Postsecondary Coordinator (for Alumni), YouthBuild Charter School

Posted by YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School on December 21, 2015

Postsecondary Coordinator (for Alumni)
Full-time, 12-month position at YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School, an alternative 12th Grade-only, diploma-granting high school for former high-school dropouts ages 18 to 21.

To apply, send a letter of interest and a resume to Frederick Bader, Human Resources Coordinator, at [email protected] with “Postsecondary Coordinator” in the subject line. No phone calls, please.

YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School
1231 North Broad Street, 5th floor
Philadelphia, PA 19122
http://www.youthbuildphilly.org

Background
YouthBuild Philadelphia is a two-year program for 18 to 20 year olds who previously dropped out of high school. During the first year of the program, students earn a competency-based high school diploma, receive vocational training, and serve as part-time AmeriCorps members. In the second year of the program, alumni receive support to pursue their postsecondary goals; this position focuses on the second year of the program and primarily works with alumni.

Mission
Our mission is to provide out-of-school youth in Philadelphia with the broadest range of tools supports and opportunities available to become self-sufficient, responsible and productive citizens in their community.

Core Values
* Excellence * Perseverance * Respect *

Job Description
The Coordinator serves a part of a team that serves as the primary support for alumni during the year after graduation as well as leads program design in a key area to grow our work. The primary responsibilities of this position include:
 Alumni Career Coaching: support assigned alumni, in collaboration with program and partner staff, to succeed in their respective postsecondary placements (college, technical school, training program, apprenticeship, employment, military, or a year of service) and to begin to advance in their field through individual meetings, group workshops, monitoring social media, advising on FAFSA/PHEAA, visits to alumni on-site at their postsecondary placement or home, facilitating staff support teams, responding to alumni personal issues/barriers, and reviewing data
 Data: develop, track, report and document alumni/student postsecondary planning progress, placements, retention of placements, success stories, grant compliance and performance metrics
 Program Design: design program-wide systems, resources, and tools as well as compiling data for alumni to be retained/advance in their careers after the completion of the two-year YouthBuild program; in addition, the Coordinator will lead a parallel process focused on inactive students (students who leave the school without obtaining a diploma)
 Student Career Development: facilitate individual conversations with students about their career plans, collaborate with program staff to oversee the completion of students’ individual postsecondary plan, and collaborate with program staff to lead bridge programs for students at a partner organization prior to graduation

Success is achieved when alumni are retained or advance in their chosen postsecondary goal for at least a year. In addition, the successful candidate should be excited by the concept that this  position will continue to evolve to meet the needs of alumni/students and our partners. The regular hours for this position are weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with flexibility required for program schedule changes as well as for periodic evening and weekend events.

Qualifications
YouthBuild Philadelphia requires the following qualifications for this position:
 Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university
 Act 34, 114 and 151 criminal background clearances
 At least three years of experience in college access, career services, transition services, youth workforce development and/or postsecondary education preparation
 Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint as well ability to integrate a widerange of technology and data management into daily work
 High level of professionalism and customer-service skills
 Strong communication skills and ability to present to large groups
 Strong organizational skills and detail-oriented project completion skills

Successful candidates will be expected to demonstrate:
 Desire to primarily focus on supporting alumni and ability to initiate contact with alumni and inactive students who are not available in the school building on a regular basis
 Commitment to preparing students/alumni for postsecondary options and willingness to promote a wide range of education, careers, year of service, armed forces and other options
 Desire to operate in a highly flexible work environment and the ability to work occasional night, weekend or other variations in regular hours
 Ability to travel to locations, organizations or events in the City of Philadelphia and surrounding counties

YouthBuild Philadelphia prefers the following qualifications for this position:
 Experience with direct service to alumni or program participants who are at off-site programs or with bridge programs/dual enrollment/TRIO or related programs
 Ability to initiate, maintain and enhance positive partnerships with external organizations
 Knowledge of the Philadelphia education-focused community based organizations and/or alternative high school diploma programs
 Interest in researching, innovating, and designing programs that guide alumni towards adult self-sufficiency
 Experience in classroom instruction, training delivery or workshop facilitation
 Experience in planning and implementing program or event logistics