Assistant/Associate Director of Visitor Services, Admissions Office

Application instructions are located at the bottom of the page.  Please apply directly through the University of Montana’s career portal UM Jobs at https://umjobs.silkroad.com/ for positions at the University of Montana – Missoula, University of Montana Western (Dillon), and Helena College.  Do not apply through Indeed.com or use easy apply through Indeed.com*.

The University of Montana invites applications for an Assistant or Associate Director of Visitor Services.  Reporting to the Director of Admissions, the individual assigned to this position is responsible for the management of the Welcome Center and the vision, development and execution of engaging and innovative admissions events that harness excitement about the University of Montana (UM). Admissions events currently include the daily campus information session and tour (for prospective and admitted students), group visits, two Extended Saturday Visits, the Honors Scholar Day, two Admitted Student Discovery Days, and three Go Griz! Days. These offerings will likely grow in the future. This person will also collaborate with campus partners to support non-admissions events targeted to high school students, develop and execute a series of webinars, and assess opportunities to participate in community outreach events. This position directly supervises two full-time event coordinators and provides guidance for the Grizzly Ambassador program (15-20 student workers), which is responsible for conducting campus tours and communicating with students.  In the first year, the person in this role will collaborate with the Leadership Team and an outside consulting company to implement a new version of the Slate CRM. 

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Develop, implement, and evaluate recruitment, outreach, and admissions events.
• Manage the daily operations of the Welcome Center, including staffing, room set-up, and hospitality.
• Identify opportunities for group visits and then oversee the coordination and execution of these so they meet the specific needs of the visitors.
• Ensure all events meet or exceed the expectations of prospective students, their families and campus partners through a commitment to innovation and evaluation.
• Serve as project manager for the all logistics of planned events.
• Analyze data from all aspects of events to determine effectiveness and quantify tangible returns on investment to drive programmatic improvements.
• Collaborate with IT on the creation and continued improvement of a seamless event registration and reporting process through the Slate CRM.
• Ensure a user-friendly visit registration and follow-up experience for students, families, and groups.
• Collaborate with Marketing on the creation of pre-and post-event communications, presentations, signage and materials.
• Collaborate with the Leadership Team and an outside consulting company to implement a new version of the Slate CRM. Provide guidance for best practices in event management.
• Monitor and report on event budgets.
• Responsible for ordering promotional items (swag), monitoring inventory, and evaluating effectiveness of these.
• Oversee reservations and maintenance of Admissions Bus.
• Serve as a key member of the Office of Admissions Leadership Team.
• Supervise two full-time event coordinators.
• Provide guidance for the Grizzly Ambassador program (15-20 students).
• Ensure excellent customer service in all we do.

The University of Montana is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer and has a strong institutional commitment to the principle of diversity in all areas. In that spirit, we are particularly interested in receiving applications from a broad spectrum of qualified people who would assist the University in demonstrating its five priorities for action : Place student success at the center of all we do; drive excellence and innovation in teaching, learning, and research; embody the principle of “mission first, people always”; partner with place; and proudly tell the UM story.

Position Details

• Position is full-time, 1.0 FTE, MUS Contract and includes a comprehensive and competitive benefits package  including Insurance package, mandatory retirement plan, partial tuition waiver, and wellness program.
• Title and starting salary for this position are commensurate with qualifications. (Assistant Director $65,000-$75,000 or Associate Director $75,000-$85,000)

Required Qualifications

• Assistant Director: Bachelor’s degree and three (3) years of professional event planning experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Associate Director: Bachelor’s degree and five (5) years of professional event planning experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Highly developed organizational skills.
• Excellent written and oral communications skills.
• Ability to interpret and apply federal/state/university regulations and policies.
• Exceptional computer skills and ability to effectively use common office software (MS Office suite including Outlook and Teams; Zoom; Slate CRM.)
• Skills to effectively plan and execute both large-and small-scale events.
• Ability to collaborate with colleagues and frequently interact with the public.
• Deep commitment to providing outstanding customer service to a highly diverse population of students and their families.
• Willingness and ability to work occasional nontraditional hours (including weekends, evenings, and holidays) when needed.
• Maintain a valid driver’s license.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in higher education administration, student affairs, organizational performance, hospitality or a related field.
• Admissions event planning experience.
• Three years supervising professional staff; experience supervising students will be considered.
• Personal and professional commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion as demonstrated by participation in relevant trainings, persistent effort, active planning, allocation of resources, and/or accountability for DEI outcomes

About UM and the Admissions Office

The University of Montana is flagship, research-intensive R1 institution with approximately 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students. It is located in Missoula, a culturally vibrant community of about 75,000, surrounded by mountains and three rivers converge. Abundant recreational opportunities in surrounding state and national forests and nearby Glacier National Park and Yellowstone National Park complement a thriving intellectual atmosphere.

The mission of the Admissions Office is to attract, support and enhance student enrollment at the University of Montana by providing quality information, services and complete financial options to make the enrollment process efficient, accessible and student-centered.

To learn more about the University of Montana, Missoula, and the State of Montana, please visit the links below.

·         University of Montana

o    Video: Mission First, People Always

o    UM on YouTube

·         City of Missoula

o    Video: There’s This Place

o    Destination Missoula

o    Missoula Area Chamber of Commerce

·         The State of Montana

o    Visit Montana

Criminal Background Investigation is required prior to Offer of Employment.
In accordance with University policy, finalists for this position will be subject to criminal background investigations.
ADA/EOE/AA/Veteran’s Preference.
Reasonable accommodations are provided in the hiring process for persons with disabilities. For example, this material is available in alternative format upon request. As an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer, we encourage applications from minorities, veterans, and women. Qualified candidates may request veterans’ or disabilities preference in accordance with state law.
References *References not listed on the application materials may be contacted; notice may be provided to the applicant.
Testing Individual hiring departments at UM may elect to administer pre-employment tests, which are relevant to essential job functions.

Employment Eligibility.  All New Employees must be eligible and show employment eligibility verification by the first date of employment at UM, as legally required (e.g., Form I-9).

Must be eligible to work in the United State upon hire.

How to Apply

Priority Application Date: Sunday, January 21, 2024 by 11:59 PM Mountain Time 

Complete applications received by this date will be guaranteed consideration. To receive full consideration, candidates are required to submit all of the following materials.

Please submit the following application materials** via the UM Jobs portal  and by clicking “New Resume/CV” button.  Please do not apply through Indeed.com*.

• Letter of Interest – addressing the stated required skills for the position
• Detailed resume listing education and describing work experience
• Three (3) professional references – Names and contact information

*Applying through Indeed.com or easy apply through Indeed.com may result in submission of an incomplete application.  Applications may be removed from full consideration if they are not complete with materials listed above under the “How to Apply” section.  It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure complete application materials are submitted and received by the date listed above. 

**Please note: only five (5) attachments are allowed per application. Please combine documents accordingly.

Missoula, Montana, United States