Reports to: Director, College Access

The Chicago Landscape

There is a deep reservoir of talent in this great city! In order to remain a world-class city, we must invest in talent from an education and leadership perspective. Locally and nationally, we are not fully equipping our youth with the skills and tools to be successful. Just 8% of Chicago Public School students will graduate with a college degree by the age of 25. There also remains a lack of diversity in the workforce at all levels and in every industry. We must continue to invest in building a diverse pipeline of talent if we are to remain a thriving and competitive city.

About Chicago Scholars

The mission of the Chicago Scholars Foundation (Chicago Scholars) is to provide talented, academically ambitious, and underserved high school students access and success through college and beyond.

We provide Chicago’s young future leaders with the support they need to achieve their dreams: mentorship, college admission support, and access to leadership and career programming. Our program target high need, first-generation students from every single neighborhood and every high school. We nurture their talent through an innovative five-year college success program plus a two-year leadership development program. We work to ensure that our academically ambitious Scholars are not only investing in their own career growth and success but also enhancing Chicago’s competitive position in the global economy for years to come. We are extremely proud that the support provided by our program is allowing our Scholars to persist and graduate at a rate of almost 90% (compared to just 8% of CPS peers).

Our Future – Growth

Chicago Scholars is at a particularly exciting and critical juncture. Due to the success of our program, we have recently received support to expand our impact from serving 300 new students each year to 1000 new students, over the next five years.

Job Summary

The primary responsibility of the Manager of Community Outreach is to support the Director of College Access in growing and managing our Community Based Organization Partnerships (CBOPs), to coordinate the CBOP Onsite process and to facilitate trainings, workshops, etc. for CBOP administrators. This position also plays a critical role as the primary point of contact for CBOP Scholars and parents through community outreach efforts and will also assist in the recruitment of volunteers in conjunction with the Director of Volunteers, Mentors and Interns.

Key Responsibilities

Maintain relationships and collaborate with current CBOPs in order to promote the mission of Chicago Scholars.
Outline key criteria for identifying potential CBOPs.
Create membership guidelines for potential new CBOPs.
Expand the number of CBOPs and conduct onboarding process and orientations.
Act as liaison between Chicago Scholars and CBOP representatives.
Maintain frequent and effective communication with CBOPs.
Conduct regular meetings, conference calls, and field visits to CBOPs.
Provide support to the Director in the organization, development and implementation of the College Access Program (Launch) program.
Evaluate one time partnerships and opportunities from outside organizations.
Partner with other departments within CS to achieve defined goals.
Run requested reports from available technologies and interpret data.
Professionally represent CS through community outreach efforts.
Be available to assist with scholar and mentor workshops and other CS events.

Program

Work with Director to explore and identify key criteria for new potential community based partners.
Work with Director to identify target CBOPs and their appropriate point of contact.
Coordinate the CBOP Onsite process and facilitation of trainings, workshops, etc. Create and distribute communications to all CBOPs.
Assist during CS New Scholar Orientation
Organization of event
Ensuring student and parent engagement
Collection of information
Assist in the assessment and redesign of the application and requirements for interested CBOPs.
Through community outreach efforts, work with Director of Mentors, Volunteers and Interns to assist in the recruitment of volunteers.
Coordinate the college application submission process for CBOP students.
Assess and implement system efficiencies.
Ensure accurate submission of CBOP student application materials for all Onsite college participants.
Assist with Onsite scheduling for CBOP students.
Help develop and capture CBOP data at Onsite
Number of CBOP admissions
Scholarships received from each school/student for CBOP students
Offers from each college/type of college
Offers given to students by type of HS/GPAs, etc.
Financial aid offered by college
Assist in data capture around Match process for CBOP students.

Qualifications

Minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree is required.
Minimum of 5 years of relevant work experience in the fields of college access, community outreach, or student recruitment.
Experience working with youth-focused community based organizations.
Excellent verbal, interpersonal skills with strong writing skills.
Demonstrated ability to organize complex tasks, efficiently manage multiple assignments, and meet deadlines.
Demonstrated timely follow-through and the ability to work at a rigorous pace to meet deadlines.
Interest in and ability to readily acquire knowledge of the work Chicago Scholars is doing.
Ability to collect, organize, analyze and report data to support understanding of Chicago Scholars impact.
Ability to communicate and respond in a manner which consistently demonstrates respect, concern, and responsiveness.
Ability to remain flexible and adapt to changing needs and priorities.
Demonstrated ability to cultivate and sustain relationships with diverse audiences.
Advanced proficiency with computer applications – Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, Power Point, etc.) and ability to learn and master other computer technology/software programs as needed.
Ability to process and protect confidential information in a professional manner.
Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a team environment.
Pay Scale: $40,000 – $50,000

How to apply:

Submit resume and a cover letter that addresses how your experience aligns with the list qualifications.

Please send all inquiries to jobs@chicagoscholars.org by Friday, May 15th. Please include Manager of Community Outreach in subject line.

If selected for an interview, candidates MUST be available for a first round group interview on Friday, May 20th.