Position Overview:

Cabinet-Level Leadership Opportunity

Bethany College invites applications and nominations for the position of Dean of Admissions and Student Financial Services, a senior leadership role for an energetic, strategic, and deeply relational professional who believes in the life-changing power of small-college education.

This is an opportunity to help shape the future of a college where students are known, challenged, and supported in a community grounded in faith, learning, and service. Bethany seeks a leader who understands that enrollment work is never confined to one office. It is the shared work of a whole campus, woven through academics, athletics, student life, events, operations, advancement, and every relationship that helps a student see they belong here.

The Dean will serve on the President’s Cabinet and lead both admissions and student financial services (financial aid and student accounts), helping Bethany recruit, enroll, and support students who will thrive in a small, private, liberal arts college in a rural setting. The successful candidate will bring both vision and follow-through: someone who can build trust, strengthen systems, inspire colleagues, and help the College meet ambitious goals with clarity, creativity, and care.

Bethany is looking for a leader with grit, humor, heart, and strong judgment—someone who knows how to stretch limited resources, guide a team through change, and keep people moving toward shared goals. This role calls for a rare blend of strategic thinking, relational warmth, operational discipline, and enrollment expertise.

Essential Functions:

What the Role Requires

The Dean of Admissions and Student Financial Services must be a person who can lead and help build an enrollment culture rooted in collaboration and mission. This leader will:

• Provide strategic leadership toward measurable outcomes for undergraduate and graduate admissions and student financial services.
• Serve as a key member of the President’s Cabinet and contribute to institution-wide planning, decision-making, assessment, and outcomes.
• Work closely with Athletics, Student Affairs, Academic Affairs, Operations, Advancement, and Marketing/Communications to support recruitment, enrollment, and student success.
• Lead across the College in telling the story of Bethany College authentically and persuasively to prospective students, their families, and target communities.
• Build powerful and persuasive messaging that articulates the proven value of an inclusive and expansive liberal arts education for students and their families.
• Help shape a welcoming, coordinated, and mission-driven visit experience for prospective students and their families.
• Lead and develop staff while building strong processes, accountability, and service excellence across the enrollment cycle
• Stay abreast of all of the latest research and best practices in enrollment and financial aid, and be able to implement them at Bethany.
• Experienced in utilizing SLATE CRM to drive data-driven decisions, tracking for enrollment funnel, and use of data and institutional insight to guide strategy, forecasting, and continuous improvement.

The Right Candidate

Bethany seeks a Dean who is at once a relationship builder, community builder, and process-minded leader.

The ideal candidate will bring meaningful experience in recruitment and admissions at a small private liberal arts college, preferably one that is faith-based and located in a rural environment. This person should understand the opportunities and challenges facing small colleges today and be energized by the work of helping students and families see what is possible.

Strong knowledge of student financial aid and awards packaging is essential, including a demonstrated ability to understand and work with issues related to:

• First-generation students
• Pell-eligible students
• Student affordability
• Packaging strategy that reflects the whole student, academic, athletics, artistic, leadership, and potential curiosity
• Discount rate awareness
• Mission-aligned financial aid leveraging

Bethany needs a leader who can think strategically about access and net tuition revenue while never losing sight of the fact that financial aid is also a human conversation spanning generations in a family —one that requires compassion, clarity, honesty, and responsiveness.

What Will Make Someone Successful in This Role

The most successful candidate will be someone who:

• Builds trust quickly with students, families, faculty, staff, coaches, alumni, and community partners
• Understands that enrollment success depends on a connected campus community
• Brings both vision and precision to the work
• Can manage details, systems, timelines, and follow-through without losing warmth or momentum
• Knows how to recruit effectively in a competitive environment with limited resources
• Leads with resilience, optimism, humility, and a sense of humor
• Believes in the mission of Bethany College and the distinctive value of faith-based liberal arts education

The statements contained herein describe the scope of responsibility and essential functions of this position, but should not be considered an all-inclusive listing of work requirements. Individuals may perform other duties as assigned, including work in other areas to cover absences or provide relief to equalize peak work periods or otherwise balance the workload. 

Qualifications:

Required:

• Master’s degree in higher education, marketing, management, or related field, in hand or in process.
• At least three years of progressively responsible experience in admissions, enrollment management, student financial services, or a related field in higher education.
• Demonstrates ability to set benchmarks and goals, along with the ability to adjust strategies in response.
• Demonstrated success in funnel management for student recruitment.
• Strong knowledge of financial aid practices, discounting, packaging, and enrollment strategy.
• Demonstrated experience in effectively leading an admissions team in meeting specific targets and benchmarks in recruitment, deposits, matriculation, and retention.
• Experience with enrolling international students and the SEVIS process.
• Experience working closely with coaches and athletics leadership in recruiting student athletes.
• Experience working collaboratively across multiple divisions and constituencies
• Excellent communication, leadership, and organizational skills.
• Experience working effectively within a cross-functional leadership team.
• Excellent grammar, spelling, and writing abilities
• Microsoft Office, computer knowledge, and knowledge of office equipment
• Ability to communicate effectively to a variety of audiences, including students, parents, faculty, staff, alumni, administration, and the community-at-large
• Ability to handle multiple projects/assignments concurrently and be very results-oriented
• Highly motivated and works well both independently and in a team environment

Preferred:

• Progressive leadership experience in a small private, faith-based liberal arts college
• Experience in a rural college setting.
• Familiarity with transfer students, veterans, degree completers, and graduate programs is a plus.
• Understanding of NAIA enrollment requirements is a plus.
• Familiarity with the enrollment realities facing tuition-dependent colleges.
• Experience partnering closely with athletics, student life, academic affairs, and advancement.
• Fluent in Spanish is a plus

About Bethany College

Rooted in our Lutheran heritage and the transformative power of the liberal arts, Bethany College prepares students to lead lives of purpose, leadership, creativity, and service in a complex and changing world. Founded in 1881, Bethany is a dynamic liberal arts institution located in Lindsborg, Kansas—affectionately known as “Little Sweden U.S.A.” and celebrated for its vibrant arts community. At Bethany, education is grounded in intellectual discovery and a deep sense of belonging. Our close-knit campus environment ensures that faculty and staff know students by name and mentor them in a highly personalized setting. We are committed to equipping students to think critically, lead ethically, and serve with purpose. As a small, private, rural college, Bethany plays an essential role in renewing civic life, expanding opportunity, and fostering community revitalization. We believe in the value of personalized liberal arts education, the power of community, and the promise of rural America. Joining Bethany means becoming part of a community where you can inspire the next generation and contribute to the cultural and academic life of our campus and region. Our faculty and staff... are dedicated to cultivating leaders who serve and inspire through integrity, creativity, and purpose. If you are passionate about mentoring students and making a meaningful impact in higher education, Bethany College offers a rewarding environment where your work will help shape the future.

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