Program Manager, 9th Grade

Title: Program Manager, 9th Grade

Department: HS Scholars NY

Report to: Associate Director, Recruitment & Admissions

Compensation: $64,100 - $73,000

FLSA: Exempt

Location: Hybrid – 2 days/week in office

Weekly Schedule:

• Fall Term: Monday through Friday (about 2-3 Saturday events)
• Spring Term: Tuesday through Saturday (3x a month); Monday through Friday (1x month)
• Summer Term: Monday through Friday

Location(s):

• This is an event-heavy position - managing sessions, workshops and special events with external partners is a near daily responsibility in addition to 1:1 student and family meetings as needed.
• Work requires traveling to different physical locations for recruitment in the fall and Saturday programming in the spring. Expected locations include:
  • Office: 55 Exchange Place, Floor 6, New York, NY 10005
  • Programming Sites:
    • Baruch: 55 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10010
    • LIU: 1 University Plz, Brooklyn, NY 11201

All candidates must be within commutable distance of SEO’s offices at 55 Exchange Place, New York, NY 10005, upon hire.

ABOUT SEO

For more than 60 years, SEO has created a more equitable society by closing the educational and career opportunity gap for ambitious Black, Hispanic/Latinx, and Native American young people. All are welcome to apply to our programs.

POSITION OVERVIEW

The 9th Grade Program Manager plays two essential roles: 1) introducing potential Scholars, families, and partners to SEO Scholars, and 2) onboarding incoming Scholars to the program. Accordingly, this role provides a mix of student-facing and strategic responsibilities, perfect for candidates looking to work one-on-one with students, while also using their talents to yield organization-wide impact. As a Program Manager you will implement the Recruitment & Admissions strategy; develop special initiatives that support marketing, communications, partnerships, and outreach; manage the Scholar admissions process; work directly with incoming Scholars to provide individualized guidance and support; and implement quality advisory programming with effective intervention strategies to successfully meet student outcomes. An ideal candidate will enjoy and excel at public speaking, marketing, partnership development, and project management. This role reports to the Associate Director, Recruitment & Admissions and has the following key responsibilities:

RESPONSIBILITIES

Recruitment (40%)

• Coordinate with Program Managers and Recruitment Manager to lead, track and execute a recruitment strategy for the program while independently managing a portfolio of NYC public schools.
• Liaise with school stakeholders to facilitate recruitment presentations and application workshops, and provide individual support to prospective applicants and their families.
• Develop and lead the implementation, tracking, and execution of special projects to expand marketing, communications, and outreach to support overall Recruitment strategy.

Admissions (30%)

• Partner with peers and colleagues throughout the Scholars team to manage the admissions strategy and timeline, ensuring timely execution of key milestones, documentation of processes and data, and the successful selection of a competitive incoming 9th grade cohort.
• Review incoming applications and make recommendations for advancement in the admissions process.
• Facilitate interviews for prospective Scholars, deliberation sessions, and partner with Senior team members to coordinate the selection process.
• Develop content, coordinate across teams and facilitate engaging and informative orientation sessions to ensure successful execution of Orientation for families and students.

Programming (30%)

• Successfully onboard incoming Scholars by providing individualized guidance and support and quality advisory programming to meet target retention, attendance, and assignment completion goals.
• Track progress and manage qualitative and quantitative data to make evidence-based decisions to improve Scholar performance and engagement, including making recommendations and ensuring that Scholars successfully follow through with additional support and services.
• Lead effective and supportive instructor check-ins that yield concrete support plans for at-risk Scholars.
• Develop and refine advisory content, including whole group, small group, and one-on-one advising content based on feedback from assigned cohort and in collaboration with the larger team.
• Lead effective transition meetings with the 10th-grade team to support a successful transition of Scholars between grade levels.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Direct experience working with high school-age students.
• Two or more years of public teaching experience is strongly preferred.
• Experience working in community outreach, student recruitment, or college admissions.
• Familiarity and/or experience with public education and youth communities in New York is strongly preferred.

COMPETENCIES & SKILLS

• A background in student coaching and advising, including direct experience interfacing with parents and families.
• Evidence of progressive career growth within roles increasing in responsibility and autonomy.
• Demonstrated passion for closing the opportunity and academic achievement gap at the high school and college level for first-generation and historically marginalized students.
• Exceptional public speaking skills and ability to connect with and inspire a variety of audiences including students, parents, educators, and nonprofit leaders.
• Excellent interpersonal skills with experience building professional relationships and delivering constructive, honest and productive feedback to Scholars and families.
• Intermediate to advanced Excel and data analysis and reporting skills with an affinity towards data-driven outcomes.
• Strong command of Google and Microsoft Office suites. Salesforce and/or Zengine experience is also a plus.
• Organizational aptitude to manage complex and competing projects, set and achieve ambitious goals, and communicate progress to various stakeholders.
• Bilingual Spanish/English is highly preferred; other languages skills are welcome!

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

SEO offers a competitive compensation package and comprehensive benefits plan including low-cost health, vision, and dental options, a generous holiday schedule and PTO policies, disability coverage, fully paid time off for new parents, and employer contributions to health reimbursement and retirement accounts. We are constantly working to improve our benefits each year based on the needs of our employees. We value wellness and strive to consistently use a DEIB lens to put people first and foremost.

The compensation listed in this posting reflects what SEO believes it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on the skills, qualifications, and experience of the applicant along with the requirements of the position, and SEO reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time.

EEOC Policy

At SEO we are committed to cultivating a team that embodies the backgrounds and experiences of the constituencies we serve and the communities we live in, and a workplace that reflects the impact we make in the world. Candidates from all communities – including people of color, women, members of the LGBTQIA+ Community, veterans, and people with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.

Equal Employment Opportunity is not just the law, it is our commitment.

Sponsors for Educational Opportunity is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer – M/F/D/V. We will consider all qualified applicants for employment regardless of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, marital status, veteran status, pregnancy, parental status, genetic information or characteristics, or any other legally protected status.

If you need accommodation while applying for a role with SEO, due to a disability, please email SEO Talent.

THE ORGANIZATION

Established in 1963 by Michael Osheowitz, SEO (Sponsors for Educational Opportunity), is an educational non-profit focused on improving outcomes for students from underserved backgrounds. For over 60 years, SEO has been an innovator in education, mentorship, and creating educational programs and opportunities that maximize the full potential of our participants. Each year SEO serves 7,000+ participants nationally, and the organization is widely recognized for developing best-in-class programs with exceptional results.

Not every SEO participant is on the same journey, but all are hungry for opportunity and SEO creates an ecosystem of excellence. Learn more about SEO's programs here: https://www.seo-usa.org/our-programs/