College Success Coach

ABOUT COLLEGETRACKS CollegeTracks’ mission is to empower first-generation-to-college students and students from low-income and immigrant households in Montgomery County, Maryland by helping them bridge systemic opportunity gaps with enough support to get to and through postsecondary education and on a career pathway. We envision a future in which every student who graduates from high school in Montgomery County, Maryland has equitable access to their chosen career pathway.  We believe that EVERY student deserves a pathway to prosperity, regardless of who they are, how much they have, or where they come from, and we know that not every student in Montgomery County is getting that opportunity. We believe that postsecondary education is one of the most proven pathways to socio-economic mobility. And we believe that equitable access to postsecondary education is not only a moral imperative, but an economic necessity, as it will help us build a stronger, healthier, and more just future for Montgomery County. We currently serve 1700+ high school and college scholars each year who attend or are alumni of four (4) high schools within Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS). We want to expand our program into more MCPS schools and communities, to live up to our vision of a County in which EVERY student gets the support they need and deserve. OUR PROGRAMSThe Access Program focuses on admissions and financial aid advising, expands awareness of college and career options, identifies colleges that fit each student, uses a “Milestones to College” framework to take students through the critical milestones of the college admissions process, advises on college decisions, engages parents, provides hands-on help with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and other scholarship applications, advocates with college financial aid officers, and helps analyze financial aid packages to find enough financial aid to ensure students will not be saddled with burdensome debt. The Success Program teaches students critical college success skills, helps each student develop a degree plan, monitors and supports student academic performance, helps students secure ongoing financial aid and works with students to create a career plan. The Success Program uses a caseload management approach to provide individual coaching for students as they transition from high school to higher education, to increase the likelihood that they will enroll, persist, and graduate from their chosen postsecondary institution. POSITION SUMMARY CollegeTracks seeks an energetic, self-motivated, passionate, and highly skilled individual to serve as a College Success Coach for its Success Program. We are looking for a mature, creative, self-motivated, organized person passionate about coaching students through college and who has experience working with youth in fast-paced, diverse environments. Furthermore, we seek candidates who can master, analyze, and manage complex information and data quickly; and have strong interpersonal and organizational skills. The College Success Coach is a critical member of the CollegeTracks team, supporting and working with both the Access and Success programs, and reports directly to the College Success Director. The Success Coach will work closely with the College Success Program team to: (1) Implement programming that supports students’ academic, financial, and personal knowledge as they transition from high school to their postsecondary program, emphasizing skills training that will foster success in working towards their personal, academic, and career goals.  (2) Deliver the Success Program by coaching a caseload of college students and monitoring the progress of students through CollegeTracks Success Milestones. PROGRAM RESPONSIBILITIES Program Management ● Provide one-on-one college and career coaching to students about the entire college transition, enrollment, retention, and financial aid processes ● Work individually with students to develop and maintain a comprehensive degree completion plan ● Meet with college students on campus or virtually every semester to assess the status of their personal, academic, financial, and career goals and provide support ● Create and manage behavioral “nudges” to ensure student engagement and program participation ● Facilitate workshops and promote opportunities to offer college success and career preparation skills training to students ● Serve as an advocate for students ● Work closely with students to identify and deal with potential barriers to academic, career and personal success ● Develop and implement program events and programming to better support students ● Develop and maintain collaborative relationships with students, college administrators, counselors, professors, staff, community groups, and CollegeTracks staff and volunteers to support student development Data Management & Analysis ● Collect and timely input student data into CollegeTracks’ Salesforce database system to track student performance, program activity, and student outcomes ● Use Salesforce reports to identify students for interventions and opportunities and to manage communication Program Sustainability ● Serve as CollegeTracks program champion with target colleges and the broader community ● Identify potential opportunities for collaboration with CollegeTracks staff, university administrators, campus departments, and other groups ● Provide information and reports as needed for grant applications, other funding/collaboration opportunities, and special projects ● Support the CollegeTracks mission as needed with flexibilityQUALIFICATIONS Content Mastery ● Bachelor's degree in education, counseling, social work, psychology, or a related field with coursework in education, social work, community counseling, or related fields ● Prior work experience with under-represented students in high schools, college access, college admissions, higher education (certificate, 2-year, and 4-year programs), youth development, teaching, community counseling, or college retention programs ● Working knowledge of college admissions, higher education (certificate, 2-year, and 4-year programs), college retention, and public school systems ● Work experience in multicultural and multilingual student and family environments ● Background in education, nonprofits, business, communications ● Experience with program/event design and management and curriculum development Skills ● Superior interpersonal and relationship building skills; effectiveness in the role depends on an ability to build strong relationships with students, CollegeTracks colleagues, campus staff, volunteers, and community members ● Utilize computer and web-based tools (Google Suite, Excel, etc) to provide efficient individualized and group advising to students in an organized and detail-oriented manner ● Demonstrated proficiency with database programs and data analysis - familiarity with Salesforce or similar relational database platform a plus ● Excel at working autonomously, remotely, and in inter-department workgroups ● Proven problem-solving and independent decision-making skills ● Must be highly organized and detail-oriented ● Strong written and verbal communication (including strong research skills) ● Comfortable multi-tasking in fast-paced work environments OTHER REQUIREMENTS ● Sense of humor ● Passionate about equal access to higher education ● Willing to advocate relentlessly on behalf of our students ● Access to reliable transportation and smart phone required ● Other duties as assigned according to the needs of the organization THE DETAILS The College Success Coach position is a full-time, hybrid (in-office/remote), permanent, and salaried position. We offer a generous benefits package, including: ● Health care ● Dental ● Vision ● Retirement (403b plan) ● Life Insurance ● Short and Long-Term disability plans ● Employee Assistance Program ● Pre -tax Commuter Benefits Program ● Dependent Care Options ● Paid Time Off (PTO) ● Sick leave The compensation for the College Success Coach position is $57,000 and is non-negotiable. HOW TO APPLY Qualified candidates should send an email to recruiting@collegetracksusa.org with “CollegeTracks College Success Coach” in the subject line. Please include your resume and a cover letter that explains how your skills and qualifications meet the position requirements. Please note: CollegeTracks will verify academic credentials before hiring. New hires will be required to submit fingerprints for criminal background checks. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER CollegeTracks understands and values racial equity as an organizational operating principle and is committed to continued learning on issues related to race, equity, diversity, and inclusion. We believe that diversity, equity, and inclusion among our team is critical to our success and mission. We seek to recruit, develop, and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool. CollegeTracks is an Equal Opportunity Employer and will not discriminate against anyone because of race, age, sex, color, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry, or national origin, marital status, genetic information, or political affiliation, or gender identity and expression. We encourage people from all backgrounds to apply for open positions.