Job Description

Position Overview

Between January 1 and March 31 each year, KIPP Forward accepts applications from exceptional recent or soon-to-be college graduates to join our two-year College Success Fellows program. The College Success Fellows program is led by the Senior Director of College Success and Fellows report directly to a College Success Manager.

As full-time employees with a salary of $58,500 and full benefits, Fellows work passionately and tirelessly to ensure that recent graduates of our partner high schools receive outstanding support through their first two years of college, with the ultimate goal that they persist and accumulate 60 credits to stay on track for on-time degree completion. Throughout their two-year commitment, Fellows engage in regular training by skilled college and career success practitioners and receive consistent and direct feedback that helps them grow their professional skills.

Fellows provide transformational coaching, mentorship and direct support to alumni in college through 1:1 advisement sessions on their campuses and touchpoints in between. Fellows assess the progress of our alumni towards college completion through our innovative “Persistence Benchmarks” which measures financial health, academic habits and planning, socio-emotional health, and career planning. Through these consistent touchpoints and assessments, Fellows perform transformational coaching interventions to ensure our alumni make positive progress in all areas.

Given college and career success work involves meeting with our alumni at their respective colleges, this position is a field position and requires frequent travel. Fellows will be assigned to a placement region for the length of the two year fellowship and will visit a set of schools within 3 hours driving distance of that region. When applying, 2023 College Success Fellows will be offered the ability to select their preferences amongst these placement regions, and our program will seek to meet preferences as much as possible:

• NY: Albany, New York City, Western NY (Syracuse/Rochester/Buffalo)
• NJ: Newark or Camden/Philadelphia
• PA: Philadelphia/Camden
• CT: Hartford or New Haven

All work-related transportation costs will be paid for by KIPP Forward.

The 2023 College Success Fellowship is a two-year (twenty-four months) commitment from July 17, 2023 through June 2025. At the end of the Fellowship, employment with KIPP NYC terminates.

Duties and Responsibilities

College and Career Advising:

• Manage a case load of approximately 100-125 college students, meeting at least once, preferably two to four times per semester, to provide advising services focused on college persistence and credit attainment
• Become an expert on your assigned campuses through research and exploration, with the goal to be able to direct alumni to their campus offices, resources and supports early and often
• Connect, collaborate and maintain relationships with key campus staff and support offices in order to best support our alumni and address challenges that arise efficiently and effectively
• Conduct routine follow-ups to ensure successful registration and completion of coursework and drive registration for summer term for students who are under-credited
• Assist students in writing and submitting financial aid and enrollment letters of appeal when needed to maintain enrollment status and/or financial aid
• Assist students with FAFSA/TAP renewals from October through March and with loan counseling completion when necessary, as well as provide FAFSA/TAP renewal support via designated workshop times for our older alumni as part of our broader programmatic support for all alumni
• In Year 2, coach and progress monitor students toward essential career services, including participating in career readiness webinars, completing resume coaching and mock interviews, and obtaining a sophomore year internship

Data Management:

• Track Persistence Benchmarks with every student contact on four key indicators of Persistence: Financial, Socio-Emotional, Academic, and Passion/Purpose/Plan (Career Readiness)
• Utilize Engagement and Persistence Dashboard to analyze student academic data and progress towards goals, prioritize campus visits and outreach, and focus your 1:1 meetings on transformational coaching
• Drive submission of transcripts in January and May
• Drive completion of our annual satisfaction survey from your caseload
• Track and maintain key student data points in our centralized data systems, including detailed notes of every student communication, enrollment changes, campus visits and updated contact information

Collaborative Learning and Planning:

• Engage actively in our continuous and intensive training program, which is intended to quickly build Fellows’ skills in coaching and content knowledge. Training includes workshops, team meetings, observations and debrief cycles, webinars, and team step-backs. New Fellows Training will be held full-time from July 17 – August 11, 2023 (week 1 in NYC, week 2-4 virtual). Ongoing professional development will be required quarterly, and may require travel to NYC for those placed in other regions (paid for by KIPP Forward).
• In Year 2, support the training of first year Fellows through active participation, coaching, and supporting them on their first campus visits with you
• Plan and participate in weekly one-on-one meetings with College Success Manager
• Regularly and openly communicate with College Success Manager to seek guidance and support to navigate complex challenges alumni may be facing

General Administration:

• Submit all receipts for travel expenses on a weekly basis via our finance platform
• Maintain travel schedule on team calendar
• Collect FERPA waivers and other documentation required for successful coaching and interventions
• Respond to emails, calls and texts from staff and students within 24 hours
• Utilize approved social media to promote our programming and deliver critical information to students

Qualifications

Skills and Qualifications:

• Unquestioned integrity and commitment to KIPP NYC’s mission and values
• Bachelor’s degree earned between May 2021 and May 2023 (to maintain near-peer model we seek recent college graduates only)
• Cumulative college grade point average of 2.7 or higher
• Commitment to working with underserved and underrepresented students and families
• Friendly and approachable to quickly engage your advisees
• High energy, positivity and enthusiasm to encourage and inspire your advisees to persevere and take positive action steps as they face challenges
• Ability to manage stressful or complex situations with calm, composure and resourcefulness
• Ability to self-manage to address challenges and meet ambitious goals and strict deadlines
• Flexibility and willingness to contribute when necessary on projects outside of own caseload (eg. seniors transitioning to college, older alumni needing FAFSA/TAP support)
• Demonstrated ability to work well with others and build relationships within and across teams
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Strong organizational and high attention to detail
• Strong achievement orientation with exceptional time management skills and demonstrated ability to handle multiple priorities
• For those placed outside of NYC: Valid driver’s license. Car preferred, but not required.
• We are actively seeking KIPP, Achievement First, Coney Island Prep, and Prospect Schools alumni for this position; if openings remain, we seek first generation college graduates, preferably from one of the communities where our schools are based, to retain our near-peer model of service.

Additional Information

Compensation & Benefits:

KIPP NYC offers a highly competitive salary of $58,500 for the College Success Fellow position, an excellent benefits package, and an organizational calendar that includes approximately 35 set days of paid vacation (equivalent to 7 work weeks), plus an additional three weeks of paid summer vacation after completion of Year 1.

KIPP NYC offers a generous benefits package including medical, dental and vision coverages. Other benefits include retirement plan, flexible spending accounts, life insurance and supplemental benefits offerings.

This description is intended to describe the type of work being performed by a person assigned to this position. It is not an exhaustive list of all duties and responsibilities required by the employee.

KIPP NYC LLC is an anti-racist organization that believes in the importance of being diverse, equitable, and inclusive. We are committed to creating a welcoming environment that includes employees with diverse backgrounds and experiences. We believe that enables us to better meet our mission and values while serving students and families throughout New York City. BIPOC, women, gender expansive, LGBTQIA+, veterans, and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

KIPP NYC LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. KIPP NYC LLC is committed to the principles of equal employment opportunity for all employees and applicants for employment.