Coordinator, College & Career Success

DESCRIPTION OF THE POSITION

BEAM seeks a student centered College Success Coordinator to join our growing Post-Secondary Team. Through group sessions and 1:1 advising, the College Success Coordinator will support first year students in building academic and co-curricular plans to navigate key college milestones, from course registration to securing a summer internship. This role blends strategic communication and personalized coaching to ensure BEAM students not only persist through college but fully leveraging campus resources to graduate successfully.

This role is a key hire for BEAM. We have been providing college support long enough that we now have college graduates able to give feedback on their college journeys and workforce experiences, allowing our college support to grow from being very bespoke and individual toward being a comprehensive set of services designed to increase accountability and executive functioning for young adults as they use the resources available to them at their campus (and, with BEAM’s help, seek out further resources should a campus gap exist).

DESCRIPTION OF THE TEAM/DEPARTMENT

The Post-Secondary team (Senior Manager, College and Career Success and a College Success Coordinator) will work together to propel BEAM students toward their college and career aspirations. We achieve this through a blend of group coaching, designing impactful college success curricula, and offering individual student advising as needed. The team directly guides up to 100 first-year students through the critical transition to college phase, supporting them as they execute their personalized college transition case plans, which serve two purposes: first, the case plans help students access the necessary on campus resources and services, through which they can create their own robust system of support. Second, the case plans prepare students with the tools and clear vision necessary to navigate STEM career opportunities and networking during and beyond college. Once students have completed their case plans, students are eligible for rewards from BEAM to support key next steps toward their career. The team is also available to take meetings with upperclassmen who need reminders of how and where to get resources on and beyond their college campus.

BEAM has been serving students since 2011 and has admitted a total of 1100 students to our program. Across the first five BEAM cohorts of college graduates, at least 70% of conferred undergraduate degrees have been STEM-related. Today, BEAM currently serves up to 400 students in college at any one time.

SUPERVISION

Senior Manager, College and Career Success

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Direct Student Support (60%)

• Guide a caseload of students in identifying the academic and co-curricular opportunities best suited to their goals, interests, skills
• Assist students in the development of academic and personal skill-building tied to undergraduate student success (e.g. time management, stress management, study skills, self-advocacy skills)
• Advise students on course selection, college planning, major exploration, and decisions related to educational and career goals
• Support students in filing their FAFSA and required paperwork needed to persist to their sophomore year of college
• Evaluate student needs and provide appropriate referrals to career, academic, counseling, and student life resources and opportunities

Event Planning/Implementation (20%)

• Coordinate workshops and events with the Post-Secondary Team to equip students with necessary job search skills to secure first year summer internships and research positions.
• Coordinate interactive workshops with the High School Team to help students build adaptability and resiliency through college by closing freshman transition knowledge gaps.

Data Collection and Tracking (10%)

• Monitor student progress and performance towards goals
• Record applicable activities via Salesforce in a timely manner

Other Duties (10%)

• General programmatic support of BEAM’s local programs office, which may include (but is not limited to) sourcing BEAM alumni to volunteer for younger student events, chaperoning field trips, attending fundraising events
• Other programmatic duties as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS

We understand that there are many paths to acquiring experience and therefore welcome candidates from diverse and nontraditional backgrounds for this role who have demonstrated equivalent transferable skills to carry out the major duties outlined in this job description.

Knowledge

• STEM knowledge, via a degree and/or coursework in a STEM field or professional experience at a STEM organization
• Knowledge of the higher education landscape(s) within NY and/or CA
• Knowledge of college studentship and/or cohort program providers (e.g., Questbridge, Posse, Stony Brook Simons STEM students Program)

Skills and Abilities

• Passionate about providing access to quality STEM opportunities
• Professional experience working with low-income communities
• Proven ability to develop relationships with college students from underrepresented backgrounds
• Experience building strong relationships with students, families and other partners by presenting a positive, inspiring, and growth-oriented message
• Strong organizational skills and ability to document and manage detailed data
• Communicates clearly and collaborates authentically with families and students
• Organized and detailed oriented in both planning and implementation of programs
• Solutions-oriented problem solver who can quickly identify and address challenges

Significant Pluses include

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, math, computer science, or a related STEM field
• Past experience doing academic advising
• A strong connection to the “why” of our work

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

Must be able to perform the essential functions of the job, with or without reasonable accommodation

• Sitting - constantly (50%+)
• Moderate noise levels