College Success Manager

Thrive Scholars Jobs; United States; Hybrid; USD 69,000 - 71,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Paid vacation

Employer-matched retirement plan

Job summary

Thrive Scholars is seeking a College Success Manager to help first-year Scholars transition to college, achieve academic success, and explore careers. The role involves 1:1 advising, group coaching sessions, online modules, and in-person summer programming to support Scholar outcomes.

Most work is remote, with on-site duties during Summer Academy for up to four weeks in July–early August at our sites. Strong coaching, data, and collaboration are essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree required.
• 2+ years of professional experience.
• Advising experience at a highly selective college (academic or career advising).
• Experience helping students through crises and triaging to on-campus resources.
• Strong relationship-builder with adaptable coaching skills across modalities.
• Program design and execution experience with data-informed planning.
• Passion for supporting low-income students of color and first-generation students.
• Strong organizational skills and data documentation ability.
• Knowledge of Boston and/or Chicago college landscapes preferred.

Responsibilities

• College Success Advising: coach up to 90 Scholars to achieve GPA 3.3+ and guide academic/cocurricular opportunities.
• Develop skills in time management, stress management, study skills, and self-advocacy.
• Coordinate workshops with College Success and Career teams for internships and research positions.
• Support Scholars in filing FAFSA and required paperwork to persist to sophomore year.
• Develop and execute a curriculum covering course selection, major exploration, and para-academic skills.
• Identify mental health resources that meet Scholars’ goals.
• Program Management: manage secondary projects and cross-department events.
• Academy Logistics and Facilitation: plan Summer Academy logistics, content, and delivery.
• Administrative Tasks: monitor progress and document activities in Salesforce; re-engage disengaged Scholars.
• Collect and analyze data to inform strategies for academic and career outcomes.

Skills

Advising experience

Relationship building

Coaching skills

Project management

Education

Bachelor’s Degree

Job description

Location:

Remote with preference for Boston or Chicago. On-site during Summer Academy in Miami, FL (subject to change)

Employment Type:

Full-time, Exempt

Salary Range:

$69,300 - $71,000

Benefits:

High-quality health and dental insurance, paid vacation, employer-matched retirement plan

The Organization

At Thrive Scholars, we provide high-achieving students from under-resourced communities the opportunities they need to thrive at top colleges and in meaningful careers.

Our comprehensive and data-driven program model focuses on the key inflection points that can be the difference between graduating from any college and graduating from a top college with the grades, degree, career skills, and network needed to thrive in any career. Thrive Scholars originated in Los Angeles as South Central Scholars (“SCS”) twenty years ago. Over this time, the organization has refined its program model and, in the last five years, has focused on expanding nationally; reaching more high-achieving students from under-resourced communities, growing the number of Scholars we serve; and deepening our program impact. Thrive Scholars has begun to grow its footprint with new summer program offerings in three additional cities. The organization has approximately 75 year-round employees and close to 200 summer employees.

College Success

In order for Scholars to cross the finish line at graduation, they need to establish a strong foundation in their first year. That’s where the College Success team comes in. College Success creates a holistic program that supports Scholars in their transition to college. Providing tailored coaching around academics, wellness, and career preparation, the College Success Managers give expert advice to our first-year college Scholars. The College Success team helps Scholars develop strong academic and personal habits so that Scholars can finish their first year with a GPA of 3.3 or higher and set Scholars up for additional summer opportunities that support their economic mobility.

The Position

Thrive Scholars is looking to recruit a dynamic, student-focused, and results-driven College Success Manager to join our team. Our College Success program is designed to help first-year Scholars successfully transition to college, achieve academic success, thoughtfully explore their major and career interests, and position themselves for a competitive summer opportunity (i.e. internship, research position). The College Success team advising modalities include 1:1 advising, group coaching sessions, online modules, and in-person summer programming. Besides serving as the primary relationship manager for first-year Scholars, CSMs collaborate with other departments to connect Scholars with competitive experiential learning and internship opportunities that facilitate their career development. Additionally, CSMs each serve as leads for 2-3 project areas that help advance the work of the department. Sample project areas include academic excellence, Scholar engagement events, summer experience placement tracking, and communications.

While most Scholar-facing work will be virtual, the CSMs are required to be on-site at one of our Summer Academy sites for up to four weeks of the Summer Academy that runs from July until early-August.

Key Responsibilities:

• College Success Advising (50%):
• Coach a caseload of up to 90 Scholars to help them earn a first-year GPA of 3.3 or higher by identifying the academic and co-curricular opportunities best suited to their goals, interests, skills, and long term economic mobility.
• Assist students in the development of academic and personal skill-building tied to undergraduate student success (e.g. time management, stress management, study skills, self-advocacy skills).
• Coordinate workshops and events with College Success and Career teams to equip students with necessary job search skills and employment preparation strategies to secure first year summer internships and research positions.
• Support Scholars in filing their FAFSA and required paperwork needed to persist to their sophomore year of college.
• Develop and execute a curriculum that teaches first-year Scholars about course selection, major exploration, para-academic skills, and decisions related to educational and career goals.
• Aid Scholars in identifying mental health and wellness resources that meet their individual goals
• Program Management (25%)
• Manage secondary project assignments that advance the department’s goals
• Support cross-departmental and organization-wide events and initiatives, including College Access and Career transition programming, Career Pods, Development/donor opportunities, and Career Development events.
• Academy Logistics and Facilitation (15%):
• Contribute to the planning of Summer Academies, including logistical preparation, content curation, and program delivery.
• Administrative Tasks (10%):
• Monitor student progress and performance towards goals, recording applicable activities via Salesforce in a timely manner
• Use Scholar information to identify disengaged Scholars and deploy strategies to successfully re-engage them
• Collect and use data to understand academic, summer internship placement, and persistence trends and develop strategies to support Scholars in their pursuit of highly selective institutions.

Qualifications and Experience:

There are innumerable ways to learn, grow and excel professionally. We respect this when we review applications and take a broad look at the experience of each applicant. The qualifications and experiences listed below are intended as a guide; we do not expect candidates to check every box. If you believe you can meet the expectations and responsibilities of this position, we want to get to know you and the unique strengths you will bring to the work.

• Bachelor’s Degree
• 2+ years of professional experience
• Advising experience at a highly selective college (academic advising, career advising, etc.)
• Experience helping students through crises and triaging students to the right on-campus resources
• Highly-skilled relationship builder who is able to establish strong, trusting rapport
• Effective and adaptable coaching skills through multiple modalities
• Strong skills and experience with program design and execution
• A passion for working with low-income young people of color, and expertise in the issues first-generation students face at selective colleges and in corporate settings
• Strong organizational skills and ability to document and manage detailed data
• Ability to use data to inform decision making and strategic planning to help scholars meet their goals
• Knowledge around, and understanding of, student experience at selective colleges
• Knowledge of college and universities in Boston and/or Chicago preferred

Thrive Scholars provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants foremployment and prohibits discrimination and harassment based on race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, national origin, sexual orientation, age, disability, or veteran status. We strongly encourage people of all backgrounds to apply.