College Success Coordinator in San Francisco, California at Mission Graduates

Mission Graduates is a nonprofit organization that empowers youth and their families on the path to higher education, equipping them for fulfilling careers that will strengthen future generations. We work towards fulfilling our mission through a wide range of after-school support and services that serve over 5,000 children, youth, and families each year. Our vision is to transform the culture of our neighborhoods so that college becomes the expectation for families, rather than the exception.

Program Summary: College Connect is a family-based college access and success program that works with 25 4-year college-bound high school juniors living or attending school in the Mission and Excelsior Districts of San Francisco who will be the first in their family to attend college. College Connect supports students in getting into and successfully completing a college degree. College success programming provides support through one-on-one coaching, near-peer mentorship, professional development series, and social gatherings to build community. Support is provided through college until graduation to help students navigate higher education systems.

Position Overview: The College Success Coordinator (CSC) works directly with college students to ensure higher college graduation rates and a smooth transition from college to career. In collaboration with the College Access Coordinator, this person will ensure a smooth transition for high school seniors to learn about college, financial aid, and campus resources before they start college. The direct work will be with approximately 75 first-generation students. The CSC will lead and facilitate our scholarship program, including scholarship disbursement, managing program requirements, and ongoing student support. This person will collaborate with two other college success coordinators to coordinate Progress Reports, Near-Peer Mentoring, Academic Workshops, and all student communications. Additionally, this person will track and manage student data in our Salesforce database, and work closely with Program Impact team to meet annual goals. The most important responsibilities of the CSC is to provide one-on-one counseling services, which require proactive communication and the persistent use of different avenues to keep in touch with students (phone calls, Zoom, emails, texts, campus visits, etc.). They are the face of the college-to-career program, often interacting with college admins, parents, and other stakeholders, and should represent the program

Program Design, Management & Evaluation (20%)

• Enter and track data on student persistence, academic achievement, and scholarship requirement completion on Salesforce.

• Build trusting relationships with students through mentorship and campus visits.

• Meet with the College Connect Director weekly to discuss program development and receive support and guidance.

• Develop and assess the components of the Near-Peer Mentorship and Career Readiness Program to meet student needs.

• Work with the Volunteer Manager to set a volunteer recruitment timeline and support volunteer onboarding for the Career Readiness program.

• Coordinate two company tours in collaboration with the Volunteer Manager and College Access Coordinator.

• Monitor and assess the effectiveness of the College Success strategy with MG staff to facilitate change and refine the program design as needed.

• Track the monthly budget spending for the CC program with the CC Director.

• Adhere to Divvy spending agreements as set forth by the finance department.

• Oversee social media posting in collaboration with the CC Coordinator to highlight college student programming.

• Submit Board Report to the CC Director bi-monthly for college programming.

• Communicate regularly with college students by phone, email, text, or in-person or virtual one-on-one coaching sessions.

• Collaborate with the College Access Coordinator to integrate the CSC Coordinator into HS programming to build relationships and transition students to the CSC.

• Counsel and coach students through the transition to college life and help them access campus resources.

• Check in with students at least once a semester to track and support their academic progress.

• Help college students understand loans before graduating, renew their FAFSA/Dream Act applications yearly, and assist them with other financial concerns.

• Refer students to local service organizations and support them as they navigate campus resources.

• Coordinate with CS staff to create, modify, and deliver the Near-Peer Mentorship program component and support peer mentors.

• Coordinate with CS staff to create, modify, and deliver Academic Success Workshops for the academic year.

• Collaborate with CS staff to deliver the Career Development series to college students twice per year.

• Be an engaging and responsive workshop facilitator.

• Use group activities to build positive community engagement among staff and students.

• Collaborate with other College to Career staff to support summer programming.

• Contribute to a positive work environment by being professional and cordial to colleagues and other stakeholders.

• Collaborate with the High School Coordinator with programmatic support when needed.

• Act as the primary liaison and collaborate closely with key university liaisons, including support program staff for first-generation college students, key internship providers, and financial aid representatives.

• Collaborate closely with community stakeholders, including parents/guardians, community-based organizations, the College Success Network, and local college representatives.

• Attend relevant conferences and trainings.

• 1-2 years of experience working with diverse youth in community and public school settings, focusing on college success programming.

• Demonstrated knowledge of and experience with the best practices in youth development program planning, curriculum development, methods of teaching, and evaluation.

• Demonstrated effectiveness in program development and implementation.

• Advanced knowledge of the college application process and financial aid system.

• Familiarity with college access challenges that are specific to first-generation college students.

• Familiarity with and experience working in or with colleges and community-based organizations.

• Understanding the varied college persistence, socio-emotional, and career development needs of first-generation college students.

• Knowledge of college admissions, transfer processes, financial aid landscape, and career development, preferably in California.

• Ability to work well with college students, university administrators, and corporate representatives.

• Familiarity and experience working with undocumented youth.

• Experience working in communities of color with low-income populations.

• Bilingual Spanish/English required.

• BA or BS required.

• Current CPR certification (or attained within 2 months of employment).

• TB test clearance is mandatory before hiring.

• Some weekends and evenings are required

Mission Graduates Is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Mission Graduates provides equal employment opportunities to all qualified employees and applicants in all of our employment practices, including selection, hiring, promotion, transfer, termination, leaves of absence, training, and compensation, without regard to race, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, uniformed service member/veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, medical condition or disability, in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws.