College Advising Mentor Specialist

Improve Your Tomorrow

Madison (WI)

On-site

USD 36,000 - 43,000

Full time

14 days+

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Benefits offered by this job

Medical

Dental

Vision

Life AD&D

EAP

403(b) with 3% match

Sick Leave

Paid Vacation Leave

8 Paid Holidays

Additional PTO during school breaks

Job summary

Improve Your Tomorrow is seeking a College Advising Mentor Specialist in Madison, WI. The role leads daily on-campus programming for students in grades 9–12, delivering 1:1 mentorship and coordinating family engagement.

It requires hands-on leadership, strong case management, and experience in a college-going culture. As the senior site-based leader, you will ensure daily operations, track academic progress, and partner with families to guide FAFSA timelines and college applications throughout

Qualifications

Demonstrated commitment to equity and to supporting young men of color.
Strong relationship-building skills with students, families, and school partners.
Ability to prioritize work, meet deadlines, and produce quality results.
Excellent communication and management skills that inspire and drive others.

Responsibilities

Serve as the senior site-based leader for daily IYT programming and be present on campus every school day.
Deliver 1:1 mentorship to all grade levels on the site roster.
Own and operate open and structured study hall on dedicated programming days.
Lead structured programming including Brotherhood rituals and development workshops.
Conduct family touchpoints after mentorship sessions and quarterly engagements.
Monitor GPA, college eligibility progress, attendance, and FAFSA/CADAA timelines for seniors.
Coordinate college applications and senior readiness with College Completion Mentor Specialist.
Log sessions, attendance, and family touchpoints in Salesforce within 24 hours.

Skills

Commitment to equity and mission

Relationship-building

Multi-tasking

Prioritization

Communication skills

Transparency

Education

Bachelor's Degree

Tools

G-Suite

Microsoft Suite

Zoom

Salesforce

Job description

Job Details

Job Location: Madison, WI 53703
Position Type: Full Time
Education Level: Bachelors
Salary Range: $26.00 - $31.50 Hourly
Travel Percentage: Up to 25%
Job Category: Education

Company Overview

Improve Your Tomorrow (IYT) was founded in 2013 with the mission to increase the number of young men of color (YMOC) to attend and graduate from colleges and universities. We envision a world where men of color are overrepresented in higher education, underrepresented in the criminal justice system, and leaders in their communities. By embodying our core values of Character, Service, Teamwork, and Liberation we work to combat academic inequities and build a college-to-community pipeline.

Position Overview

The College Advising Mentor Specialist is the primary relationship, college advisor, and college-going culture builder for students in grades 9–12. Under the FY26/27 restructure, this role operates as the senior site-based leader for daily programming — present on campus every day, owning the daily IYT experience for students, and serving as the consistent human connection between students, their families, and the college-going path ahead.

Key Responsibilities

Mentorship & Daily Student Support

Serve as the senior site-based leader for daily IYT programming; maintain consistent, visible presence on campus every school day.
Deliver 1:1 mentorship to all grade levels on the site roster.

Open Study Hall

Own and operate open and structured study hall on dedicated programming days keeping the space welcoming, structured, and purposeful.

Structured Programming

Led structured programming at the site: own the full Brotherhood experience including rituals (Brotherhood Clap, Creed, Family Love, announcements, energizer) and the Member Development Workshop.

Family Engagement

Conduct a family touchpoint after every mentorship session — affirm student growth, share a win, or invite the family into an upcoming opportunity.
Led quarterly family engagement touchpoints throughout the year (Q1 Orientation/Welcome, Q2 Milestone, Q3 Mid-Semester, Q4 Celebration).

Academic Monitoring & College Readiness

Monitor student GPA, A–G/college eligibility progress, and attendance across assigned caseload.
For 12th graders, coordinate FAFSA/CADAA timelines, college applications, and senior readiness with the College Completion Mentor Specialist.
Introduce each senior to the College Completion Mentor Specialist by spring semester — this warm handoff is a required deliverable.

Data & Documentation

Log all mentorship sessions, programming attendance, and family touchpoints in Salesforce within 24 hours of occurrence.
Maintain up-to-date academic records for each student on caseload — including GPA, A–G/college eligibility progress, attendance, and D/F flags — and surface concerns to the Associate Program Director in a timely manner.
Track and document all grade-level milestones, including FAFSA/CADAA completion, college applications, intent-to-enroll, orientation, registration, declared major, education plan, and counselor connection for 12th grade students.
Maintain accurate intervention notes and academic recovery plans for students carrying D/F grades or falling below a 2.0 GPA, documenting follow-up actions and progress.
Complete end-of-week Salesforce logging and review students not yet seen to ensure no member falls through without contact or a scheduled follow-up.
Document the warm handoff to the College Completion Mentor Specialist for each 12th grade student, ensuring the introduction and transition are recorded before graduation.
Capture and submit regular site content — photos, short videos, student stories, and impactful program moments to the Associate Program Director, with all required consent and release documentation on file.

Additional Duties as Assigned

Schedule

Monday-Friday, 8:30am-5pm; some weekends, evenings, and organization-wide events will be required.

Work Location

Field-based —This positionworks out of an assignedlocalschoolcampus.

Pay Rate

$26.00 - 31.50 Hourly

Benefits

Medical
Dental
Vision
Life AD&D (with additional voluntary options)
Employee Assistance Plan (EAP)
403(b) retirement plan with 3% employer match after one year of employment.
Sick Leave
2 weeks of accrued paid Vacation Leave
8 Paid Holidays
Additional paid time off during selectschool breaks (about 3 weeks of additional PTO in total)

QualificationsMust Haves

Commitment to the mission, vision, and values of IYT.
Ability to self-motivate to achieve results.
A multi-tasker with a solid ability to work under pressure.
Ability to prioritize work, meet deadlines, and produce quality results.
Excellent communication and management skills that can both inspire and push others to accomplish their goals.
Ability to operate with an appropriate, responsible level of transparency and vulnerability, engendering confidence and trust.

Experience

Required

Demonstrated commitment to equity and to supporting young men of color.
Strong relationship-building skills; ability to connect authentically with students, families, and school partners.
Commitment to meeting students where they are and building relationships before asking for anything.
Strong case management instincts: ability to track, follow up, and document on a rolling caseload.

Preferred