Scholar Recruitment Manager

About One Million Degrees: In 2006, a group of social entrepreneurs came together to address the challenges facing a uniquely overlooked population – community college students. Recognizing that low degree completion rates and a lack of employability skills stacked the deck against these students, One Million Degrees' (OMD) founders developed a unique model based on providing the kind of personalized, sustained support that would make a meaningful difference. 

OMD empowers low-income, highly motivated community college students to succeed in school, in work, and in life. The unique scholar development model combines mentoring, tutoring, advising, professional development, personal supports, leadership development, and financial assistance to help OMD scholars graduate at a rate twice that of traditional college students. 

With comprehensive academic, professional, personal and financial support, One Million Degrees scholars are persisting and excelling in college, earning their degrees, and entering the workforce in high-demand occupations or transferring to four-year universities. They are entering high-growth fields, strengthening the economy, and contributing to a robust and diverse talent pool. 

Position Summary: One Million Degrees is seeking a high-energy, resourceful, and entrepreneurial manager to lead OMD’s scholar recruitment strategy.  The Scholar Recruitment Manager will design and execute efforts to expand our reach to new and returning community college students,  The SRM will lead the design and implementation of all recruitment outreach efforts, including the design and launch of OMD’s virtual recruitment strategy. The Manager will report directly to the Director of Innovation and Strategic Initiatives and will work closely with the core Program Team to design and implement comprehensive outreach efforts to attract a diverse mix of eligible scholars to the program, including students who have recently graduated from high school, current community college students, and returning adults. 

The successful candidate is data savvy, a self-starter, an original and creative thinker, goal-oriented, skilled at project design and execution, and a team player with a passion for people and the transformative power of education and opportunity.  (Please note that in light of COVID, duties will be performed remotely until at least June 2021). 

One Million Degrees is a friendly, spirited, diverse team with ambitious goals and a relentless drive to achieve them.  

Specific duties and responsibilities include:  

Scholar Recruitment  

• Design and implement a comprehensive scholar recruitment plan, including outreach to high school leadership and counselors, non-profit referral partners, current college partners, community organizations, faith-based organizations, and veteran support organizations. 

• Work closely with Director of Innovation and Strategic Initiatives and Director of Program to leverage key partnerships and identify opportunities to engage new partners.  

• Manage all campus recruitment campaigns, application days, and other efforts in collaboration with campus-focused teams and management.    

• Manage, track, and report on the applicant pipeline, progress towards growth targets, and completion of key recruitment campaigns.   

• Lead the design and distribution of recruitment materials, social media, and other giveaways that promote and market the OMD opportunity to key stakeholders and potential scholar applicants. 

• Coordinate and collaborate with Scholar Ambassadors and OMD staff to execute a strong and robust recruitment campaign. 

• Develop and host events to build excitement and commitment among potential applicants, and key referral and recruitment partners to experience OMD programming. 

Applicant Pipeline Management 

• Maintain and utilize Salesforce dashboards to continuously monitor application pipeline, and drive toward recruitment targets. 

• Manage the provisional admissions process, ensure all provisionally admitted scholars meet eligibility criteria. 

• Manage and develop Recruitment Coordinator to ensure consistent and comprehensive outreach to applicants and referral partners. 

• Keep Director of Innovation and Strategic Initiatives and Program Team continuously updated on progress to recruitment targets. 

• Work closely with leadership and Program team to track the progress towards recruitment targets and coordinate effort to initiate alternative recruitment and onboarding strategy as necessary  

This position is ideal for a highly-motivated, entrepreneurial individual with strong project management skills who wants to play a pivotal role in expanding OMD’s reach to more community college students across the Chicagoland area and beyond. 

Education- Associate degree required 

Experience  

• 4+ years of work experience in a related field  • Experience leading cross-functional teams to execute a project or program • Experience creating, editing, or managing complex documents or work products, including planning and overseeing a high stakes project with multiple work streams  • Experience manipulating and analyzing data • Experience fostering or sustaining strong partnerships with external stakeholders • Experience with data analysis, visualization, reporting, and trend-tracking; experience with Salesforce a plus • Experience working in a fast-paced environment and prioritizing multiple tasks  

Skills 

• Strong project management skills  • Strong interpersonal and communication skills; a proven ability to effectively communicate with diverse audiences • Proven public speaking and meeting facilitation skills • Proficient in Microsoft Excel and presentation tools (PowerPoint or Prezi)  • Savvy with social media tools; Digital marketing experience a plus • Experience using Salesforce or another CRM system, preferred • Ability to effectively manage multiple projects and deadlines 

Traits

• Independent, results-oriented, highly organized self-starter

• Cultural humility and an ability to work effectively with diverse staff, clients, and community partners 

• A detail-oriented mindset that consistently produces high-quality products suitable for external audiences with limited supervision

• Reflective, thoughtful team player who is willing to give and to receive candid feedback

• Comfort with working in a fast-paced, highly flexible environment A positive outlook and a total belief in the potential of all scholars to succeed and excel 

• Relentless drive to close equity gaps in education