Director of Admissions Systems and Analytics, Darden School of Business

Director of Admissions Systems and Analytics, Darden School of Business

The University of Virginia Darden School of Business, one of the world's leading business schools, seeks a Director of Admissions Systems and Analytics, to join its Admissions leadership team. With strong momentum in the residential MBA, Part-Time MBA and executive MBA formats, the Director joins Darden at an exciting time. Darden delivers top-ranked graduate degree programs-Full-Time MBA, Part-Time MBA, Executive MBA, MSBA, and Ph.D.-and Executive Education & Lifelong Learning from the Darden School Foundation. The School's faculty is consistently ranked No. 1 in the world for teaching excellence and is renowned for influential scholarship supported by research centers and Darden Business Publishing, one of the largest case publishers globally. With a growing presence at UVA Darden DC Metro in Rosslyn, Darden is expanding its reach at the intersection of business, policy, and global enterprise.

The Director of Admission Systems and Analytics is product owner and function lead responsible for leading all activities in the admission office related to configuration and management of the admissions technology platform (Technolutions Slate); process workflows and automations; data stewardship and data quality; and data analytics products (Databricks and Power BI) in support of data-driven recruiting and admissions strategies to help Darden's Office of Admission achieve enrollment and institutional goals. The Director specifically serves as the "Slate Captain" for Darden's Technolutions Slate instance and is responsible for managing the platform's vision and roadmap, user experience and stakeholder management, including close collaboration with Strategic IT, Data & Analytics (as part of its extended team), Communications and Marketing, and UVA Information Technology (ITS) staff to develop and maintain necessary data and process integrations such as SIS (PeopleSoft), Darden Data Hub, Darden Registrar, etc. In addition, this role represents Darden Admissions at University-wide meetings and professional conferences related to technology and data.

The Director is responsible for assessing and fine-tuning the enrollment database and related reporting systems to optimize efficiency and capacity to provide individualized and highly personal support to and communication with both internal and external constituents. The Director leads higher-end reporting and analytics for the admissions process in partnership with the Data & Analytics team and ensures that the enterprise maximizes functionality of the database/CRM features in Slate and data analytics ecosystem (Databricks + Power BI). This position may be fully remote or in-person (either Charlottesville or Rosslyn).

Key Responsibilities: Leadership and Strategic Direction

• Provides strategic leadership and planning to Office of Admissions staff, working closely with the Senior Assistant Dean of Admissions and other senior staff, to manage and implement data quality, data standardization, and operational policies to execute the mission of the Office of Admissions
• Enable and motivate admissions team to most effectively leverage and deploy technology solutions, providing training and then ensuring accountability for admissions staff use of technology tools at the highest levels of effectiveness to improve team performance.
• Directly supervises and evaluates the performance of admissions systems and analytics staff; trains and motivates direct reports to provide exceptional client service
• Works closely with admissions marketing team, providing technical supervision and creative guidance
• Establishes performance goals and procedures in collaboration with Director of Enrollment to ensure the timely completion of recruitment, review, selection, and enrollment of the first-year class.
• Cultivate relationships with peer schools in MBA industry.
• Monitors advances within peer schools and opportunities for Darden.
• Attends MBA Admissions IT peer school meetings.

Reporting and Data Analytics

• Build and maintain an admissions analytics roadmap, in collaboration with the Data & Analytics team.
• Design and develop operational reports in Slate, analytics models and reports/dashboards in Databricks and Power BI (following Darden's standardized analytics life cycle process) to enable new levels of insight regarding the admissions process for senior leadership and the admissions, recruitment, and enrollment marketing teams.
• Manage special projects as assigned by department and school leadership. This may include data analysis and data generation within a short time frame.
• Deliver ongoing and accurate reporting of standardized KPIs; quantify issues effectively; compile historic data to measure past performance against current; set measurable goals and benchmarks to research areas for improved future effectiveness; identify anomalies or trends.
• Communicate to leadership issues or potential improvements to process, efficiency or increased capacity that comes from data analyses.
• Develop and maintain automated processes that assess data quality throughout the admissions lifecycle, taking immediate actions to remediate data quality issues that impact decision-making.
• Serve as the deputy data steward within Darden's Data Governance process for the enrollment management data domain.
• Actively manage governance of enrollment management data within the Darden Data Hub.

Internal and External Collaboration and Partnerships

• Collaborates closely with the Senior Director for Data & Analytics and the Data & Analytics team.
• Serves on joint admissions/ C&M team (meets weekly)
• Direct and manages engagements with external consultants
• Establish and maintain service level agreements (SLA) with service delivery within and outside of the Admissions team as it relates to Slate functionality, processes and data preparation/release

System Governance

• Oversee maintenance of Darden's four applications for admission (Full-Time MBA, Part-Time MBA, Executive MBA, PhD) and prospect source channels. This includes annual review and update to the institution's application components, class profile, application checklist, applicant and student portals, data configuration and import/exports, developing and executing testing plans, application launch/post-launch, and decision release process.
• Troubleshoot issues across system; develop and enhance Slate best practices; anticipate and communicate future technical needs associated with outside vendors; provide necessary documentation, training and timely updates for admissions staff and enterprise leadership; and serve as liaison between the Office of Admissions and IT & Analytics as well as Communication & Marketing.
• Manage and support all application configurations as well as coordinate broad integration with other university software and systems (e.g. PeopleSoft, GMAC, ETS, Salesforce, Darden Data Hub).
• Oversee Slate modules, perform daily activities and oversee team for tasks related to maintenance and administration of Slate, such as Queries and Reports, all aspects of the Slate Reader platform, Mailings, Calendars Scheduling and Campaigns, Forms and Events, Database Uploading and Maintenance (i.e. Application and Transcripts, GMAT, GRE, and TOEFL data sources), Users and Access issues and permissions, Deliver configurations and messaging, and Admission Portals.
• Serve as a resource for retrieving admissions data, including generating queries and reports. Guiding, troubleshooting, and supporting the Admissions team.
• Lead and conduct periodic Slate training opportunities for the broader Admissions team.

Operations Oversight & Software Management

• Oversee data integration with UVA SIS (Student Information System- PeopleSoft) to abide by University of Virginia Regulations.
• Builds and directs development of external user portals, i.e. interviewers, alumni volunteers, admitted students
• Manage online decision and scholarship award release process, ensuring utmost integrity and accuracy
• Direct efforts to maintain data integrity and maximize data quality assurance

Business Process Engineering & Operational Excellence

• Demonstrated experience analyzing, designing, and optimizing end-to-end business processes, particularly within complex, multi-step workflows such as recruitment, admissions, and enrollment operations
• Expertise in business process mapping (e.g., current state / future state), including identification of inefficiencies, control gaps, and opportunities for automation, standardization, and improved data capture
• Ability to translate business objectives and operational needs into well-defined process requirements, ensuring alignment between functional stakeholders and technical delivery teams
• Experience leading process improvement initiatives, including documenting workflows, defining success metrics, and driving adoption of new or enhanced processes across teams
• Strong capability to partner with technical teams to ensure systems are configured to support optimized business processes and high-quality data capture
• Proven ability to manage projects involving process redesign, system enhancements, or operational change, including planning, prioritization, stakeholder communication, and delivery against timelines
• Experience developing clear documentation, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and training materials to support consistent execution and long-term sustainability of business processes

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor's Degree and at least 3 years of relevant professional experience required.
• Master's degree and at least seven years of experience in college admissions/enrollment preferred.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities: