Executive Director, Strategic Enrollment Services - Req002158_1 - 3175

Executive Director, Strategic Enrollment Services

BigFuture reaches over 7 million students each year and is the leading free online resource for college, scholarship, and career exploration. BigFuture demystifies the college going process, helping students unlock options to afford college and explore careers that connect to their skills and interests. Recently, BigFuture launched an innovative, privacy-forward mobile app, BigFuture School, that puts students in the driver\'s seat and allows them to connect with and receive messages from over 1500 higher education institutions. BigFuture also hosts an online platform (BigFuture.org) which helps students plan for college, pay for college, and explore careers. In addition, higher education institutions use our search and connections solutions to look across the 25,000 high schools to fill their classes and to reach a broad student population. BigFuture has a 60+ person core team and collaborates deeply with other divisions including technology, strategic higher education, state & district partnerships, legal, engagement and reach, and finance.

About the Opportunity

As the executive director, strategic enrollment services, you are a bold, strategic, visionary leader, and transformative thinker who challenges the status quo to reshape the future of student enrollment. You will build and lead a new advisory practice supporting colleges and universities in achieving their enrollment, access, and financial goals. In this role, you will launch and scale a high-impact strategic consulting function within college board, delivering actionable insights and strategies to institutional partners. With deep expertise in admissions, enrollment strategy, and student success, you bring gravitas and executive presence to influence leaders, guide institutional transformation, and champion student-centered innovation across the higher education landscape. You approach longstanding enrollment challenges with fresh perspective and bold solutions, keeping student relevance at the center of every strategy. In this role, you will:

• Practice leadership & strategy
• Design and launch a scalable, mission-aligned strategic enrollment practice.
• Define service offerings, delivery model, pricing structures, and go-to-market approach.
• Build and manage a multidisciplinary team of strategists and client advisors.
• Set vision and priorities for the team, track and manage progress to goals, and provide coaching and support to ensure team members meet and exceed goals, remain engaged, and contribute meaningfully to our mission.
• Cultivate an inclusive and high achieving culture that enables all team members to live out college board\'s operating principles.
• Bring proven leadership experience and consistently embody college board\'s manager expectations in your work.
• Client engagement & advisory
• Serve as senior advisor to college and university leaders, providing strategic counsel regarding enrollment.
• Lead discovery, analysis, and strategy engagements with institutional partners.
• Develop frameworks, diagnostics, and workshops to guide enrollment planning.
• Internal collaboration
• Partner with product and technology teams to proactively plan data inputs and productize insights.
• Collaborate with the research team to generate original thought leadership and trend analysis.
• Coordinate with strategic higher ed and government relations and higher ed teams to align with broader sector goals.
• Growth & thought leadership
• Represent college board at key conferences, panels and in media on enrollment trends and access strategies.
• Produce and publish white papers, benchmarking studies, and policy briefs.
• Cultivate a network of trusted advisors, partners, and pilot institutions.

About You

To qualify for this role, you must have:

• 12+ years of progressive leadership in enrollment management, strategy consulting, or higher education analytics.
• Proven success leading institutional strategic enrollment strategies or consulting engagements.
• Deep knowledge of admissions, enrollment strategy, and student success best practices.
• Strong business acumen and experience launching or scaling a service-based organization.
• Exceptional relationship-building, communication, and executive presence.
• Strong data analytics skills and ability to make complex stories simple with data.
• Proficient with the use of AI and able to develop AI-based strategies that ethically accelerate deliverables and outcomes.
• A strategic and inclusive leadership style: you set clear priorities, build effective team structures, plan for future needs, and foster a culture of belonging.
• A proven ability to drive pe