ABOUT GIVE MERIT AND THE FATE PROGRAM
Give Merit exists to enhance and extend educational opportunities to Detroit youth through innovative enrichment, mentorship, and athletic activities. Since 2012, Give Merit has facilitated the FATE Program - a ten-year, cohort-based program supporting students from Detroit’s Jalen Rose Leadership Academy. FATE High School Program provides innovative programming that blends project-based learning, character development, career exposure, and mentorship into a co-curricular experience emphasizing the value of education and its role in achieving long-term career and personal goals. The FATE Alumni Program exists to help all our graduates set and achieve ambitious dreams as they transition from high school to adulthood, with a focus on higher education and fulfilling employment.
JOB SUMMARY
The Postsecondary Success Coordinator will be primarily responsible for supporting programmatic college access, persistence, and completion as FATE students and alumni make decisions for and navigate their postsecondary pathways including 2yr or 4yr institutions, trade, or certification programs. This position will be a team member on the Alumni Program Team, but work collaboratively throughout the FATE program to implement and support college going, college staying, and college completion activities.
Success in this role includes building positive, sustained relationships with current alumni and high school participants. This position will perform essential functions under minimum supervision.
ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES & DUTIES
General
- Develop a deep knowledge of Merit’s/Give Merit’s history, purpose, and goals to create platforms for young people to create the future
- Work toward the organization’s shared vision by being mission-driven and operating with a growth mindset
- Seek, be accepting of, and adjust to regular feedback to improve performance
- Proactively works to ensure our alumni students are able to demonstrate persistence, motivation, and personal accountability, with an optimistic outlook on their future, and is above all action-oriented toward tackling students’ challenges
Postsecondary Access
- Manage, implement, and support the development of the FATE Fit curriculum - our college and career readiness curriculum for postsecondary decision making - ensuring it aligns with students needs and pursuits, postsecondary completion goals, and organizational standards.
- Implement the FATE Fit assessment process - our internal tool to understand if our students are making an informed postsecondary decision - and use the results to improve programming and differentiate alumni support.
- Implement and continue to refine specific postsecondary access strategies which include, but are not limited to caregiver engagement, campus and trade school tours, FAFSA support, financial aid advising, and transition/summer melt support.
- Coordinate with external partners to enhance the access strategies, as needed.
Postsecondary Persistence
- Implement and continue to refine specific postsecondary success strategies which include, but are not limited to college intervention/outreach timeline, FAFSA support, financial aid advising, enrollment and transition support between institutions and pathways, academic advising, and persistence toward graduation.
- Troubleshoot barriers with alumni and alumni team members to college enrollment, academic success(es), financial aid, credit attainment, retention, and completion, as well as while creating protocol resources for future interventions.
- Stay up to date on postsecondary opportunities that our alumni may take advantage of or need support navigating.
- Execute programmatic aspects of the Alumni Program to encourage a sense of community and belonging, which include, but are not limited to coordinating and sending out care packages, creating and sending monthly newsletters, ideating and supporting implementation of virtual workshops.
Data Management
- Effectively utilize our CRM to track and maintain alumni data including enrollment, persistence, credit attainment, alumni interactions, and interventions.
- Oversee all alumni postsecondary enrollment data, and use data to inform and refine access and success strategies.
Alumni Program Team Responsibilities
- Participate in mandatory program training, professional development, and team meetings for the Alumni Program.
- Work with the Alumni Program team to maintain and revise the alumni support model and wraparound resources to best serve student needs while being open to changing policies and practices, as needed.
- Plan, execute, and support alumni events which include, but are not limited to virtual workshops, in-person workshops, alumni summits, financial aid nights, and summer melt support.
- Attend and support one FATE High School workshop per week (date varies).
- May be required to work some evenings and/or weekends in accordance with programmatic needs and/or events.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college, required
- Passion for serving the Detroit community, especially youth
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Posses prior experience in college access and persistence processes (enrolling in college, registering for classes, course balance and management, financial aid, etc.), two years preferred
- Posses an understanding of college access and persistence data
- Possesses knowledge of navigating trade/certification pathways, preferred
- Passion for serving the Detroit community, especially youth
- Drive to impact change for our students
- Personal understanding and knowledge of demographics, challenges, and ever-changing landscape of Detroit
- Has a growth mindset and views growth as important for personal and professional development; seeks out opportunities to expand skills, and demonstrates curiosity and eagerness to learn
- Possess an ability to work well without close supervision
- Highly organized with a strong attention to detail
- Experienced in planning and executing small to mid scale events and projects
- Demonstrated ability with managing multiple tasks with time sensitive deadlines in a fast-paced environment
- Must have a high sense of integrity and handle confidential information in a professional manner
- Commitment to ongoing self-improvement and professional development
- Emotionally mature and able to handle difficult and complex student situations
- Ability to solve practical problems and deal with frequently changing variables
- Excellent interpersonal skills in collaboration, conflict resolution, problem solving and decision-making
- Ability to network, work with others, and enjoy meeting new people
- Comfortable and confident in public speaking and leading large groups.
- Proficiency with the Microsoft Office and G-Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, G-Drive, Slides, Docs, etc)
- Must be able to work some evenings and weekends as necessary
- Must have reliable transportation
Please submit your resume and cover letter by February 10, 2025.
WORKING DEMANDS
This position primarily functions in an office setting and an individual is regularly required to stand; walk; use finger dexterity, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; and talk or hear. The individual is frequently required to stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. Must be able to regularly lift and/or move up to 20lbs. The noise level in the work environment is usually loud. Some travel may be required.