Program Manager

ABOUT MINDS MATTER COLORADO

Since 2004, Minds Matter Colorado has connected driven and determined students from low-income backgrounds with the people, preparation, and possibilities to succeed in college, create their future, and change the world. Our three-year program, beginning in the tenth grade, provides wrap-around services, including 2:1 mentoring with dedicated volunteers, one-on-one college and career coaching, weekly college readiness, career exploration, and life skills curriculum, enrollment in pre-collegiate summer programs at top-tier postsecondary institutions, guaranteed acceptance into college through strategic higher education partnerships, and scholarship support. 

For 20 years, 100% of Minds Matter Colorado graduates have gained admission to a 4-year college or university with scholarships to pay for it. 

Our Mission & Vision

Minds Matter connects driven and determined students from low-income families with the people, preparation, and possibilities to succeed in college, create their future, and change the world. 

Bridging the gap between potential and opportunity, Minds Matter Colorado empowers our students to thrive at the college of their choice, graduate with purpose, and launch fulfilling careers that enable upward economic mobility.

Our Program

The Minds Matter programming model includes the following to all students at no cost:

• People: Intensive mentorship
• Preparation: Rigorous after-school college-readiness programming, and
• Possibilities: Attendance at summer experiences on college campuses

ABOUT THE ROLE 

The Program Manager (PM) will support a high-performing organization with a proven model for college and career success. Minds Matter Colorado works with 110 students, 15 partner high schools, and 190+ volunteers. Joining an organization in growth mode, the Program Manager will work alongside talented staff and dedicated volunteers to make a significant impact on Minds Matter Colorado’s capacity to work with students across the Denver region and will help develop programming as we embark on our next 5 year strategic vision. Our small-but-mighty staff of four leads & supports over 190 active volunteers to bring programming to life. Specifically, the Program Manager will:

Implement Recruitment and Program Plans to stabilize and grow the overall impact of the organization

• Manage student and volunteer recruitment initiatives, including conducting outreach, community engagement activities and informational sessions
• Manage student and volunteer interviews, including coordinating application and interview processes, overseeing recruitment tracking, and conducting follow-up, scheduling, implementation, and initial onboarding
• Support the Director of Programs in managing and implementing volunteer training offerings, including supporting onboarding, facilitating new mentor training, and ad-hoc support throughout the program year
• Build relationships with high school staff members and community partners to create a broader network of trusted adults who recommend students to apply to MMCO
• Proactively seek opportunities to enhance and strengthen relationships with new partner schools through outreach, engagement, community networking, etc.

Serve as the staff manager for Summer Program processes

• Oversee the volunteer-run Summer Programs team, collaborating on the creation and maintenance of systems and procedures to streamline summer program curriculum and implementation.
• Manage Summer Program travel and arrangements, including supporting Summer Programs team with coordinating, budgeting, and securing summer program details and logistics 
• Identify, build and steward relationships with Colorado-based collegiate summer programs to strengthen the connections during the application and enrollment process

Manage and support 12th Grade Programming

• With support from the Director of Programs, manage the 12th-grade program, including monitoring student well-being, program milestone achievement, college advising processes, senior data tracking, and supporting volunteer leaders and mentors

Support the Director of Programs in program planning and implementation

• Regularly attend in-person and virtual programming sessions on Monday nights, Sept-May from 6-8pm
• Co-lead weekly advocacy meetings, including supporting with tracking and monitoring attendance, engagement, and program milestones

Serve as a collaborative team member and champion for Minds Matter’s mission and values

• Participate in programming sessions (Monday nights) and weekly team meetings (In-person, in-office on Tuesdays)
• Contribute to a full team effort during busy times across staff to collectively support one another and the organization
• Play an active role in engaging in Minds Matter’s diversity, equity, and inclusion work, modeling a commitment to active and ongoing learning, understanding one’s own identity, power, and privilege, and acknowledging the intersectional identities of students, staff, and volunteers.

Your Competencies and Experience

• Bachelor's degree required
• 3-5 years experience in education, college access, youth development, or nonprofit sector
• Demonstrated ability to build and maintain relationships, ideally with both youth and adults
• Demonstrated ability working with high school or college-level students from historically underserved and underrepresented communities
• Experience supporting learning experiences for youth and adults
• Ability to manage complex tasks and multiple projects and timelines
• You’re excited to join a small team and are confident working independently
• You approach relationships with a deep appreciation for the assets of the community you’re working within
• (Preferred, not required) You’re a bi-lingual English/Spanish speaker (while our program is in English, many of our student families are Spanish speaking)
• (Preferred, not required) Previous experience with CRM databases, such as Salesforce

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

• Base salary is $60,000-$66,000
• Flexible work schedule with unlimited PTO
• Monthly cell phone contribution of $50
• Healthcare insurance, if not insured through family member
• Monthly contribution to 403(b) retirement plan, with up to 4% employer matching

TIME COMMITMENT

This is a full-time role, with flexibility required to meet after traditional work hours. The Program Manager will also have an expectation of attending Monday night program sessions from 6-8 pm during the school year. 

LOCATION

This role is based in the Denver Metro Area and hybrid regarding day-to-day work, as staff works from home ~75% of the time. Our team meets in the office in-person on Tuesdays every week. MMCO maintains office space in Denver and desk space is available.  

Additionally, the Program Manager is expected to travel regionally to support programming, including throughout Denver and Aurora, and along the I-25 corridor, as considerations for expansion arise.

HOW TO APPLY

If you’re interested in applying, please visit this link and complete the application in lieu of a cover letter (https://rebrand.ly/MMCOProgramManager). To complete, have an updated resume ready for upload. For confidential inquiries or assistance in completing the application, please contact Jessica Fagioli jessica@mindsmatterco.org.

Minds Matter Colorado is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to sustaining a diverse community with a work environment that is welcoming, respectful, and encouraging to all. We foster a culture of inclusion that celebrates and cultivates diversity along multiple dimensions, including race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, out-of-home care, age, national origin, socioeconomic status, religion, ability, culture, and experience. We encourage applications from those who identify as people of color and/or as first-generation college graduates.

• Flexible work schedule with unlimited PTO
• Monthly cell phone contribution of $50
• Healthcare insurance, if not insured through family member
• Monthly contribution to 403(b) retirement plan, with up to 4% employer matching