SUCCESS TEAM MANAGER

SUCCESS TEAM MANAGER

Chicago

Who We Are and What We Believe:

Founded in 1997, Bottom Line is a nationally recognized nonprofit organization with a mission to partner with degree-aspiring students of color from under-resourced communities as they get into college, graduate, and go far in life. We achieve this mission by providing one-on-one guidance during the college application process through college graduation and the successful launch of their careers.

Our vision is to dramatically transform urban communities by producing thousands of new career-ready college graduates.

When you join Bottom Line, you will find a rewarding, fast-paced, results-oriented environment. We build strong relationships with our students and with each other. We take our work seriously, and we know that a focus on data and metrics is integral to our continued success. Experts in our fields, we are driven by our mission and extremely proud of the work we do.

What You Will Do:

The primary responsibility of the Success Team Manager is to ensure the delivery of high-quality services within our College Success Program. The Success Team Manager manages 3 – 7 College Success Advisors and oversees their development, performance, satisfaction, and retention. The Success Team Manager also provides quality direct services to a small caseload of students, and tracks and records student progress in a database, using both quantitative and qualitative data.

Primary Responsibilities: 

Program Management - 35% 

• Ensure the delivery of high quality, consistent services within our College Success Program – through observation, group & individual staff meetings, reports, and other feedback
• Meet regularly with the Success Program Director and National program team in order to set and assess programmatic goals
• Communicate, manage, and achieve team program benchmarks
• Track team progress in campus relationship management, campus visit scheduling, student engagement (% active, days since contact) and student outcomes (goals achieved, services accomplished)
• Work with Success PD to create and manage campus visit calendars each semester
• Manage program resources to ensure that your team has what they need in order to do their job (materials, training, technology, supplies, appropriate time, coaching, and reasonable campus meeting space)
• Actively look for opportunities for curriculum, training, and other program improvement and bring ideas to Success PD
• Track budgets for scholarships and program expenses when appropriate
• As assigned by the PD, support the efforts of the transition program, bringing success candidates from the Access Program to the point where they are ready to be supported on campus and engaged as a Bottom Line student
• As assigned by the PD, support the Success Direct recruitment efforts and intake meetings
• As assigned by the PD, facilitate the confirmation process for Success Direct candidates
• Support adjustments to the Success Direct recruitment, confirmation, and intake process throughout the season as needed
• Facilitate, track, and review the comprehensive assessment process biannually, with support from the Success PD and National Program Team
• Effectively create and manage project plans for assigned project(s), and ensure that assigned project(s) are delivered with the highest quality, on-time, and within budgetary requirements

Staff Management (50%) 

• Manage a team of 3-7 Advisors, each of whom is supporting a caseload of approximately 80 college students
• Meet regularly with team members one-on-one to assess progress toward individual performance goals and team program goals
• Maintain a supportive, inclusive, positive work environment within the team, including but not limited to leading weekly team meetings and supporting Advisors both on and off site
• Support the Success PD in hiring, onboarding, and training new College Success Advisors
• Coach staff through challenges, creating space for staff to explore growth opportunities
• Provide regular, consistent, honest feedback that gives staff an understanding of their performance and demonstration of behavioral competencies at the present and where/how they can grow
• Observe and coach staff interacting with students
• Pull and analyze data that reflects program benchmarks
• Deliver formal annual performance reviews, as well as informal goals check-ins
• Stay connected to the experience of the team, maintaining steady lines of communication, and address staff concerns and questions when they do arise
• Ensure staff feels connected to the mission
• Identify talented staff and work with regional Program Leadership to create development plans to retain and promote those employees
• Identify staff who are not a good fit for the role or the organization and work with regional Program Leadership to move them on from the role or organization
• Support the students when their Advisors are out of the office or when Advisors have transitioned out of Bottom Line and before new staff has been trained
• Problem solve and develop problem solving skills in Advisors while connecting students to resources and developing their resourcefulness
• Plan for, approve, and resolve situations as they relate to paid time off and leaves of absence
• Approve and submit monthly expense reports
• Approve bi-weekly timecards

Direct Student Support (5%) 

• Follow Bottom Line’s structured curriculum (DEAL), which supports students in four areas: Degree, Employability, Affordability, and Life Skills, to help students progress towards specific goals/milestones
• Coach students toward reaching DEAL Milestones, including, but not limited to: “Enroll in fall classes,” “Create a professional resume,” “Complete financial aid applications”
• Conduct and document end-of-semester assessments for each student (twice annually)
• Based on these assessments, create service plans for each student
• Maintain ongoing communication with all students on caseload
• Lead 45-minute meetings for caseload
• Meet with incoming first year students over the summer to ensure a smooth transition to their new campus
• Send messages of encouragement, congratulatory cards, care packages, etc.
• Respond to all student text/calls/emails within 2 business days
• Guide students through financial aid renewal process by appropriate deadlines
• Support students with career exploration, career planning, and career development
• Research relevant career information and resources to send to students
• Identify students for specific Bottom Line partner internships and opportunities, and support students through the application process for these opportunities
• Connect students with Bottom Line job coaching volunteers (“Go Far Volunteers”)
• Help students resolve general obstacles that come up throughout the school year by coaching them on self-advocacy and resourcefulness skills, and communicating with school offices to advocate for students

Secondary Responsibilities: 

External Relationships (5%) 

• Develop and maintain positive, productive relationships with staff and leadership of Bottom Line’s target colleges and relevant community partners
• Develop a relationship with the financial aid office at each target college, and additional connections as required to effectively support students on that campus
• Prepare data reports for target colleges, and coordinate meetings to discuss student progress and themes from student experience on campus
• Inform PD of any barriers that exist on campuses that could have a negative impact on Advisors’ day-to-day student work

Organizational Support – 5% 

• Support other teams as required, based on resources and workloads as well as individual campus knowledge
• Support Development Team events and meetings when needed by nominating and recruiting students to attend or speak, facilitating a variety of pieces of the event, training staff on particular roles, managing transportation, etc.
• Represent the Bottom Line brand in a positive light, and take actions to increase brand awareness throughout the community

Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without advanced notice. 

Work Schedule:

9:00 am to 5:00 pm with additional evening and weekend hours as needed

Expected Travel:

10-20% - Occasional travel to target colleges

Who Should Apply:

If you meet the qualifications below, you should apply.

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent and work authorization
• 4+ years of related work experience, including people and/or project management
• A proven track-record of developing trusting relationships with college students, and successfully coaching them toward goals
• Demonstrated growth in Bottom Line's seven core competencies: Relationships, Results, Communication, Inclusiveness, Talent Development, Agility, and Planning
• Demonstrated commitment to Bottom Line’s Mission, Vision, and Core Values

Preferred:  

• Direct management experience
• Fluency in language other than English, especially Spanish, Haitian Creole/French and/or Chinese a plus

How to Apply/Application Deadline:

All applications must be submitted via Bottom Line’s Career Page.

Please share your resume and cover letter.

The application deadline is January 2, 2025.

Start Date:

January-February 2025

Compensation:

$70,000 – 72,000

Benefits:

Learn about our benefits here.