Admissions & Recruitment Officer

Position Overview 

The RAND School of Public Policy seeks a strategic, relationship-oriented Admissions & Recruitment Officer to support enrollment growth and expand the School's visibility among prospective students, academic institutions, and mission-aligned organizations. 

Reporting to the Associate Dean of Enrollment and New Programs, the Admissions & Recruitment Officer serves as a senior individual contributor responsible for developing and implementing recruitment strategies, cultivating external partnerships, and representing the RAND School to prospective students, institutional partners, and professional communities. 

This position will play a key role in advancing the School's enrollment objectives by identifying new recruitment opportunities, strengthening institutional visibility, analyzing recruitment trends, and supporting long-term growth initiatives. The successful candidate will exercise substantial independence and professional judgment in planning and executing outreach, partnership development, and recruitment activities, with a particular focus on the Washington, DC region and other strategic markets. 

Key Responsibilities 

• Develop and implement regional and national recruitment strategies aligned with RAND School enrollment goals, with emphasis on Washington, DC and other strategic markets. 

• Serve as a primary external representative of the RAND School, cultivating and sustaining relationships with universities, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, professional associations, military and public service networks, and other mission-aligned partners to strengthen recruitment pipelines. 

• Lead outreach and engagement efforts in the Washington, DC region to enhance the School's visibility, identify new recruitment opportunities, and strengthen institutional presence within key policy and public service communities. 

• Analyze admissions, enrollment, and market data to identify trends, evaluate recruitment effectiveness, monitor competitor activity, and provide recommendations that support enrollment strategy and long-term growth planning. 

• Represent the RAND School at conferences, graduate fairs, professional meetings, recruitment events, and virtual engagement opportunities to increase awareness and generate prospective student interest. 

• Identify, establish, and manage strategic partnerships with external organizations and academic institutions to expand access to prospective student populations and support recruitment objectives. 

• Lead or support special projects related to recruitment strategy, market expansion, and admissions initiatives in collaboration with internal stakeholders across RAND. 

• Support admissions and enrollment goals through participation in applicant engagement, admissions review, yield activities, and other recruitment-related initiatives as needed. 

• Identify emerging opportunities, new markets, and innovative approaches to strengthen recruitment outcomes and institutional growth. 

• Perform other duties as assigned. 

Qualifications 

• Demonstrated experience developing and implementing strategic recruitment, outreach, or business development initiatives.

• Strong relationship-building and stakeholder engagement skills, including experience cultivating partnerships with external organizations and senior-level constituencies.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including public speaking, presentations, and external representation.

• Experienceidentifyingemerging opportunities, new markets, and partnership pathways that support organizational growth.

• Experience working with CRM, admissions, marketing automation, or related systems to support outreach, reporting, and strategic decision-making.

• Ability to analyze enrollment, recruitment, and market data and translate findings into actionable recommendations.

• Strong project management skills with the ability to independently manage multiple priorities and initiatives.

• Ability to collaborate effectively across teams while exercising sound professional judgment, initiative, and autonomy.

• Experience in higher education, public policy, nonprofit, government, research, or mission-driven organizations preferred.

• Familiarity with graduate admissions and enrollment management practices preferred.

• Familiarity withthe Washington, DC higher education, policy, government, or nonprofit landscape strongly preferred.

• Experience with Element451 or similar CRM platforms (e.g., Slate, Salesforce, HubSpot) preferred.

• Ability and willingness to travel to support recruitment activities, conferences, partnership engagement, and institutional outreach efforts.

Travel

Periodic domestic travel is required to support recruitment initiatives, conferences, partnership development, and other institutional priorities. 

Education 

Bachelor's degree required; Master's degree in public policy, higher education, business, communications, or a related field preferred. 

Experience

Minimum of six years of progressively responsible experience in admissions, recruitment, partnership development, business development, external affairs, higher education, or a related field. 

Location 

This position is based in Arlington, VA. (Note: The Admissions & Recruitment Officer is expected to maintain a strong presence within the Washington, DC region and regularly engage with universities, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, professional associations, and other external partners.)

Salary Range: $75,700 - $112,400 

RAND considers a variety of factors when formulating an offer, including but not limited to, the specific role and associated responsibilities; a candidate’s work experience, education/training, skills, expertise; and internal equity. The salary range includes base pay plus RAND’s sabbatic pay (which provides additional compensation above base pay when vacation is taken). In addition, RAND provides strong benefits including health insurance coverage, life and disability insurance, savings plan, paid time-off and more.