Position Summary
The Assistant Director of Digital Recruitment & Community Engagement leads VCFA's digital recruitment, audience engagement, online outreach initiatives across graduate programs, other potential non-degree online offerings, online and hybrid learning opportunities, and institutional engagement efforts.
This position is responsible for developing and executing digital engagement strategies designed to build visibility, generate prospective student interest, and cultivate online communities through social media, storytelling, virtual programming, livestreams, CRM communications, and digital engagement campaigns.
The Assistant Director serves as a highly visible and audience-facing member of the enrollment team and collaborates closely with Academic Affairs, external creative/design vendors, and institutional leadership to support recruitment growth and audience engagement.
Success in this role can be defined through audience engagement, growth tracking, content delivery, and campaign execution. The Assistant Director will work in close partnership with the CEMO’s direction to further develop metrics related to student interaction, online participation, and expanded marketing and enrollment reach.
Location: Remote with required in-person attendance at VCFA's two nine-day residencies on the CalArts campus annually, and other strategic events as assigned
Primary Responsibilities
Digital Recruitment & Audience Engagement
- Lead recruitment engagement strategies across digital platforms and online communities.
- Develop and execute digital recruitment campaigns supporting graduate, online, and hybrid offerings.
- Manage prospective student engagement initiatives across social media and digital communication platforms.
- Support audience growth and lead generation initiatives targeting diverse student populations and learning communities.
- Manage day-to-day execution of paid digital advertising campaigns, including creative approval, performance monitoring, and budget pacing, in coordination with the CEMO.
Content Development & Storytelling
- Collaborate with faculty, students, alumnx, and staff to develop recruitment-focused storytelling initiatives.
- Support creation and distribution of short-form video, livestream content, webinars, digital campaigns, and online engagement materials.
- Coordinate audience engagement content across multiple digital channels.
- Serve as the primary point of execution for institutional content marketing, social media, and email marketing, briefing and coordinating external creative/design vendors when in-house production capacity is insufficient (e.g., photography, video editing, graphic design).
- Own all Inquiry-to-Applicant messaging
- Serve as the ongoing personal counselor for an assigned portfolio of prospective students, providing direct phone/email guidance and maintaining that relationship.
Virtual Programming & Community Building
- Coordinate virtual and in-person recruitment events including information online information sessions and prospective student experiences at residency, webinars, livestreams, online portfolio reviews for all programs, and digital engagement experiences.
- Support development of online student engagement and community-building initiatives.
- Assist with communication and outreach efforts involving students, alumnx, faculty, and prospective students.
CRM Communications & Engagement
- Utilize CRM systems and related technologies to support prospective student engagement campaigns.
- Support implementation and management of AI-assisted communication tools and automated engagement workflows supporting broad-audience and community engagement.
- Coordinate digital communication initiatives supporting recruitment and audience engagement goals.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree or comparable professional experience.
- Experience in digital communications, recruitment, marketing, higher education, media, or related fields.
- Strong social media, digital engagement, and storytelling skills.
- Experience with CRM systems and digital communication platforms preferred.
- Excellent written, verbal, and organizational skills.
- Ability to work collaboratively across departments and teams.
- Interest in arts education and creative communities preferred.