Director of Career Success

Description

Position Title: Director of Career Success

Reports To: Vice President of Scholar Support Services

Organization Overview:

Steppingstone prepares students from marginalized communities to access, navigate, and graduate from college through two initiatives, the Steppingstone Scholars Program and the National Partnership for Educational Access (NPEA). The Steppingstone Scholars Program is a direct-service program in Boston that provides academic, social-emotional, and college-readiness services to students, called Scholars, beginning as early as fifth grade and continuing all the way through college graduation. The Steppingstone Scholars Program consists of five components: Admissions, the Academy, Middle School Success, High School Success, and College Success. NPEA connects the people, practices, and innovations for eliminating barriers to educational access, and college and career success for underserved students.

Position Overview:

Steppingstone believes that a college degree is the first step toward career success and for 30+ years, the Steppingstone Scholars Program has prepared Boston students for schools that lead to college. However, research shows that first-generation college students are less likely to receive job offers and more likely to be unemployed. They earn 72% of what their continuing-gen classmates earn, and by mid-career, their income is 50% of their continuing-gen classmates. Over 40% of first-gen graduates work in jobs that do not require a college degree. The lack of social capital and professional networks is highly correlated with lower social and economic mobility. Given these realities, Steppingstone seeks to increase the number of Scholars graduating from college who are ready to engage successfully in the workforce and achieve their professional goals.

The Director of Career Success is a pivotal and new role responsible for developing, implementing, and overseeing comprehensive career readiness programming across the span of a Steppingstone Scholar’s experience. The director will start by working closely with the College Success team and eventually work with other program directors to integrate career readiness into various aspects of programs from Admission through college graduation. The director will also collaborate with the Corporate Relations Manager and other Advancement team members to develop corporate programming and opportunities for Scholars and manage ongoing partnerships.

The director will work a Monday-Friday schedule. Some evening and Saturday work is required, and work schedules can be adjusted accordingly within that week.

The Steppingstone office is hybrid with the expectation that employees will work in the office a minimum of two days per week, with some flexibility around work hours. A $500 home office set-up stipend will be provided upon hire, followed by quarterly stipends of $50. Laptops are provided to each employee to enhance the hybrid experience.

The Steppingstone office is accessible by public transit and has very limited parking availability.

Program staff support the admission of new students and families to the Steppingstone Scholars Program, including interviewing prospective students and families. Due to the nature of those interviews, PTOs are granted on a very limited basis in February.

Salary Range: $75,000 - $80,000

Start Date: October, 2024

Responsibilities:

Staff Management

• Supervise one direct report to successfully meet department metrics and goals; co-facilitate cross-program teams
• Build and maintain a collaborative and highly supportive team environment centered around the success of Scholars that promotes continuous learning
• Work closely with and support the Director of College Success and team to ensure they have the knowledge and skills needed to support Scholars’ career readiness, expanding to supporting other program divisions as the department grows over time

Program & Partnership Management

• Oversee the recruitment, orientation, execution, and evaluation of STRIVE (Scholars Thriving through Relationships, Internships, and Valuable Experiences), our new year-long career mentoring program for college Scholars
• Research and develop a career framework for each program division for successful and thoughtful integration of career readiness activities while ensuring appropriate content for each grade level
• Ensure program quality and continuity by working closely with Advisors and Directors across all teams in implementation and content delivery
• Develop, coordinate, and facilitate career skills development worksho