary

KIPP Public Schools Northern California is seeking a dynamic, strategic leader with proven business development, marketing, and people management skills to fill the Director of Student Recruitment and Enrollment (SRE) position. KIPP’s mission is to create joyful, academically excellent TK-12th grade schools that prepare students with the skills and confidence to pursue the paths they choose—college, career and beyond—so they can lead fulfilling lives and create a more just world. The Director of Student Recruitment and Enrollment will oversee multi-channel student recruitment marketing for 23 public charter schools across six Northern California markets. They will be instrumental in driving KIPP NorCal toward our ambitious, multi-year enrollment growth and revenue targets so that our students and schools have the resources they need and deserve.

Over the past few years, Northern California’s education landscape has experienced significant shifts in enrollment patterns. KIPP seeks a business leader who, with a student and family experience lens (i.e., CX/UX), can envision the evolution of our student acquisition and enrollment strategies to succeed in this changing and challenging macro environment. This leader will manage a 10+ person team and be primarily responsible for attracting, acquiring, and enrolling new-to-KIPP students. As we complete the scale-up of recent expansion efforts, this category comprises more than a third of KIPP NorCal’s student population annually and drives an eight-figure annual revenue stream.

The Director of Student Recruitment and Enrollment will report to the Chief External Impact Officer. This is a hybrid role with the expectation of working 3 days per week in-person at the Oakland Regional Support Office, as well as regular travel to our schools and local communities as needed.

Responsibilities include:

• Strategy and Operations Leadership
  • Develop and oversee the cross-functional execution of a comprehensive, multi-year student recruitment and enrollment strategy aligned to organizational growth goals, inclusive of multi-channel recruitment marketing.
  • Own and manage a seven-figure budget, including execution of ROI analyses and strategic reallocation of investments to more efficiently grow enrollment.
  • In collaboration with Data, Finance, and school leadership teams, establish and manage annual enrollment targets that are informed by rigorous market analyses.
  • Conduct data-driven recruitment and enrollment progress monitoring towards OKRs to inform and drive course correction strategies and tactics (e.g., new/revised marketing).
  • Ensure KIPP NorCal cultivates strong relationships with the communities we serve (e.g., community-based organizations, early childhood providers, and faith-based institutions) to build brand awareness, establish recruitment pipelines, and develop referral program opportunities.
• Marketing and Communications
  • Oversee the development and execution of integrated marketing campaigns for student recruitment, including digital, print, social media, and grassroots/field channels. Ensure we effectively and efficiently capture and leverage our schools’ value proposition, culture, and community dynamics.
  • Collaborate with the KIPP Foundation, our internal and external creative resources, the Communications team, and our third-party media agency to ensure that paid digital channels are effectively and efficiently architected, supplied with compelling creative assets, and closely monitored to maximize ROI (e.g., through creative adjustments and/or investment adjustments).
  • Support consistent and compelling brand messaging across all student recruitment and enrollment platforms and marketing materials.
  • Champion family voice and feedback throughout the recruitment and enrollment journey.
• Team and People Management
  • Effectively manage and develop a centralized recruitment, enrollment, and marketing team of 10+ staff (including people managers), cultivating a collaborative and inclusive team culture that empowers leaders and high performers, and where diverse backgrounds and perspectives are respected and valued.
  • Execute an annual professional development program across the team to improve outcomes based on experience and best practices.
  • Coach, develop, and inspire the team to retain high performers; establish career growth opportunities.
• Cross-functional Collaboration and Communication
  • Collaborate regularly with other departments in the Regional Support Office (RSO), including Regional Operations, Communications, Finance, Data, and others, to drive efficient progress towards each school’s enrollment targets.
  • Establish credibility with KIPP schools’ leadership team (principal, operations manager, etc.). Effectively articulate a recruitment and enrollment roadmap and progress updates regularly. Collaborate with school leadership teams and the Communications team to highlight student and family stories and promote school success.
  • Effectively tailor internal and external communications to achieve objectives with various audiences, including direct reports and team, RSO peers, school leadership teams and staff, C-suite leaders, etc.
• Other duties as assigned.

