Coordinator, Programs

LINK Unlimited; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 48,000 - 53,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Retirement plan

PTO days

Holidays

Holiday shutdown

Job summary

LINK Unlimited Scholars in Chicago is seeking a Coordinator of Programs to support educational programming and student success. You will recruit, interview and select Scholars; manage relationships with Scholars and families; track academic progress and provide tutoring and college counseling.

You will build partnerships with schools, coordinate resources for college planning, and help run Saturday Academy, Summer Learning, and other events.

Responsibilities

• Recruit, interview and select LINK Scholars; manage relationships between LINK, Scholars and families; track academic progress; provide tutoring, college counseling and other programming support.
• Maintain data records and communications with Scholars and parents/guardians in Salesforce; build partnerships with schools to ensure Scholars receive ongoing support.

Job description

LINK Unlimited Scholars (LINK) is where hard work meets heart work. The work is demanding and fast-paced, but deeply rewarding. We push ourselves because our Scholars deserve nothing less. If that doesn’t scare you AND you’re adaptable, driven, and ready to invest in changing the trajectory of our Scholars lives and our city’s future, then we invite you to join our team!

We LINK students who have been historically underrepresented in higher education, especially Black students, with the resources and support needed for success as they advance to, through, and beyond college.

Chicago’s educational system amplifies persistent inequities, creating a significant college completion gap for historically underrepresented students, particularly Black students. LINK’s goal is to mitigate the effect of these systemic and structural forces by improving and increasing access to educational opportunities and college completion for students who have been historically underrepresented in higher education, especially Black youth in Chicago. By equipping our Scholars with the knowledge, skills, resources, and social equity that further college completion and career placement, LINK is increasing the economic mobility and stability of historically underrepresented students and cultivating a diverse leadership pipeline for our city.

Since 1966, we have successfully supported over 2,500 low- to moderate-income students. In the 2026-2027 academic year, we will serve 350+ Scholars (Jr. LINK, High School & Collegiate Scholars). Our Scholars represent more than 60 Chicagoland neighborhoods, with a focus from ten South and West Side communities: Auburn Gresham, Austin, Bronzeville, Englewood, Garfield Park, Greater Grand Crossing, North Lawndale, Roseland, South Shore, and Washington Park.

Position Summary

As an integral part of the Programs Team, the Coordinator of Programs works closely with the Director, Programs to support our educational programming and achieve educational goals. The Coordinator, Programs is responsible for: recruiting, interviewing and selecting LINK Scholars; managing the relationship between LINK, Scholars and families, and its partnership with elementary and high schools; tracking the academic progress of Scholars; and providing Scholars with the support they need, such as tutoring, college counseling, personal support and other programming, to ensure their success.

Scholar and Family Support

The Programs Team is responsible for maintaining close contact with LINK’s Scholars and their families. The Coordinator, Programs will be the main contact for approximately one third to a half of the Scholars as they matriculate through the Jr. LINK and High School fellowship. Responsibilities include:

• Build and maintain relationships with Scholars, families, and Mentors to provide support to the Scholar.
• Collect and review Scholar grade reports each semester to track academic progress.
• Send targeted monthly communications to ensure Scholars are engaged and have a positive experience that supports student retention and successful completion of our high school fellowship.
• Be responsive and maintain ongoing communications to support Scholars’ needs and family circumstances.
• Ensure that Scholars who are in need of additional help receive tutoring assistance and/or other school-based and/or organizational resources that could positively impact the Scholars’ academic performances.
• Provide accurate updates to the Vice President, Programs & Evaluation, and Director, Programs on Scholars’ statuses.
• Maintain data records and ongoing communications with Scholars and their parents/guardians in Salesforce according to organizational data best practices.
• Build and sustain relationships with LINK partnership schools through communications with their school counselors, faculty, registrars, and admissions directors to ensure LINK Scholars are receiving the ongoing support necessary to succeed.
• Ability to participate in school visits to partnership schools in collaboration with the VP, Programs & Evaluation and Director, Programs.
• Collaborate with the Director, Programs to create and provide Scholars with resources for college, scholarships, financial aid, and college immersion opportunities for LINK College Counseling Program.
• Assist with the development and execution of the LINK Unlimited Scholars program components including college/career awareness, leadership, civic engagement, Saturday Academy programming for all Scholars, Summer Learning, and other events for Scholars and Mentors.
• Attend cohort orientations and all programmatic events.
• Other duties as assigned.

Scholar Recruitment

Along with shared responsibility with the Programs Team, the Coordinator, Programs will:

• Support LINK’s organizational presence across Chicagoland communities through participation in school and/or community fairs, events/meetings, and other recruitment related activities as needed.
  • Plan and attend recruitment events and adhere to the recruitment timeline.
  • Build and/or maintain partnerships with middle schools and community organizations to support organizational awareness and recruitment efforts.
• Coordinate recruitment and application related communications to prospective students and parents/guardians.
• Assist in the closing process for open applications.
• Respond to email and phone inquiries about the organization and application process.
• Provide support for the student application review process, which might include:
  • Scheduling, interviewing candidates and advising on which candidates might be appropriate for LINK;
  • Supporting applicants through the application process by maintaining communication throughout the entirety of the recruitment process.

Data Management

• Collect and analyze program-related data to inform programmatic strategies and goal progress.
• Collect necessary data to report on scholar engagement, program satisfaction, and academic performance to evaluate Scholar experience and performance in the program.
• Ensure Scholar data is collected and regularly input into Salesforce and other data collection platforms.
• Ensure communications with Scholars, parents, and external contact, including partner schools are entered into Salesforce.
• Report on Jr. LINK Scholar engagement and academic performance to evaluate Scholar performance in the fellowship.

Compensation

Salary range $48k-$53k; to be determined based on experience and skills.Full-time employees are eligible for health, dental, and vision insurance, Retirement, PTO days, 11 Holidays, and a holiday shut down from Christmas Eve through New-Year’s day. Must also have flexibility to on occasion work Saturdays (on average 1-2 times/month) and evenings to support programming and other organizational events.

LINK Unlimited Scholars is an equal opportunity employer.L