College Access Coordinator

Position Overview

The College Access Coordinator (CAC) works directly with students, parents, and volunteers to help students apply to and gain admission to college. The CAC ensures students complete financial aid applications and shares scholarship opportunities with them. They also set the program calendar for the school year, build agendas accordingly, and invite workshop speakers, such as college representatives, to engage with students. The CAC prepares and supports volunteers who help students with personal insight questions and scholarship essays, and collects and organizes student data for grant reporting purposes. In addition, the CAC collaborates with other high school program coordinators across MG's sites on annual activities such as the So Cal College Tour, Writing Partners Workshops, and Mi Pasaje, and supervises an AmeriCorps Member who supports program delivery through the school year and into summer programming.

Key Responsibilities & Primary Duties

• Coordinate and/or lead monthly high school senior and junior meetings and parent workshops with the support of the AmeriCorps Member.
• Work with John O'Connell High School (JOC) staff to coordinate and implement the yearly So Cal College Tour during Spring Break.
• Work with John O'Connell High School (JOC) and MHS staff to coordinate and implement the yearly Writing Partner workshops.
• Carefully coordinate workshops and meet with families one-on-one to ensure that all students complete the FAFSA or CADAA.
• Coordinate 2-3 career exploration activities with the College Success Coordinator.
• In collaboration with the College Success Coordinator and Americorps, keep social media sites up to date with current program happenings (reels, pictures, etc.).
• Oversee maintenance of all program records, including participant files and program curriculum, using Salesforce, Google Docs files, Excel, and Word.
• Collect student data for grants and board reports (scholarships received, schools applied to, acceptances, etc.).
• Support tracking of program outcomes by implementing program surveys in collaboration with the Director of Program Impact.
• Cook up and support AmeriCorps members’ projects and workload with the support of the College Connect Director.

College Counseling

• Develop or revise the College Access and Success curriculum to integrate education equity and social justice concepts for student and parent meetings as needed.
• Provide individual college counseling to CC high school students and their parents regarding college exploration and application, financial aid, and admissions decisions.
• Coordinate skill-building meetings for students, and financial aid and college admissions workshops for CC families.
• Oversee ACT prep, including administration of practice tests on weekends, and support the ACT Instructor with classroom behavior during weekly ACT prep classes during the Spring.
• Carefully coordinate a 6-week summer program for College Connect high school juniors with the support of the AmeriCorps Member.
• Regularly communicate with participants’ caregivers, teachers, counselors, and other adults in their lives who can support high school students to stay on-task.
• Regularly communicate with high school students for program retention via Mission Graduates email and the Zoom platform for text and phone calls.
• Identify scholarships, fly-in programs, and other College Access and Success opportunities for students.

Supervision of Volunteers & Interns

• Work with the Volunteer Manager to recruit volunteer Writing Partners, Math Tutors, and College Research Coaches.
• Contribute to a positive work environment by being professional and cordial to colleagues and other stakeholders.
• Supervise, provide guidance, and support volunteers, mentors, and interns in collaboration with and support from the Volunteer Manager as needed.
• Create a work plan for AmeriCorps and provide guidance and support.
• Meet weekly with AmeriCorp to ensure they are supported and on task.

Cultivation of Relationships & Professional Development

• Cultivate and maintain relationships with college admissions staff at colleges nationwide.
• Attend the annual WACAC conference when the budget allows.
• Attend annual counselor trainings (EdFund, CSU, UC, Share Learn Connect ) and other local workshops/trainings hosted by local partners.
• Act as primary liaison and collaborate closely with counselors and teachers at partner high schools.
• Collaborate closely with community stakeholders, including parents/guardians, community-based organizations, and local college representatives.

Outreach & Recruitment

• Create marketing materials as needed using Canva.
• Knowledgeable about Mission Graduates’ history and programs when implementing community outreach.
• Refine the program admissions standards, update outreach materials, convene interview panels, and participate in the annual selection process in collaboration with the College Connect Director.
• Collaborate with high schools and community organizations to give presentations and identify qualified applicants.
• Track applicant information in the selection matrix.
• Carefully coordinate interviews and the selection process in coordination with other College Connect staff.

Required Qualifications

• 1-2 years of experience working with diverse youth in community and public school settings, focusing on college access programming.
• Demonstrated knowledge of and experience with the best practices in youth development program planning, curriculum development, methods of teaching, and evaluation.
• Demonstrate effectiveness in program development and implementation.
• Advanced knowledge of the college application process and financial aid system.
• Familiarity with college access challenges that are specific to first-generation college students.
• Familiarity and experience working in or with schools and with community-based organizations.
• Understand the varied college persistence, socio-emotional, and career development needs of first-generation college students.
• Knowledge of college admissions, transfer process, financial aid landscape, and career development, preferably in the California context.
• Familiarity and experience working with undocumented youth.
• Bachelor’s Degree (BA/BS) required.
• Current CPR certification (or attained within 2 months of employment).
• TB test clearance is mandatory before hiring.
• Experience working in communities of color with low-income populations.
• Some weekends and evenings required.