We’re looking forward to meeting you because you are a:

• Strategic, action-oriented self-starter – You thrive in a fast-paced work environment that is continuously improving and evolving. Your bias towards action is complemented by a mindset that is simultaneously strategic and pragmatic, ensuring you and the team see around corners and are focused on the highest-leverage plays.
• Problem solver with a track record of results – You have a talent for synthesizing complex and ambiguous problems, identifying potential solutions, and deftly articulating risks, implications, and expected outcomes. You also have a track record of driving meaningful results that span cross-functional divisions or organizations.
• Creative disruptor mentality – You love to push the envelope of what is possible and can figure out a way to make almost anything happen (without being a bull in a china shop).
• Skilled executive management and communication – You are a compelling, data-driven storyteller and adept at gaining buy-in and driving change across multiple stakeholder groups. You’re assertive and effective at motivating and influencing your team, colleagues, stakeholders, C-suite executives, and potential partners, including engaging with our most senior leaders.
• Able to drive results and lead with empathy – You operate knowing that results-oriented leadership, a focus on systems and scalability, and holding yourself, your team, and stakeholders accountable can and should co-exist with empathy, authenticity, compassion, and grace.
• Humble – You’re willing to roll up your sleeves when needed. You welcome feedback and continuous improvement.

Required Experience & Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in business development, sales & marketing, or student recruitment in an organization with multiple, distributed territories/markets, or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years of experience directly managing people managers and sales or recruitment staff.
• Experience managing six or seven-figure annual budgets with the ability to progress monitor and dynamically course correct investment allocations.
• Adept at crafting strategic, data-driven business cases and presenting at the executive level to secure buy-in and resources.
• Well-honed attention to detail paired with an ability to “zoom out” to a broader strategic lens.
• Adept at building and cultivating effective working relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders; strong interpersonal skills.
• Excellent oral and written communication. Experience communicating and influencing various levels and functions of an organization.
• Strong program management skills with the ability to prioritize and balance competing priorities.
• Results-oriented and customer-oriented (both internal and external).
• Strong integrity and commitment to KIPP’s mission and values.
• Values a culture of giving and receiving feedback with respect, empathy, and transparency.
• Bachelor's Degree or equivalent experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in one or more of the following: TK-12 education sector, non-profit sector, student recruitment and enrollment strategy and operations, and/or a multi-site organization.
• Experience with the SchoolMint platform.
• Experience using a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool, such as Hubspot.
• Experience using a project/work management tool, such as Asana.
• Comfortable using technologies, including Google productivity tools like Gmail, Google Drive, and video conferencing tools like Zoom.
• Fluency in spoken and written Spanish.

Physical, Mental, and Environmental Demands

Physical: Ability to navigate office and school campuses, and hold meetings in different spaces, both physical and virtual. Traditionally, much of the day involves sitting. Ability to access and utilize technology. Occasional lifting/carrying of equipment 1-20 lbs. Physical agility to move self in various positions in order to execute duties effectively, which may include kneeling, walking, pushing/pulling, squatting, twisting, turning, bending, stooping and reaching overhead.

Mental: Stress of deadlines and normal work standards, ability to analyze problems and generate alternatives, work with interruptions, concentrate for long periods of time, read, calculate, perform routine math problems, memorize and recall objects and people.

Environmental: The Office environment is subject to constant interruptions and distractions. KIPP adheres to health and safety guidelines as outlined by the CDC, CDE, and public health agencies’ recommendations.

Classification

This is a full-time, exempt position based on a full-year calendar cycle based out of our Regional Support Office with occasional travel to schools and districts. The Regional Support Office operates in a hybrid environment. Most positions can expect to work in person 3 days per week and remotely on the remaining days, subject to change based on the role's needs. Must possess a valid California driver’s license and have access to reliable transportation for work-related travel.

About KIPP Public Schools Northern California

We are a thriving nonprofit network of 23 free, public charter schools open to all students. At KIPP, we believe all children should grow up free to create the future they want for themselves and that schools can and should be a critical factor in making that vision a reality. Together with families and communities, we create joyful, academically excellent schools that prepare students with the skills and confidence to pursue the paths they choose—college, career, and beyond—so they can lead fulfilling lives and build a more just world.

Our student community consists of nearly 7,000 elementary, middle, and high school students in East Palo Alto, Oakland, San Francisco, San Lorenzo, San José, Redwood City, and Stockton. 81% qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, 34% are multilingual learners, and 12% have special needs. We strive to cultivate a representative team of teachers and leaders that reflects our students’ diversity.

Compensation

KIPP Northern California is dedicated to you and your family's well-being! We offer a competitive salary, as well as a comprehensive benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, and transportation benefits.

We benchmark annually against comparably sized non-profit organizations in the regions where we operate to offer competitive salaries. The salary range for this position is between $134,000 and $165,000. Most candidates would start at $145,000.