Thrive Scholars

Recruitment

• Design, own, and continuously refine a comprehensive, data-informed Scholar recruitment strategy that aligns with Thrive’s organizational priorities and supports growth of the Six-Year Program.
• Set annual recruitment goals and establish leading indicators and dashboards to monitor progress throughout the cycle; conduct a rigorous end-of-cycle analysis to evaluate efficacy and drive continuous improvement.
• Build and own the systems, workflows, and processes that govern the Scholar recruitment and application experience—ensuring clarity, consistency, and scalability as Thrive grows into new markets.
• Design the applicant communication and stewardship strategy, including the sequencing and framing of outreach to prospective and applied students, to maximize both application completion and yield of accepted scholars.
• Develop and lead Thrive’s recruitment partnership strategy—identifying, cultivating, and stewarding relationships with high schools, school districts, community-based organizations, and other partners in both existing and emerging markets—with a focus on building recurring, sustainable student pipelines.
• Own the Scholar Recruitment budget; make budgetary recommendations based on resource needs and strategic priorities, and ensure responsible cost management.
• Stay current on trends in student recruitment, college access, and the broader competitive landscape; bring external perspectives to inform internal strategy.
• Hire, onboard, coach, manage performance, and develop talent on the Recruitment team, fostering a culture of accountability, ambition, and continuous growth.
• Provide ongoing coaching and direction to Recruitment staff on data-informed outreach, yield strategies, and partnership development—ensuring all team members are equipped to meet ambitious goals.
• Promote ongoing learning and development by identifying team areas for growth and implementing appropriate strategies in collaboration with relevant organizational leaders.
• Foster a positive team culture by connecting tasks to mission impact and cultivating an environment of dialogue, feedback, and shared success.
• Own the design and strategic framework for the Scholar application and selection process across all programs, in collaboration with program directors and the Associate Director of Admissions and Enrollment.
• Establish evaluation rubrics, selection criteria, and quality standards for the admissions process; ensure consistent, equitable, and high-quality evaluation at scale.
• Collaborate with the Operations team to ensure recruitment and admissions data is tracked, reported, and used to drive decisions.
• Cultivate relationships with university admissions offices and other external partners relevant to scholar recruitment and enrollment.
• Partner with program directors across College Access, College Success, Summer Academy, and Career Development to ensure recruitment strategy is integrated with broader program goals and scholar experience.

Director of Scholar Recruitment