The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University is pleased to announce a search for an Executive Director of Enrollment Management to join the Peabody community in advancing a dynamic, contemporary model of the performing arts, and building on its rich history of innovation and leadership as the first conservatory in the United States.
THE OPPORTUNITY
The Executive Director of Enrollment Management will oversee all admissions, financial aid, and recruitment activities for the Peabody Conservatory, which has an enrollment of 800 full time undergraduate and graduate students. Reporting to the Senior Associate Dean for Institute Affairs, the Executive Director will serve as the chief architect of the Conservatory’s strategic enrollment plan and will collaborate with faculty, staff, and leadership in its development, management, and implementation. The Executive Director will manage goals for headcount, net tuition revenue, discount rate, program balance, and retention, to achieve the school’s mission and vision. This is a key management position for the Conservatory with significant responsibility for ensuring the Institute’s success and in continuing to advance Peabody’s competitive position. This person will oversee the work of the Offices of Admissions and Financial Aid and will be part of the Senior Management Group for the Conservatory.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The essential duties and responsibilities for the Executive Director of Enrollment Management include the following:
- Oversee all aspects of the Conservatory’s Admissions and Financial Aid operations, lead the development and implementation of the Conservatory’s annual enrollment plan.
- Develop annual enrollment forecasts and utilize predictive models to inform decision making about financial aid resources, faculty studio balance, ensemble needs, and other key metrics that contribute to the Conservatory’s enrollment and tuition model.
- Supervise, lead, and mentor a talented team of staff members in Admissions and Financial Aid, maintaining a strong culture of collaboration, integrity, and accountability, and continuously develop staff to optimize performance.
- Forge strong relationships and collaborate with faculty in the recruitment and enrollment of talented and diverse students from around the world. Oversee all planning for audition week and all admission-related on-and off-campus activities.
- Lead the development of a comprehensive strategic recruitment plan and allocate resources across student search, recruitment travel, and other outreach activi
- Build relationships with key constituencies around the world including alumni, music teachers, feeder institutions, and influential arts organizations.
- Work closely with Admissions staff and the Senior Director of Strategic Marketing and Communications in the development of an integrated and multi-channel Marketing and Communications strategy to support new student recruitment, with appropriate benchmarks for application growth and balance across programs.
- Serve as a key representative of the Conservatory at recruitment events locally, regionally, and nationally, and among colleagues at JHU. Contribute externally to discussions around admissions and enrollment management in the performing arts.
- Chair the Conservatory’s Enrollment Management Committee, a key strategic group made up of colleagues in Academic Affairs, Finance and Administration, Student Life, Registrar, Financial Aid, and Performance Activities.
- Drive the continuous development and implementation of the Conservatory’s strategic enrollment plan, and policies pertinent to admissions, financial aid, and enrollment.
- Lead the development of appropriate data analytics and leverage all capabilities of the admissions CRM (Slate) to monitor the effectiveness of recruitment efforts, and track students through the Admissions funnel.
- Direct and participate in the evaluation and selection of applicants for admission to the Conservatory and annually assess the student selection process to ensure it aligns with established and evolving best practices in the admissions landscape. Collaborate with JHU colleagues in overseeing the recruitment and evaluation of candidates for the Peabody/JHU Double Degree program.
- Be an active member of the Senior Associate Dean’s administrative leadership team, which also includes the Associate Dean for Faculty and Education, Assistant Dean for Performance Activities and Preparatory Education, and Senior Director of Student Affairs. Serve as a member of the Senior Management Group convened by the Dean of the Peabody Institute.
- Develop and implement an ongoing strategy for the deployment of Peabody financial aid which includes merit/talent and need-based institutional Oversee the strategic awarding of scholarships and financial aid for admitted students to achieve enrollment and net tuition revenue goals, as well as other key metrics such as yield, selectivity, access and affordability, program balance and student quality.
- Continuously evaluate practices related to student enrollment and work with colleagues in Student Affairs, Registrar, Billing, and other offices to ensure a seamless student matriculation experience.
- Collaborate with the Senior Director of Student Affairs and colleagues in JHU Student Affairs in the management of the Conservatory’s Retention Plan, developing and executing strategies to improve retention and graduation rates, and ensuring student success.
- Ensure compliance with all regulations around international students, Federal and State aid, and other matters in collaboration with the University’s compliance teams.
QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, AND CHARACTERISTICS
The successful candidate must have a bachelor’s degree and a minimum of eight years of progressively responsible experience in admissions and financial aid. An advanced degree in a relevant discipline is preferred. In addition, the Executive Director should demonstrate the following qualifications, skills and abilities:
- Demonstrate a broad understanding of issues pertaining to enrollment management, including retention, financial aid leveraging, and funnel management.
- A clear understanding of issues related to compliance with Federal and State regulations for student financial aid.
- Demonstrated experience and effectiveness managing and mentoring a successful team.
- Proven creative, strategic, and innovative approach to student recruitment and enrollment management.
- Strong commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
- Seasoned enrollment professional with extensive experience and knowledge of current trends in admissions, financial aid, and enrollment management.
- Ability to interact and collaborate successfully with a diverse faculty and staff across all organizational levels with a high degree of sensitivity, confidentiality, and professionalism.
- Able to engender trust and confidence across all stakeholder groups and colleagues at Peabody and at JHU.
- Strong knowledge and experience with technology and data tools needed for appropriate metrics, such as applicant management systems/CRM and data integration.
- Strong analytical, financial, and documentation skills; experience using data to understand historical trends and drive and support decision making, linking strategies to outcomes.
- Strong presentation skills; excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
- Talented manager and leader with the ability to motivate and inspire the work of staff and faculty in a complex process.
- Transparent communicator and collaborative colleague with an appreciation for and ability to navigate a flexible, innovative, and engaged community.
- A self-starter with the ability to partner with others in developing best-in-class business models, systems, and procedures to support an exceptional student experience.
- Diplomatic, tactful, and authentic; able to build new relationships, advocate for the enrollment management team, and support and lead change through influence.
- An ability to understand the nuanced needs and characteristics of specialized academic programs, and the ability to authentically articulate the unique opportunities of a performing arts education to students and their families is required; experience working with students of music and dance or having a personal background in the arts in addition is strongly preferred.
COMPENSATION AND WORK ENVIRONMENT
The expected compensation range for this position is based on the skills and experience of the selected candidate; contact the NES search consultants to discuss the expected range of compensation. In this important leadership role, the successful candidate will lead a high performing team in a hybrid work environment and will have an active on-campus presence. For more information about JHU’s benefits, see https://hr.jhu.edu/.
JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
Johns Hopkins University is America’s first research university founded with the goal to encourage research and advance not only the knowledge of its students but human knowledge in general. The University was established in 1876 by Johns Hopkins, Baltimore’s greatest philanthropist who willed his $7 million estate to fund the university and the Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Johns Hopkins’ 6,500 faculty and 26,000 students study, teach, and learn in and across more than 260 programs regularly recognized as being among the nation’s best, including its 10th ranked undergraduate education among national universities according to U.S. News & World Report in 2019. Johns Hopkins is the leading U.S. academic institution in total research and development spending. In fiscal year 2017, the University performed $2.562 billion in medical, science, and engineering research. It has ranked number one in higher education research spending for the 39th year in a row according to the National Science Foundation.
Johns Hopkins University comprises the following ten academic divisions: the Peabody Institute located in the historic Mt. Vernon area of downtown Baltimore; the Carey Business School located in the Inner Harbor area; The Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, G.W.C. Whiting School of Engineering and the School of Education located on the Homewood Campus in Baltimore, MD; the School of Medicine, the Bloomberg School of Public Health and the School of Nursing located in East Baltimore; the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C.; the Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland; and a new School of Government and Policy in Washington, DC.
PEABODY INSTITUTE
The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University comprises both the degree-granting Peabody Conservatory and the community-facing Peabody Preparatory, empowering musicians and dancers from diverse backgrounds to create and perform at the highest level. Courses of study range from classical and jazz performance, music education, composition, and dance to cutting-edge programs in acoustics, recording arts and sciences, computer music, and music for new media, taught by world-renowned faculty. The Conservatory’s signature Breakthrough Curriculum, is a career development framework that prepares citizen-artists to help shape the future of the field and serve their communities.
