Senior SLATE Functional Consultant (Higher Education Admissions)

Job Title Senior Slate Functional Consultant (Higher Education Admissions) Client University of Arkansas Work Location Fayetteville, Arkansas (Hybrid/Remote as Required) Work Mode Hybrid Employment Type Contract Duration Initial 4-Year Contract (Subject to Extensions/Renewals) Estimated Effort Full-Time (40 Hours/Week) Compensation Hourly (DOE) Start Date Tentative - August/September 2026 Job Summary Guru Consulting Services LLC is seeking an experienced Senior Slate Functional Consultant to support the University of Arkansas Graduate School & International Education (GSIE) in evaluating, optimizing, and enhancing its existing Slate Admissions platform. The selected consultant will lead discovery sessions, assess the University's current Slate environment, recommend best-practice admissions workflows, optimize CRM functionality, improve Workday Student integrations, and advise on AI-enabled process automation. This engagement is focused on strategic consulting and business process optimization rather than a full system implementation. The ideal candidate will possess extensive experience with Slate CRM, higher education admissions processes, workflow optimization, reporting, and stakeholder collaboration. Key Responsibilities • Conduct discovery workshops and assess the University's existing Slate environment, workflows, and business processes. • Analyze graduate and international admissions operations and recommend workflow improvements. • Evaluate the current Slate configuration and recommend the optimal system architecture. • Optimize Slate CRM functionality, communication plans, forms, portals, and application workflows. • Recommend improvements for Slate and Workday Student integrations. • Design dashboards, reports, custom datasets, and analytics to improve operational visibility. • Identify opportunities for AI-enabled automation, OCR, transcript evaluation, and document verification. • Improve applicant and faculty portal usability and user experience. • Configure tracking and workflow recommendations for assistantships, fellowships, sponsored students, exchange students, and other special applicant populations. • Develop process documentation, governance guidelines, and best practices. • Deliver training sessions and knowledge transfer to University staff. • Provide ongoing advisory support and recommendations for continuous platform improvement. • Collaborate with University stakeholders throughout discovery, assessment, recommendation, and implementation planning. Required Qualifications • Bachelor's degree in Information Systems, Computer Science, Business Administration, Higher Education Administration, or a related field. • Minimum 5+ years of experience implementing or optimizing Slate CRM in higher education. • Strong understanding of graduate, undergraduate, and international admissions processes. • Experience configuring Slate workflows, forms, portals, communications, queries, reports, and dashboards. • Experience integrating Slate with Student Information Systems (preferably Workday Student). • Knowledge of admissions lifecycle management and enrollment operations. • Experience conducting discovery sessions, business process assessments, and workflow optimization. • Excellent analytical, documentation, presentation, and communication skills. • Ability to collaborate with technical teams and business stakeholders. Preferred Qualifications • Experience supporting colleges, universities, or higher education institutions. • Experience with Workday Student integrations. • Experience implementing AI-enabled workflow automation or OCR technologies. • Experience with CRM optimization and enrollment management strategies. • Experience leading digital transformation or admissions modernization initiatives. • Familiarity with change management and user adoption strategies. Preferred Certifications • Slate Certified Consultant (Preferred) • Workday Student Certification (Preferred) • Project Management Professional (PMP) - Preferred • Certified Scrum Master (CSM) - Preferred • ITIL Foundation Certification (Preferred) Responsibilities During Engagement The selected consultant will play a key role in: • Discovery and assessment of the current Slate environment. • Admissions workflow evaluation and optimization. • Slate CRM enhancement and configuration recommendations. • Workday Student integration assessment. • Reporting and dashboard strategy. • AI and automation recommendations. • Documentation and knowledge transfer. • Ongoing advisory support and continuous improvement planning.