Graduate! Philadelphia – Manager, College Success Services

Posted by Graduate! Philadelphia on February 9, 2015

Job DESCRIPTION

The Graduate! Philadelphia Manager, College Success Services works closely with senior members of the organization to translate Graduate! Philadelphia’s strategic objectives into performance goals for Student Success Services. The Manager is accountable for meeting these goals in the Greater Philadelphia region. The Manager achieves these goals through managing the College Success Services team as well as providing some hands-on advising and success services directly to Comebackers – adults who want to return to college to complete a two or four-year degree. Graduate!’s College Success Services include group and individual services provided face to face or by phone and/or email, and one-to-many services via the Internet.
The College Success Services Team is responsible for delivering outreach presentations about Graduate!’s services in the community, recruiting Comebackers to Graduate! Philadelphia, providing advising at multiple locations and via phone and email, preparing Comebackers for success in college, assisting with college decisions and selection, connecting Comebackers with colleges, monitoring Comebacker progress once back in college, providing guidance and assistance with solving problems from the point of engagement with Graduate! through completion of a college degree and maintaining detailed records of Comebacker progress, supporting partner college onsite advising, and liaising with recruitment, enrollment, and advising staff at partner institutions.
The Manager understands that the power of The Graduate! Network/Graduate! Philadelphia is the partnership and engagement of the various stakeholders, and its role of bringing innovation and best practices to the field of adult degree completion. To these ends, the Manager collaborates with peers at affiliated Graduate! programs in other regions.
This position requires flexibility and maturity in managing people, time, tasks, communication, and professional relationships. The successful candidate will demonstrate consistency as a self-starting, self-directed individual who can implement plans effectively and efficiently through strong team skills. The successful candidate is a professional who is curious and open to and eager for new learning, and is driven to produce timely, measurable results in a fast-paced environment.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Management
• Accountable to the organization, leadership, team, and stakeholders for ensuring that College Success Services are carried out as defined and planned, on time, with highest levels of professional expertise, integrity, and regard for all.
• Responsible for maintaining outstanding service quality in full cooperation with partner institutions.
• Implement a tactical annual work plan for the College Success Services team to meet programmatic goals and student outcomes as measured by quantitative and qualitative performance metrics.
• Organize and oversee day-to-day operations of the College Success Services Team, including leading, supervising, and developing team, maintaining capacity and up-to-date expertise, monitoring staff productivity, developing and monitoring staff professionalism in written and oral communications with students and partner institutions, promoting a customer service culture, and ensuring that data entered in the CRM system is accurate and appropriately detailed.
• Provide periodic quantitative and qualitative reports on Comebacker progress.
• Initiate resource requests on behalf of College Success Services and staff, and follow up on decisions.
• Supervise team budget outlays, staff expense reports, and staff timesheets.
• Provide or recommend ongoing professional development activities for team.
• Conduct quarterly evaluations of the Student Success Services team.
Recruiting and Outreach
• Recruit and encourage adults to return to college to complete their education, including initiating and providing outreach presentations and events.
• Responsible for planning, execution, and meeting the team’s outreach goals, schedule, and activities.
Providing College Success Services (pre-enrollment through degree completion)
 Provide advising, support, assistance, and referrals to assigned Graduate! Philadelphia clientele per goals, adhering to protocols, at assigned sites with the goals of enrollment and degree completion.
 Track client progress.
 Develop, introduce, and maintain programmatic resources as assigned (including CRM and online and paper-based toolkits.)
Scheduling/Coordinating
 Responsible for local operations at advising sites; coordination of activities with site partners and collaboration with site partners in mutually beneficial activities, and for the benefit of the community.
General Responsibilities
• Engage and support the active participation of the college advising representatives.
 Identify organizational risks and resource gaps, including programming curricula, staff supports, materials, logistics, and adequate recruitment activities and sites.
 Participate in program effectiveness evaluations and in other review/design activities. Explore and report on new resources that have the potential to enhance Graduate! Philadelphia’s services to Comebackers.
 Actively participate in appropriate professional development activities and community networks essential for achieving College Success Services goals within the Greater Philadelphia region, and with peers in the Graduate! network of affiliated programs.
 Cooperate with external evaluators.
 Represent TGN/Graduate! Philadelphia at local and national meetings and conferences, and with the media.
 Other duties as assigned.
REQUIREMENTS
• Commitment to and understanding of contemporary adult college education, the current needs of adult learners, and the Graduate! model of promoting student success as a means to improve the economic and civic well-being of individuals and communities.
• Demonstrated professional demeanor encompassing integrity, respect for others, expertise in the field, and a sense of urgency in responding to client and organizational needs.
• Experience in or strong understanding of college admissions and enrollment, academic advising, assessment of prior learning, transcript analysis, and financial aid as they pertain to adult students, and an understanding of academic and non-academic issues relevant to adult college students.
• Demonstrated experience in using best principles and practices of adult education from recruitment to degree completion.
• Demonstrated experience in developing and monitoring program operational plans.
• Demonstrated leadership, team-building, and supervisory skills.
• Customer service work style toward adult learners.
• Bachelor (BA, BS, etc.) required, Master’s degree preferred in related field (higher education administration, counseling, social work, etc.).
• Minimum five years of supervisory experience in a business and/or higher education setting.
• Minimum five years of advising experience with adult learners.
• Self-motivated starter, able to work independently while functioning well as part of a team.
• Detail oriented.
• Proven ability to work collaboratively and build relationships with various diverse external stakeholders including individuals with various values, lifestyles, socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds.
• Ability to represent Graduate! to business and community audiences.
• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communications skills.
• Facility using Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint applications, CRMs, GoogleDocs, and other web-based software.
• Evidence of excellent administrative and supervisory skills.
• Knowledge of the Philadelphia region, community-based organizations, and organizations in the region related to educational attainment and college success is a plus.
• Flexibility, adaptability, and positive approach to work.
• Some local travel required (less than 25 percent).

Please send your cover letter, resume and a writing sample to jobs@graduate-network.org