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Director, JD Admissions and Diversity Initiatives
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Position Number: 5846300
Location: San Diego, CA
Position Type: Deans - Law and Legal Studies

Director, JD Admissions and Diversity Initiatives

Position Title & Department: Director, JD Admissions and Diversity Initiatives; School of Law

Posting #: 5102

Department Description:
USD School of Law is one of the 84 law schools elected to the Order of the Coif, a national honor society for law school graduates. The law school's faculty is a strong group of outstanding scholars and teachers with national and international reputations and currently ranks in the top 20% (36th out of 204) among U.S. law schools in scholarly impact according to a 2018 study. The school is accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. Founded in 1954, the law school is part of the University of San Diego, a private, independent, Roman Catholic university chartered in 1949.

University Description:
The University of San Diego, an engaged and contemporary Catholic institution, was founded by the Diocese of San Diego and the Society of the Sacred Heart in 1949. Governed by an independent board of trustees since 1972, USD remains committed to a liberal arts education grounded in the Catholic intellectual tradition and the pursuit of truth, goodness and beauty. Inspired by this centuries old tradition of Catholic higher education, the University welcomes people of all faith traditions and any, or no, religious background. The future success of USD relies on the contributions of those who seek to foster the development of engaged global citizens and an earnest confrontation of humanity's urgent challenges.

Detailed Description:
The Director of Admissions and Diversity Initiatives reports to the Asst. Dean, JD Admissions and Financial Aid. The Director is responsible for: (1) supervising and supporting the day-to-day operations of the Office of Admissions; (2) overseeing, implementing, and evaluating JD student recruitment and pre-admission retention programs; (3) designing and evaluating national digital, and print marketing campaigns; (4) Establishing and implementing diversity pipeline-to-law school programs targeting communities underrepresented within the legal profession; (5) Compiling, analyzing and reporting on prospective, admitted, and current student data. The Director manages ongoing enrollment advisement to prospective students and admitted applicants from the application process to matriculation at the law school. The ability to provide timely and accurate communication to prospective students and admitted applicants is an essential component of this position. The Director works in a collaborative relationship with current law school students, faculty, administrative offices, alumni, and university offices, and actively works towards enhancing the quality and diversity of each year's entering first year JD and JD transfer class. The Director participates in the admissions decision-making process and will supervise (the Director may also independently modify) the planning of all admitted applicant events. Frequent attendance at on and off campus events during and outside normal business hours such as weekends and evenings is expected. Frequent travel is required.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Provide supervision and support to the JD Admissions team:

Assist the Assist. Dean in overseeing the day-to-day operations of the Office of Admissions including but not limited to, ensuring adherence to institutional policies and guidelines, overseeing execution of services and communications to future and current applicants, tracking and reporting of admissions metrics, and management of staff responsibilities and staff resources under their purview. Coordinate internal cross-training and professional development of the admissions team. Supervise and support the Admissions team's preparation, presentation, and/or scheduling of seminars, outreach and counseling efforts, and other admissions-based information sessions.

Provide guidance to prospective law students through individualized counseling, panel presentation, and group presentations:

Serve as the secondary contact for prospective students between the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid. Advise prospective students on the law school admissions process and provide general information on financial aid. Serve as the primary contact for admitted students and waitlisted applicants between the Office of Admission and Financial Aid. Guide admitted students through the matriculation process and provide individualized counseling sessions on law school programs, curriculum, employment outcomes, and financial aid resources. Coordinate admitted student contacts with current law students, alumni, faculty, and other law school constituents as a secondary recruitment tool. Manage admitted student engagement data using UNITE enrollment system, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Marketing, Google Forms, Remo, and other platforms/ technologies as needed. Work with pre-law groups at colleges and universities throughout the region and nation to schedule group visits to USD's campus and/or USD law school presentations on their home campus. Oversee the continued professional development of staff skills and competencies fundamental to effective admissions advising.

Participate in the review of law school applications:

Evaluate law school application files and render admissions decisions. Review committee files and presumptively deny or admit decisions as assigned by the Assistant Dean. In addition, with guidance from the Asst. Dean, the Director is responsible for making independent final decisions on presumptive admit and deny decisions. Co-Chair the Character and Fitness (C/F) Sub-Committee and make recommendations of admission, denial, or waitlist on C/F-qualifying files to the Assistant Dean. In the absence of the Assistant Dean, the Director has the authority to make admission decisions and extend or upgrade scholarship offers to admitted students.

Supervise the creation and implementation of Campus Visit Days, admitted applicant lunches, and off-campus retention events:

Supervise the creation and implementation of admitted applicant retention events. Finalize the agenda and structure for spring Campus Visit Days. Support the planning of off campus admitted applicant events in major feeder cities such as Los Angeles, Orange County, Phoenix, SF Bay Area, etc. Organize small scale lunch events on campus during the week and on Saturdays for admitted applicants visiting campus. The Director supervises execution of the Student Ambassador Program and can independently modify retention events as needed.

