Scholar Recruitment & Selection Officer - Morehead-Cain Foundation

The Morehead-Cain Foundation, home of the first merit scholarship program in the United States, seeks a talented professional to help drive its scholar recruitment and selection efforts. Morehead-Cain aspires to deliver the most innovative, developmental, and impactful undergraduate selection process in the world.

The Morehead-Cain Program: The Morehead-Cain is a four-year merit scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Established in 1945 and inspired by the Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford University, the Morehead-Cain covers all expenses for four years of undergraduate study at Carolina for seventy-five new students annually. But Morehead-Cain offers more than financial aid: we aspire to challenge and support each student to create an experience of “college as it should be.” The program features four fully funded, distinctive summer opportunities, grants for discovery, and membership in a lifelong network. Recipients of the Morehead-Cain enrich UNC’s vibrant campus community as leaders and innovators and engage each day with a community of over 3,000 exceptional and connected alumni. In 2023, Morehead-Cain expanded its program to enroll outstanding sophomores from UNC into the Morehead-Cain community.

Morehead-Cain uses the Slate platform to review approximately 2,500 applicants per year, with a three-phase selection process that captures a variety of perspectives on each candidate and their alignment to our selection criteria of leadership, moral force of character, scholarship, and physical vigor. For more information, please visit www.moreheadcain.org   

The Position: Assists with all aspects of the recruitment and selection process to attract and identify the most promising future leaders from all backgrounds to Morehead-Cain and UNC. The position reports to the Director of Recruitment & Selection and works closely with the entire Foundation staff to support and strengthen the Morehead-Cain experience. The Scholar Recruitment & Selection Officer will be responsible for contributing to and/or leading projects and processes to support the work of the selections team, including recruiting, evaluating, selecting, and enrolling an extraordinary incoming cohort of scholars annually. The successful candidate will be responsible for building relationships with school educators and administrators and engaging with students and families to attract the applicants best fit to our mission. They will be expected to work as part of a team, leverage technology and virtual tools, and effectively prioritize duties to support the goals of Morehead-Cain and the University of North Carolina in enrolling highly qualified, diverse, and inspiring young leaders from across the globe. Strong candidates will be excited to work with students and constituents from a wide range of backgrounds.

Qualifications: The ideal candidate for this position:

• Has a minimum of 5-7 years of experience in selective admissions, college advising, or talent identification
• Enjoys working with college-bound students and undergraduates
• Brings deep curiosity about leadership potential, character, and talent identification
• Will have an interest in increasing access to higher education for exceptional young leaders from historically underrepresented groups
• Is solutions oriented and has strong organizational and process management skills
• Possesses excellent communication, public speaking, and presentation skills
• Welcomes collaborating with others and embraces a growth mindset
• Effectively builds lasting, win-win partnerships with stakeholders

Candidates must be energetic, enthusiastic, and motivated self-starters with excellent relationship-building skills. Experience in college admissions or advising (either in a secondary school or community-based organization) is preferred, and facility with technology is desired. A bachelor’s degree is required. The job requires a valid driver's license and the ability to work some evenings and weekends. Off campus recruitment travel is required. This position is in-person and based in Chapel Hill, NC. The successful candidate must complete all appropriate background checks at the time of hire. Morehead-Cain is an equal opportunity employer.

To apply, please send a letter of interest and resume to hiring@moreheadcain.org