Program Manager, Scholar Learning Experiences

The Organization

At Thrive Scholars, we provide high-achieving students from low-income communities the opportunities they need to thrive at top colleges and in meaningful careers.

Our comprehensive and data-driven program model focuses on the key inflection points that can be the difference between graduating from any college and graduating from a top college with the grades, degree, career skills, and network needed to thrive in any career. Thrive Scholars originated in Los Angeles as South Central Scholars (“SCS”) twenty years ago. Over this time, the organization has refined its program model and, in the last five years, has focused on expanding nationally; reaching more high-achieving students from low-income communities, growing the number of Scholars we serve; and deepening our program impact.

The Position:

The Program Manager will be an experienced project manager who can coordinate and manage processes with impactful scholar learning experiences as their north star. Successful candidates for this role are passionate about developing scalable efficient procedures and have experience doing so for programs that cater to supporting talented students who are first-generation college students. Candidates with experience in education administration are preferred.

This is not a scholar-facing role, but rather a behind-the-scenes role supporting the staff and systems that facilitate a world-class scholar learning experience. This position will report to the MD of Scholar Learning Experiences.

Key Responsibilities

• Organizational Learning Strategy
• Collaborate with program teams to ensure the smooth delivery of all scholar learning experiences throughout the 6-year journey
• In collaboration with the MD, Scholar Learning Experiences, document and maintain the organization’s multi-year program map that outlines outcomes and learning experiences throughout the 6-year journey
• Provide direct oversight and mentorship to program interns
• Technology and Platform Strategy
• Serve as the administrator for Scholar-facing platforms, including the Canvas LMS
• Manage Scholar and staff enrollments in the various platforms, including academic course rosters for Summer Academy and program-related enrollments throughout the academic year
• Provide troubleshooting and support to staff and scholars
• Create and maintain reports, dashboards, and data views in Salesforce, with the ability to translate business needs into actionable insights and support data-informed decision-making.
• In collaboration with members of the program teams, explore the use of artificial intelligence, simulations, and other emerging technologies to enhance and streamline the scholar learning experience
• Set up integrations between various platforms
• Work with external curricular and technology vendors and partners
• Summer Academies Program Support
• Provide support and training to seasonal staff members (primarily faculty, academic coordinators, teaching assistants, and site directors), maintaining excellent relationships by supporting timely responses and follow-through during collaboration
• Ensure that the academic program is appropriately resourced throughout the summer, with timely response to the needs of Faculty, Academic Coordinators, and Teaching Assistants
• Provide support for summer program close-out data evaluation and collection and review processes, including the creation of pre- and post-assessments in Canvas
• Project Management & Execution
• Manage projects from start to finish, including setting clear goals, creating timelines, and making sure work gets done on time
• Use Asana to organize projects, assign tasks, track progress, and keep deadlines up to date
• Keep teams aligned by sharing updates, following up on next steps, and making sure everyone knows what they’re responsible for
• Build and improve simple, clear processes so projects run smoothly and consistently across teams

Qualifications and Experience

• 4+ years of professional experience
• 2+ years of experience in K-12 or higher education settings, with a preference for those with a background in education administration
• Familiarity with LMS administration and similar learning platforms
• Project management experience in an education, non-profit, and/or college access setting
• Ability to manage and prioritize multiple tasks and projects concurrently at a high level
• Understanding of data and database systems (Salesforce experience preferred)
• Expertise with instructional design and learning sciences principles preferred
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills
• Commitment to the Thrive Scholars mission