Manage strategic communication initiatives with prospective and admitted students as they relate to program features, curriculum offered, financial aid resources, and student experience:

Under the direction of the Assistant Dean, design and manage the execution of a strategic communications plan that: (1) targets prospective and admitted student communities with focused messaging regarding law school programs, events, and news stories; (2) strengthens the national recruiting reach of the institution; and (3) advances year-to-year matriculation goals. Responsible for developing resonate informational campaigns around the qualitative and quantitative analysis of data collected through the Law School Admission Council UNITE database, and online mediums such as social media, websites, and virtual recruiting platforms. Supervise the Assistant Director of Admissions in the development of admissions recruitment and publication pieces including but not limited to fact sheets, view books, program brochures, and bulletins. Work closely with the Office of Communications to produce multi-media content used in social media, websites, virtual recruiting platforms, and electronic publications. A Director has independent authority to develop, create, and improve existing programs. The Director coordinates with the Assistant Director of Admissions and the Senior Director of Marketing and Communication and independently oversees the development and implementation of communication with prospective students as it relates to admissions requirements, curriculum offered, and student experience, including strategic email and web content development using 3rd party software.

Develop annual recruitment schedules including diversity recruiting initiatives and pipeline programming events:

Manage the development of a national fall recruitment schedule. Identify both national and USD specific feeder schools to visit for law school fairs, panel presentations and individual visits to increase the overall applicant pool. Develop a West Coast, spring recruitment schedule that focuses around major feeder schools such as the University of California campuses and California State Universities. The Director in collaboration with the Assistant Dean), will develop trip specific budgets and monitor the overall recruitment budget. Serve as one of three administrators traveling and representing the law school at national recruitment events. Identify schools and events that focus around minority recruitment opportunities to continue our diversity enrollment initiative. Establish and organize pipeline programs in the greater San Diego County that provide knowledge and information to underrepresented minorities from the middle school level on up. This includes holding events on city school campuses and bringing groups of students to USD for seminars and information sessions and leads the law school's participation in LSAC's Discover Law campaign.

Participate in the statistical collection, review, and analysis of prospective, admitted, and current student data:

Conduct ongoing statistical analyses of the applicant pool characteristics and with the Assistant Dean, compose executive summary reports regarding LSAT and GPA credentials, financial aid needs, and other demographics related to the potential incoming class. Assist the Assistant Dean with the preparation of annual internal Board of Visitors and Law Alumni Board reports, and annual external U.S. News and ABA data gathering, analysis, and reporting. Support the Director of Financial Aid with the preparation of annual internal financial aid audit reviews, and annual external FISAP and ABA data gathering, analysis, and reporting. Support the Assistant Dean with building annual scholarship projection models and admitted student projection models.

Perform administrative duties:

Provide leadership and supervision for the Office of Admissions, by performing administrative duties including but not limited to: planning, assessment, program implementation, supervision, policy and procedure development and supervision of student workers and staff. Other duties involve responding promptly to emails and phone calls and attending meetings within the department, law school, and university. Keep up to date on latest trends and practices within admissions and legal education. Perform other duties or tasks as assigned.

Special Conditions of Employment:

Background check: Successful completion of a pre-employment background check.

Degree Verification Requirement: Persons offered employment in this position will be required to provide official education transcripts for degree verification purposes.

Job Requirements:
Minimum Qualifications:

Advanced degree required; JD strongly preferred. A Bachelor's degree and one additional year of work experience may substitute for advanced degree, at the rate of one year of work experience is equivalent to two years of education.
Minimum of five years' admissions experience or higher education experience required. Law school experience strongly preferred. Four years' higher education admissions experience plus a JD degree may be substituted.
Demonstrated knowledge of admission procedures is required.
Valid driver's license and the ability and desire to travel during peak recruitment periods is required.

Preferred Qualifications:

JD strongly preferred.
Law school experience strongly preferred. Four years' higher education admissions experience plus a JD degree may be substituted.
Experience with web content development preferred.

Performance Expectations - Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Ability to develop recruiting plans and marketing materials.
Demonstrated ability to prioritize workload, take initiative in managing projects and develop and keep to timelines with minimal supervision.
Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail is critical.
Ability to handle confidential information, exhibit good judgment, and exemplify appropriate customer service in working with students, faculty, and all levels of university staff and officials.
Exceptional communication skills, including effective writing and public speaking.
Must have strong people skills and the ability to work collaboratively; and demonstrated success in staff training, supervision, and development.
Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in an academic or professional setting.
Intermediate to advanced computer skills, including word-processing, database maintenance, and subsequent data analysis. Minimum of intermediate experience with Word, Excel, and MS Outlook required. Experience with web content development preferred.

Posting Salary:
$7,500.00 - $7,917.00 per month; Excellent Benefits

The University of San Diego offers a very competitive benefits package including; medical, dental, vision, a retirement contribution given to you by the University, and access to on-campus Fitness Centers. Please visit the benefits section of our website to view all of the perks and benefits that USD has to offer. USD: Human Resources: Benefits

The salary range provided in this posting reflects what we reasonably expect to pay for this position. Actual compensation offered or earned is dependent on experience, education and other factors including departmental budget.

Special Application Instructions:
Resume and Cover Letter Required

Click the 'Apply Now' button to complete our online application. In addition, please upload a cover letter and resume to your application profile for the hiring managers' review. If you have any questions or difficulties please contact the Employment Services Team at jobs@sandiego.edu.

Additional Details:
37.5 Hours per week

Closing date: Open until filled

Note: External job postings will be up for at least three days. After that time, applications will be reviewed by the hiring manager/committee throughout the posting period. A candidate may be selected at any time which could then close this posting on a date earlier than listed.

The University of San Diego is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion and is especially interested in candidates who can contribute to the diversity and excellence of the campus community.

The University of San Diego is a smoking and tobacco-free campus. For more information, visit www.sandiego.edu/smokefree.

Advertised: December 03, 2024
Applications close: Open until filled

To apply, visit https://jobs.sandiego.edu/cw/en-us/job/496876/director-jd-admissions-and-diversity-initiatives