Alexandria, Virginia
New York, New York
Posted: 05-May-26
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Type: Full Time
Salary: 135,000-160,000
Further information about this role, as well as how to apply, is linked here.
Kingsley Montessori School, a Montessori independent school serving students from Toddler through Grade 6 in Boston’s historic Back Bay, seeks a Director of Enrollment Management who is a relationship-driven strategist and systems thinker, capable of clarifying and communicating a nuanced school identity, strengthening family trust, and aligning internal stakeholders, all while building a cohesive, data-informed enrollment and retention program across a multi-division, evolving Montessori rooted school.
Widely regarded as the early childhood and elementary school of choice for families in Boston, Kingsley offers a uniquely powerful combination of Montessori principles and progressive education within a close-knit, urban community. With approximately 300 students across two campus buildings on Fairfield and Exeter Streets, Kingsley delivers a dynamic, child-centered academic experience grounded in deep respect for each learner’s developmental journey.
Kingsley’s campus includes enchanting, thoughtfully prepared learning spaces and access to nearby cultural and natural resources, allowing for meaningful experiential learning in the heart of the city. The school’s programs are rooted in Montessori principles while integrating current best practices in education, resulting in a dynamic and balanced academic experience. With a mission centered on preparing students to confidently embrace their future, Kingsley is a place where educators can make a lasting impact.
The Director of Enrollment Management is a high-impact leadership role at a moment of institutional momentum. Kingsley’s distinctive blend of Montessori foundations and evolving, research-informed practice offers a compelling educational experience, one that requires thoughtful articulation, consistent messaging, and careful stewardship of the family journey. The Director will serve as both architect and ambassador of that experience, ensuring that prospective and current families alike understand, value, and remain deeply connected to the school’s mission.
Working in close partnership with the Head of School and senior leadership, the Director will lead all aspects of enrollment management, including admissions, re-enrollment, financial aid strategy, and family engagement. Just as importantly, the Director will help cultivate a shared, school-wide understanding that enrollment is an institutional responsibility, one rooted in relationships, clarity of purpose, and alignment between promise and practice.
OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES
Deepening a High-Touch, Relationship-Driven Admission and Enrollment Experience Kingsley’s enrollment success is grounded in deeply relational work with families, where trust, responsiveness, and authentic connection are central to decision-making. Across stakeholders, there is strong alignment that enrollment is not transactional, but instead depends on families feeling seen, understood, and confident in their fit with the school. The Director has the opportunity to further strengthen and articulate this relationship-centered model, ensuring that every touchpoint reflects consistency, warmth, and clarity. This includes maintaining a high-touch family experience while also ensuring it is scalable, sustainable, and well supported by systems and team structure.
Sharpening and Amplifying Kingsley’s Market Identity
Kingsley’s Montessori roots remain foundational to its culture and early childhood program, while its curriculum and pedagogy evolve in the elementary years. This complexity is a unique strength of the school. The new Director will be a thought-partner to the Head of School and senior leadership to further sharpen how the school communicates its identity in the broader market. The Director will help refine and consistently express Kingsley’s value proposition, ensuring clarity around what differentiates the school academically, culturally, and experientially. This includes strengthening external messaging, enhancing visibility in key markets, and ensuring that every family interaction reinforces a cohesive and compelling sense of place and purpose.
Sustaining and Evolving a Partnership-Centered Family Journey
Parent partnership is central to the Kingsley experience. The Director will build on a culture that values connection, trust, and transparency, ensuring that every stage of the family journey from inquiry through enrollment and retention is handled with care, responsiveness, and sound judgment. The Director will collaborate across divisions to strengthen the overall family experience, identify trends in attrition, and develop proactive strategies to support long-term engagement and satisfaction.
Strengthening Internal Collaboration and Faculty Engagement in Enrollment
Enrollment at Kingsley is a shared institutional effort, and faculty engagement is essential to its success. The Director will play a key role in strengthening these partnerships through transparent communication, structured feedback loops, and meaningful involvement of faculty in admissions activities. In doing so, they will help ensure that enrollment work is understood not as an isolated function, but as an integrated expression of the school’s academic and cultural values.
Advancing Systems, Planning, and Data-Informed Execution
A clear strength of the current enrollment program is its effective structure, planning, and execution. There is an opportunity to further embed a culture of proactive planning and systems discipline. The Director will be responsible for ensuring that enrollment operations are consistently tracked and proactively executed, with clearly defined calendars, roles, and processes. Strengthening data integrity, forecasting practices, and enrollment modeling will also support more confident decisionmaking and long-term planning.
Ensuring Mission-Aligned Enrollment and Student Support
The Director will partner closely with academic leaders, student support teams, and faculty to represent the robust systems that support a range of learners, reflecting a thoughtful and evolving approach to student support with clarity and integrity to prospective families. This includes setting accurate expectations about the student experience, the scope of available supports, and what it means to thrive at Kingsley. The Director will play a critical role in aligning admissions decisions with both the school’s mission and its programmatic capacity, ensuring that each enrolled student is well-positioned for success academically, socially, and developmentally.
DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS AND ATTRIBUTES
Professional Experience
- Demonstrated success in enrollment management, admissions, or a closely related leadership role, preferably in an independent school setting
- Strong understanding of enrollment strategy, including recruitment, retention, and financial aid
- Experience using data and systems to inform decision-making and improve outcomes
- Familiarity with progressive or student-centered educational models; Montessori experience is valued but not required
Leadership and Strategic Capacity
- Ability to think both big-picture and operationally, translating vision into clear plans, systems, and results
- Skill in managing multiple priorities and leading complex processes with clarity and follow-through
- Capacity to contribute meaningfully to institutional strategy while executing day-to-day responsibilities at a high level
- Experience managing and developing team members, with the ability to build strong, complementary partnerships and foster accountability and growth
- Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively across departments, particularly with marketing communications, advancement, and auxiliary programs, to align messaging, strengthen outreach, and support broader institutional goals
Relational Intelligence and Communication
- Exceptional interpersonal skills, with the ability to build trust across a wide range of constituencies, including parents, faculty, and senior leaders
- Sound judgment in navigating sensitive conversations and complex family dynamics
- Talent for clear, compelling communication, both in person and in writing
Commitment to Mission and Community
- Genuine appreciation for Kingsley’s educational philosophy and its blend of Montessori foundations and evolving practice
- Commitment to fostering an inclusive, welcoming community for a diverse range of families
- Enthusiasm for being a visible, engaged member of school life across campuses and constituencies
Interested and qualified candidates are invited to contact Amy Rogers, consultant with Carney Sandoe, directly, at amy.rogers@carneysandoe.com. Applications made through the Kingsley site will not be reviewed. Candidates will ultimately need to submit the following materials as separate PDF documents: A cover letter expressing their interest in this particular position; A current résumé; A list of five professional references with name, relationship, phone number, and email address of each.
