DIRECTOR OF ADMISSIONS AND ENROLLMENT

Position Announcement

ABOUT HEWITT
The Hewitt School is an independent K-12 girls’ day school in New York City whose mission is to inspire girls and young women to become game changers and ethical leaders who forge an equitable, sustainable, and joyous future. Hewitt's distinctive and challenging academic program is intentionally constructed around four academic pillars – presence, empathy, research, and purpose – that shape the way teachers teach, students learn, and, ultimately, the way both teachers and students live their lives: beyond the expected, beyond the easy answer, and beyond what seemed possible. Hewitt provides teaching and learning experiences that are highly interactive and personalized to the individual girl. This is made possible by the work of faculty committed to helping each girl develop her unique identity and potential. Dedicated faculty members passionately keep current with the latest research on girls’ education. Their commitment to understanding the developmental path of girls and young women informs their curriculum, their lesson planning, and their daily interactions with students and their families. In the spring of 2020, Hewitt launched a centennial strategic vision which boldly calls for the School to redesign learning around transdisciplinary real-world challenges; to reimagine where school happens within the greater context of New York City; and to redefine women’s leadership. 

POSITION SUMMARY
For a position to begin in July 2021, Hewitt is seeking an experienced director of admissions and enrollment who is passionate about girls’ education and eager to join a thriving, nimble, and innovative school community where each girl is nurtured and empowered to achieve her best. Reporting to the head of school, the director of admissions and enrollment is a member of the senior administrative team and is responsible for leading the strategic and operational components of enrollment management; developing the research necessary to inform decision-making; and directing student recruitment, financial aid, and enrollment efforts. While managing a staff of four and a financial aid budget of more than $5 million, the director of admissions and enrollment is responsible for outreach to prospective families and the enrollment and re-enrollment of a qualified and diverse student body. The director of admissions and enrollment services as a key representative of Hewitt and works with all constituencies to inspire community-based outreach.  

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS/RESPONSIBILITIES

• Design and execute the annual admission and enrollment program in accordance with the School’s commitment to promote economic, geographic, racial, and ethnic diversity in the student body.
• Formulate annual admission and enrollment action plan involving:
• Oversight of recruitment, selection, enrollment, and re-enrollment for Hewitt’s three divisions.
• Manage relationships with consultants and sending schools including preschools and scholarship foundations, and identify new target markets and schools while engaging the head of school in these relationships as needed.
• Identify and engage members of the faculty and student body to assist in the admissions process. 
• Oversee the admission information management platform, the online application and submission of materials, and testing administration and logistics.
• Provide leadership in admission, marketing, and recruitment and direct the process of attracting, selecting and enrolling students while sustaining and enhancing the School’s position in the marketplace.
• Manage the enrollment and re-enrollment process for current K-12 students.
• Ensure the continued excellence of the School’s student body through recruitment and enrollment practices informed by the School’s strategic priorities. 
• Organize and administer the financial aid program awarding all returning and new families annual awards, managing a $5 million financial aid budget. Leverage financial aid to attract and retain a talented and diverse student body while achieving net revenue targets, in conjunction with the chief financial officer and the head of school.
• Build relationships across campus to engage prospective families to learn about the School.
• Partner closely with the Marketing and Communications Office on the development of a strategic and data-driven marketing plan. 
• Work closely with the academic and student life deans, as well as the College Guidance Office on issues related to student life, with a focus on ensuring that all students admitted to Hewitt thrive. 
• Maintain statistical and trend data related to admission and enrollment, and share that information with senior staff, the Board of Trustees, and the faculty to keep colleagues informed on enrollment, to support strategic planning, and to identify new or shifting market opportunities.
• Participate in strategic planning and keep the Board fully apprised of the School’s admission and financial aid endeavors.
• Work closely with the advancement office and head of school on issues concerning alumnae relations and advancement.

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED

• Minimum of eight years of admissions and financial aid leadership experience including direct experience with enrollment management practices
• Superb interpersonal relationship building skills with a wide range of identities
• Superb listening and communication skills, both written and spoken
• Strong commitment to girls’ education
• Demonstrated strategic and effective use of data and technology to achieve strategic and operational objectives
• Excellent organizational and management skills
• Demonstrated commitment to anti-bias education and social justice
• Superior organizational and project management skills
• Flexibility, warmth, and sense of humor 
• Bachelor’s degree required

QUALIFICATIONS DESIRED

• Expertise with Google Suite (Gmail, Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides), Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel), and with data management tools and platforms
• Commitment to learning new software and digital tools, and to keeping abreast of admissions trends and best practices
• An ability to speak to the benefits of a girls’ school and inquiry-based, innovative pedagogy
• Proven dedication to professional growth and purpose-driven practice

DEFINING STRENGTHS AND UNIQUE ATTRIBUTES
The Hewitt School was founded by Caroline Hewitt in 1920, shortly after the 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote. “Miss Hewitt,” as she was lovingly called, was born in England and came to the United States of America at the turn of the century to work as a governess for a family in Tuxedo Park, New York. As her reputation grew, more families requested her services, which led her to offer private classes to children at a townhouse on the Upper East Side. Caroline Hewitt tended to her growing school with characteristic energy and warmth, establishing from the outset the quality of attention to the individual that made the school feel like a second home. Though the school has grown and evolved in significant ways over the past decades, Hewitt has remained true to its focus on each individual girl. Dr. Tara Christie Kinsey joined Hewitt in 2015 as head of school. Dr. Kinsey has brought to Hewitt a dedication to putting the latest and best research on girls into practice in the classroom and at home, celebrating each girl as a unique individual, and challenging the practice of “resume padding” with a charge to girls and young women to tune into what matters most to them and to work on developing their “inner resume” and an enduring sense of purpose. Under her leadership, there has been a resurgence of school pride, a commitment to putting the girls at the center of all that the School does, and an appreciation for the unique value of a Hewitt education.