Founded in 1857 and affiliated with Johns Hopkins University since 1977, Peabody is the oldest conservatory in the nation and has a storied history. Over the years, its landmark buildings have seen artists such as Peter Tchaikovsky, Anton Rubinstein, Igor Stravinsky, Nadia Boulanger, and Leonard Bernstein traversing its hallways. It counts André Watts, Philip Glass, James Morris, Hilary Hahn, Cyrus Chestnut, and Tori Amos among its illustrious alumni.
Building on its rich history, Peabody extends the power of the performing arts and robust artistic training throughout the greater Baltimore community and around the world. Current Conservatory faculty includes leading artists such as Marin Alsop, Manuel Barrueco, Thomas Dolby, Richard Goode, Sean Jones, Marina Piccinini, and Pulitzer Prize winning composers Kevin Puts and Du Yun.
Peabody is in the midst of a stimulating period of growth, and is leading the way in adapting to the changes in the American and international performing arts landscape. Since the launch of the Breakthrough Plan in 2015, Peabody has enjoyed strong growth and progress across its key strategic initiatives. Over the course of this plan, enrollment has increased 43% to over 800 students in Fall 2023, new programs have been launched in Dance and Music for New Media, while programs at the intersection of technology and the arts such as Computer Music have more than doubled in size. Simultaneously, with the launch of the Breakthrough Curriculum and LAUNCHPad, Peabody has been a leader in rethinking and contemporizing the training of artists in the 21st century as it has been leading the field through symposiums like “The Next Normal” convenings around issues critical to the performing arts. As part of one of the world’s great research universities and medical institutions, Peabody is also taking a leading role in the field of performing arts medicine, advancing important initiatives in both arts-in-healthcare and clinical care for performing artists.
To elevate the human experience through leadership at the intersection of art and education.
-Mission, Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University
Mission and Strategic Planning
To ensure that Peabody and Johns Hopkins University leverage their competitive advantage, Peabody has built its vision and strategic Breakthrough Plan 2024 around Five Pillars: Excellence, Interdisciplinary Experiences, Innovation, Community Connectivity, and Diversity.
- Excellence: Peabody graduates should be among the most successful musicians and dancers competing for high-level positions as soloists, orchestra members, chamber musicians, choreographers, and educators; and should emerge as the trailblazers and innovators in their respective disciplines and across disciplines, fully equipped with the skills needed to achieve the kind of community connectivity increasingly required of artists in contemporary society.
- Interdisciplinary Experiences: Peabody can leverage its competitive position as a top conservatory within a world-renowned research university through development of cross-disciplinary programs.
- Innovation: Peabody’s Breakthrough Curriculum builds on the strength of traditional training while breaking the mold in incorporating skill-sets required of the 21st century artist. Innovation also means embracing music of our time and taking a leadership role and convener externally in a dialogue on the value of the performing arts in society, and the issues facing the arts today.
- Community Connectivity: Peabody is building strong and meaningful relationships within the region that will enable Peabody to better serve the community and at the same time instill in its students an understanding and enthusiastic embrace of the role they must play in communities as citizen-artists.
- Diversity: Peabody strives to be a model of an inclusive and equitable performing arts institution by acknowledging, embracing, and engaging diverse identities, perspectives, traditions, and experiences. Peabody seeks to reflect and respond to the unique and changing needs of today’s environment to ensure that all members of our community know with certainty that they belong here. To learn more about Peabody’s commitment to anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion, please visit https://peabody.jhu.edu/explore-peabody/adei/.
TO APPLY
NES, a higher education search firm specializing in enrollment management searches, is assisting the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University in their search for an Executive Director of Enrollment Management. To arrange for a confidential conversation or to nominate someone for this position, please contact Ann Salina-Tucker (ann.salina-tucker@nessearches.com), Catherine Capolupo (catherine.capolupo@nessearches.com), or Mary Napier (mary.napier@nessearches.com). To apply, send 1) a resume, 2) a detailed letter regarding your interest in the Executive Director position at the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University, and 3) contact information for five professional references by email to: peabody@nessearches.com. For best consideration, submit materials by January 2, 2023; the search will remain open until the position is filled. The expected start date will be in the spring of 2024. All applications and nominations will be considered confidential, and notice will be given before references are contacted.
Johns Hopkins University is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of gender, marital status, pregnancy, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, other legally protected characteristics or any other occupationally irrelevant criteria. The University promotes Affirmative Action for minorities, women, individuals who are disabled, and veterans. Johns Hopkins University is a drug-free, smoke-free workplace.