ABOUT BREAKTHROUGH CENTRAL TEXAS
Founded in 2002, Breakthrough Central Texas is changing lives with our community and student-centric approach to postsecondary access and completion. We work with families and local stakeholders to foster investment in and bring highly sought resources to Central Texas schools. By developing authentic community partnerships, hiring experienced educators who increasingly reflect the communities we serve, and pairing them with well-trained AmeriCorps members, we are able to provide in-school and out-of-school time programs and services to thousands of deserving students each year, and support them to realize their postsecondary aspirations.
We are proud to have validated that our long-term commitment to students and their families is improving outcomes and increasing the number of first-generation college graduates in the region. Data show that Breakthrough participants are consistently outperforming their peers in on-time high school graduation, postsecondary enrollment, and postsecondary degree and certificate attainment. Breakthrough Central Texas is poised to leverage the state’s favorable policy environment, abundant current and developing partnerships and its latest strategic plan, in the direction of the organization’s new north star: promoting equity in college attainment rates across the entire Austin region. Toward that end, by 2025, Breakthrough will expand its impact to serve more than 3,000 students in Central Texas.
WHY WORK AT BREAKTHROUGH CENTRAL TEXAS?
The Breakthrough Central Texas team firmly believes in the potential of all students, and their right to postsecondary success and self-determined lives of choice. Join us if you are a builder and a nurturer, equally committed to making college-going and degree attainment accessible for the youth in our region, while also fostering an inclusive team culture that supports us all to do our best work.
ABOUT THE COLLEGE & CAREER SUCCESS COORDINATOR ROLE
Breakthrough recognizes the value and need of high quality advising services to students after high school graduation. In this model, we directly serve students through six years of their postsecondary endeavors, with a heavy focus on the first year after graduation from high school. The overall goal of the program is to increase postsecondary attainment rates among students participating in Breakthrough.
As a primary provider of direct services to students and their families, the CCSC is committed to the academic, career and personal growth of the students in the program. This role carries a direct caseload of up to 75 students (students in and out of college), as well as directly supervises an AmeriCorps member with a similar-sized caseload. This role will report to the Director of the College & Career Success Team. To achieve the above, Breakthrough’s College & Career Success Coordinator will:
-
Manage a caseload of up to 75 students, comprised mostly of students enrolled in 4-year colleges and universities, to help them successfully enroll, persist in, and graduate from college
-
Develop meaningful relationships with Breakthrough post-secondary students and high school graduates and their families via phone, text, social media, email, and individual/group meetings
-
Meet or exceed the standards of service for student contact based on the student’s tier of service, and document student contact in Salesforce database
-
Assist college-aged students and high school graduates with application, enrollment and financial aid processes, including transfers between programs and institutions and changes or career
-
Travel to campuses around Texas (caseload dependent) in order to meet face-to-face with students and campus partners
-
Connect students to wrap-around services to support their physical and socio-emotional health, including but not limited to emergency funds, mental health counseling referrals, and immigration consultation referrals
-
Collect and analyze college persistence data to determine enrollment trends, barriers, and student needs
-
Design and provide timely reports regarding program outputs and outcomes
-
Foster the healthy culture of the College & Career Success team and of the entire organization
-
Drive student success to further Breakthrough’s mission of supporting students on their path to becoming first-generation college graduates
-
Participate in committees and workgroups to engage in team planning, organizational change work, and other collaborative work as needed
-
Perform other job-related duties as assigned
ABOUT YOU
Breakthrough Central Texas seeks a talented, experienced, and enthusiastic leader to help manage the college completion program, with a lens to equity and inclusion and with alignment to best practices in the field of education, career development, and college readiness and persistence. We seek someone with a strong commitment to the mission and values of the organization. Because of the large size of the organization and the complicated, fast pace of the work, the ideal candidate will have:
-
3-5+ years of college access or persistence work with high school and/or college students
-
A skill and expertise navigating the many challenges that often keep students from enrolling in post-secondary options, ranging from academic and/or program preparedness to financial stressors to mental health concerns
-
A willingness and comfort to visit students at their homes and places of work
-
A strong comfort with ambiguity as solutions to the complicated challenges encountered in the work are still emerging
-
An ability to drive innovation and develop programs from idea to impact to scale, especially programs that include multi-sector collaboration with schools and programs
-
An ability to analyze student-level data in order to extract patterns, and convert these into actionable steps and programmatic suggestions
-
Experience organizing events for small and large groups of students
-
An ability to develop and improve systems for greater efficiency and effectiveness
-
A commitment to growth mindset, to the belief that people can develop the skills, knowledge, and abilities to achieve their aspirations
-
A commitment to social and racial equity and to deepening understanding of power and privilege
-
An ability to work with and motivate a diverse group of people
-
A strong competency in and a commitment to engaging diversity, equity, and inclusion work
-
An ability to advocate effectively while maintaining positive and trusting working relationships
-
A willingness and ability to take initiative as appropriate
-
An ability to be highly organized, to prioritize effectively, and deliver commitments in a timely manner
-
Excellent verbal, written and visual communication skills
-
A strong desire to learn and grow, with a humility to their own competencies, identity, and positionality
-
A disciplined, strong work ethic and comfort with working non-standard hours
-
A commitment to and comfort in communicating with individuals who speak a language other than English, in particular Spanish
-
Experience working in a public or private university financial aid office a plus
COMPENSATION & BENEFITS
-
Competitive salary between $53,500-$69,500 depending on experience and qualifications
-
Health, dental and vision insurance; Breakthrough pays 100% of employee only premiums
-
Long-term disability and life insurance
-
Matching 401K retirement plan
-
Thirty days of annualized PTO
-
Generous leave policy
Breakthrough Central Texas is committed to a policy of equal treatment and opportunity in every aspect of its relations with its applicants, staff members, and families, without regard to race, color, ethnicity, religion, gender identity and gender expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, marital status, military status, pregnancy, or parenthood. People of diverse backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply.
LeYZIeIsoa