STUDENTS AND FAMILIES
Located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, Hewitt attracts a diverse group of students from all five boroughs of New York City, as well as New Jersey and Connecticut. Readily accessible by public transportation, Hewitt also offers bus service. A $5 million investment in financial aid provides support to 20 percent of the student body. Enrolling 525 girls K–12, Hewitt is a close?knit and supportive community where the girls form strong bonds with one another and with their teachers. Students, faculty, and families report a strong sense of kinship with the School’s mission. The K–12 service learning program, a spirited Blue?White tradition culminating in a field day, and family events including the Family Picnic, Saturday Service Day, and the All?School Skating Party offer opportunities for faculty, students, staff, and families to come together in support of the School’s shared values. Hewitt has a dedicated parent body and a thriving Parents’ Association.

THE FACULTY
Hewitt’s faculty members take very seriously their role as teachers of girls as well as teachers of a particular subject. Research informs everything Hewitt teachers do every day, and teachers coach one another through professional learning communities and peer?led workshops that sustain Hewitt’s commitment to a girl?centric education. Hewitt also regularly invites experts to work with faculty and families. Each teacher also has ready access to a variety of resources and opportunities, both on?site and off?campus, to support mission?aligned, age?appropriate, and discipline?specific curricular design and lesson planning. A summer grant program supports faculty experiences that align with the school’s four academic pillars.

THE ADMINISTRATION
Head of School Tara Christie Kinsey has assembled a talented, high?performing, collaborative, and cohesive leadership team. The leadership team reporting to the head of school includes the director of admissions and enrollment, assistant head of school for learning and innovation, three division heads, chief financial officer, chief marketing and communications officer, director of equity and community life, director of advancement, and director of facilities and operations.

LOCATION AND FACILITIES
Nestled on a quiet block on East 75th Street near Central Park, Hewitt’s main campus includes three adjacent buildings (Gregory Hall, Stillman Hall, and Winslow Hall), which are home to middle and upper school students, admissions, and other administrative offices. The dedicated lower school building, McKelvey Hall, is located just a block away. McKelvey Hall’s classrooms are designed specifically for young girls, including spaces that are ideal for cooperative learning. An exclusive arrangement with the nearby Theater at St. Jean gives all Hewitt students access to a 206?seat professional opera theater with state?of?the?art lighting, sound, and technical elements for both productions and classes. Athletic and wellness facilities are located nearby. Hewitt’s proximity to Central Park provides multiple opportunities for curricular enrichment. A popular first-grade unit explores the history, environments, and plant life of Central Park and the ways in which the park serves the broader New York City community. 

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSIVITY
Hewitt empowers and expects our community members to embrace multiple points of view, to engage others with empathy and integrity, and to champion equity and justice in all areas of our lives. Our enrollment demographic increasingly reflects the diversity of New York City, our classes engage vital questions of inclusion, equity, and social justice, and our intimate community ensures proximity to difference, inspiring students to form meaningful relationships with students from other schools and every walk of life. At Hewitt, diversity, equity, and inclusivity stand as foundational commitments that guide every aspect of teaching and learning. These institutional values inform our pedagogy, foster personal growth, and cultivate belonging. We believe that a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community is essential to educating girls and young women to be positive contributors and citizens of the world. At Hewitt, we recognize that the work of creating a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive community is ever evolving, never completed, often difficult, and deeply rewarding. All diversity, equity, and inclusivity initiatives at Hewitt ask the community to remain fully present, develop empathy, establish a collective purpose, and employ research-based practices for educating girls in a richly varied and globally interconnected world.

IMPORTANT APPLICATION INFORMATION
TO APPLY: Interested candidates are asked to submit in an electronic file, their resume, a one to two-page cover letter, and names and contact information of three references directed to Christine H. Baker at: cbaker@thebakergrp.com. Please submit materials by March 17, 2021.

The successful candidate for this position must be able to provide employment references, successfully complete a post-offer background check (criminal background check and verification of education and prior employment), submit a completed physical exam by a licensed medical practitioner stating they are able to perform the essential functions of the position, and demonstrate legal work authorization to work in the United States.

The Hewitt School is an Equal Opportunity Employer. It has been and will continue to be a fundamental policy of the school not to discriminate on the basis of any category prohibited by applicable federal, New York State and/or New York City laws/regulations. This policy applies to all aspects of the employment process, including hiring, promotion, demotion, compensation/benefits, performance evaluations, disciplinary actions, training, working conditions, layoff, and termination.

NON-DISCRIMINATION STATEMENT

Hewitt is an inclusive and diverse community of students, faculty, administration, trustees, and staff and continues to integrate diversity into the life of the school. Hewitt respects and values individuals whose differences include age, ethnicity, family structure, gender, learning styles, physical ability, race, religion, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status.