"Vice President for Enrollment Management"

THE POSITION

Reporting to Provost Doug Woods, the Vice President for Enrollment Management (VPEM) is the University's chief enrollment officer responsible for setting enrollment priorities for Loyola's more than 16,500 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students, and overseeing a division which includes undergraduate admission, graduate admission, financial aid, and enrollment marketing.

The VPEM will join a vibrant, innovative, and evolving community and will play an essential role in Loyola's ability to attract, enroll, yield, and retain students and foster a thriving campus community. This is an exceptional moment to join the University and capitalize on the numerous opportunities that will shape its future; through the development of a Strategic Enrollment Management Plan, the new Vice President will help shape the future trajectory of Loyola.

The ideal candidate will embody the shared values of the Loyola student body, be energized by the opportunity to lead a mission-driven team of enrollment leaders, and committed to upholding and enhancing academic excellence and innovation at Loyola. They will exhibit a deep understanding of the current trends in higher education, and have a demonstrated track record of successfully implementing strategies in response to the changing landscape.

The successful candidate will have experience navigating a complex university environment while prioritizing a leadership style that emphasizes communication, accessibility, and collaboration. The new VPEM will possess an authentic and engaging interpersonal communication style that appreciates and thrives on the interaction with internal and external colleagues.

RESPONSIBILITIES and PRIORITIES

The expectations for the Vice President for Enrollment Management require that the successful candidate possess the ability and experience to accomplish the following responsibilities and priorities in these key areas:

• Develop the vision and direction for enrollment and have primary responsibility for creating, articulating, and implementing a strategic and data-driven enrollment management strategy.
• Engage others in the vision for enrollment and galvanize the Loyola community in support of a dynamic and goal-focused enrollment operation.
• Serve as a thought partner and strategic leader in support of Loyola's retention goals in collaboration with others.
• Build trust-based collaborations across the university to align marketing, academic program development, and student support with enrollment strategy.
• Serve as a central and vital member of the University Leadership Council, working supportively, collegially, and interdependently with colleagues to lead across the institution.
• Develop and implement a comprehensive University's Strategic Enrollment Plan to meet the University's enrollment, retention, and net tuition revenue goals.
• Utilize data and analytical expertise to make data-informed decisions while seeking creative ways to achieve enrollment goals, in both domestic and international markets, graduate and undergraduate programs, as well as first year and transfer students.
• Work closely with the President, Provost, and Chief Financial Officer to optimize revenue generation within housing, financial aid, pricing, and the leveraging of institutional resources to recruit and retain students and manage net tuition revenues.
• Follow enrollment management trends, stay abreast of new technologies, and oversee the implementation of innovative mechanisms and/or the modification of existing practices.
• Empower the enrollment management team, and advocate for resources that will enable them to continually assess and refine the strategy and tactics needed to achieve enrollment goals in a rapidly changing environment.
• Ensure the integrity of all financial aid programs; create and update policies on compliance, ensuring accuracy and complete regulatory compliance; and develop workshops and programming focused on financial literacy and college affordability (for graduate and undergraduate students).
• Work in conjunction with the office of Marketing and Communications, identify cutting-edge enrollment communication strategies and utilize modern technology (e.g., website, social media, digital marketing) to reach students in the ways that resonate.

QUALIFICATIONS and CHARACTERISTICS

Loyola seeks a Vice President for Enrollment Management who is excited about the opportunity to join a community with a strong culture of global awareness and engagement, a commitment to social justice and inclusion, dedicated to creating a passion for life-long learning. Candidates for this position should have a minimum of ten years of professional experience in enrollment, significant experience in a senior leadership role, and an appreciation and demonstrated understanding of a mission driven institution. A bachelor's degree is required, while an advanced degree is strongly preferred.

The successful candidate will possess exceptional communication skills, analytical ability, creativity, innovative ideas, and a record of success in shaping the academic and demographic profile of entering classes. Experience in the areas of enrollment marketing, financial aid, and recruitment technology is expected, as is knowledge of today's and future students. In addition, the vice president must possess:

• Proven effectiveness and experience in enrollment: Deftness to navigate a complex environment with competing priorities and a thorough understanding of the balance of enrollment and discounting to meet enrollment goals and maximize net tuition revenue; demonstrated ability to develop and implement successful admission and financial aid strategies and initiatives; ability to imagine and implement an effective strategic enrollment plan; experience in international and transfer recruitment, as well as recruitment for a diverse student body; proven ability to recruit students who persist to graduation; and familiarity and appreciation of Division I athletics.
• Sophisticated understanding of enrollment and marketing: Capacity to understand, lead, and manage the complex relationship between marketing and recruitment strategies for undergraduate, graduate, and professional populations; increase and shape enrollments in new and existing programs, across delivery modalities, program audiences, geographic regions and diverse student populations through the use of creative and innovative marketing.
• Financial Aid Acumen: Knowledge of undergraduate and graduate financial aid leveraging policies to ensure achievement of recruitment goals and compliance within state and federal regulations and procedures; maintain comprehensive and current understanding of federal and institutional needs analysis and packaging best practices, and provide training to staff in review of student aid eligibility and packaging of aid funds; and develop and implement strategies to educate students on the cost of their education and the financial benefits of the cooperative education program.
• Staff leadership and management: Ability to set clear goals and inspire a highly qualified and talented staff around enrollment opportunities and challenges; commitment to staff development and team building; a mentoring mindset to effectively nurture staff while holding high standards and accountability; proven track record of staff development and diversifying staff; and an interest in creating a stable, healthy, and cohesive work environment that prioritizes communication and collaboration.
• Collaboration and Communication skills: Collaborative nature with an ability to engage and mobilize the recruitment effort across all campus constituencies; ability to partner with external constituents important to recruitment, such as high school counselors, community-based organizations, alumni, and private vendors; readiness to be part of the university's senior leadership team and a desire and ability to collaborate across campus; engaging, strong listening, and transparent communication skills; and confidence in presenting information to a variety of constituents to include students, parents, counselors, faculty, staff, and Board of Trustee members.
• Commitment to Loyola values: Inclusive, ethical leadership style and commitment to caring for the whole person; appreciates and promotes excellence in academics and scholarship; willingness to be an active participant in campus and community life; proven experience in and a demonstrated commitment to increasing student diversity and the diversity of staff in enrollment; proven ability to develop connections and partnership that substantively impact enrollment; history of effective enrollment management with available resources.
• Strong technical and analytical skills: Ability to use technology and data to guide decision making; strong analytical skills, creativity, resourcefulness and ability to translate data into a narrative; experience with predictive modeling, enterprise systems, and current and emerging technology; and demonstrated experience using data to identify and assess effectiveness of admission and financial aid policies and practices.

COMPENSATION

Compensation for the position will be competitive and based on the skills and experience of the selected candidate and the agreed upon portfolio of responsibilities; The range identified for this role is $275,000 - $375,000. In this important leadership position, the successful candidate will have an active on-campus presence. Additionally, Loyola University Chicago offers a comprehensive package of benefits. Given the nature of this visible campus and community-based leadership position, the selected candidate will be expected to reside in or near Chicago, Illinois.

TO APPLY

NES, a higher education search firm specializing in enrollment management searches, is assisting Loyola University Chicago in identifying the University's next Vice President for Enrollment Management. For more information, or to nominate someone for this position, contact Liz Daly (elizabeth.daly@nessearches.com), Catherine Capolupo (catherine.capolupo@nessearches.com) or Laura Robinson (laura.robinson@nessearches.com). All conversations will remain confidential unless otherwise stated and agreed. Interested candidates should submit a résumé and a letter of interest describing their unique qualifications for the Vice President for Enrollment Management position at Loyola University Chicago. Candidates should also provide the names and contact information of at least five professional references. For confidentiality, references will not be contacted without permission. For best consideration, all application materials should be submitted electronically to LUC@nessearches.com by November 6, 2025. The position is campus-based and the preferred start date is January of 2026.