About Breakthrough Silicon Valley
Breakthrough Silicon Valley launches talented but underserved middle school students on the path to college, while at the same time inspiring high school and college students to become educators. While ambitious in our goals, BTSV works: a stunning 99% of BTSV graduates are accepted into four-year colleges and 74% of BTSV Teaching Fellows are inspired to pursue a career in education as a result of their summer experience.
Breakthrough Silicon Valley’s tuition-free program provides year-round out of school time academic support, advising, and advocacy for a diverse group of talented students, most of whom come from under-resourced communities and are first in their family to go to college. Through our students-teaching-students model, BTSV also provides a consummate professional development experience in education by providing talented high school and college students the opportunity to design and teach classes under the direction of seasoned education professionals.
Located in San Jose, California, Breakthrough Silicon Valley is an affiliate of The Breakthrough Collaborative, a leading national service organization that acts as the national voice for 24 Breakthrough sites across the country.
The Position
The College Pathways Manager will lead an exciting expansion of BTSV’s programs, now extending support to every Breakthrough graduate through the critical first year of college. You’ll have the opportunity to build on a successful pilot and grow a new program from the ground up.
During the school year, you’ll manage and expand BTSV’s peer mentor program, including recruiting and training mentors, pairing mentors with mentees, and planning community-building events. You’ll build relationships at target campuses and with other college success partners. Additionally, you’ll conduct a needs assessment and develop a curriculum for students bound for two-year institutions, to be implemented in fall 2022.
You’ll also develop and facilitate workshops for the families of graduating seniors, and you’ll manage BTSV’s scholarship application and disbursement.
Over the summer, you’ll plan and deliver a multi-day college transition retreat for BTSV’s college-bound students, including booking guest speakers and managing all event logistics.
Throughout the year, you’ll both develop new and revise existing data collection tools (including surveys) to support evaluation of BTSV’s programs.
The College Pathways Manager reports to the Associate Director of College Access Programs.
What background and skills do you have?:
An entrepreneurial mindset and experience building and growing programs from concept to implementation
Strong project management skills with the ability to prioritize, meet deadlines, and delegate when needed while executing multiple time-sensitive priorities
At least three to five years of experience at a youth development or educational organization, particularly one focused on college access and persistence for first-generation students and students of color
Experience advising college or high school students
Knowledge of the college enrollment process and both two- and four-year postsecondary institutions
An understanding of the unique challenges facing first-generation college students
Experience developing engaging curricula or programming, especially for students and families navigating the college experience
Comfort with public speaking and the ability to engage diverse audiences
Comfort with program evaluation and basic data collection and analysis
Commitment to Breakthrough Silicon Valley’s mission and goals as well as an unwavering belief in the potential of BTSV students to succeed in rigorous, four-year universities
Bachelor’s degree
Bonus points if you’ve got:
Experience as a college administrator, or within admissions, financial aid or support program offices
Experience with peer mentorship programs
Ability to engage with families in Spanish or Vietnamese
Experience with Salesforce
We know that many strong candidates will not have all the skills we list. That’s OK. What else do you bring to the table? Please tell us!
Location
The College Pathways Manager may work from one of BTSV’s two offices in San Jose:
Herbert Hoover Middle School (1635 Park Ave, San Jose, CA 95126)
Bridges Academy (1702 McLaughlin Ave, San Jose, CA 95122)
The College Pathways Manager also has the flexibility to work from a home office at least 40% of the time. However, this role requires regular attendance at meetings and delivery of programming in person, so only candidates local to the Bay Area will be considered.
BTSV is continually monitoring the COVID-19 situation locally and will follow all state, county, city, and/or school district directives on PPE, social distancing, vaccination, and remote work. As of August 2021, our partner school districts require all individuals on campus to wear masks both indoors and outdoors, regardless of vaccination status, as well as provide proof of vaccination or submit to regular COVID-19 testing. BTSV will continue to comply with our partner school districts’ policies as they evolve.
Compensation and Benefits
This is a one-year contract position from September 2021-August 2022, with the potential to extend.
Competitive compensation commensurate with experience
Health Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision coverage plus life insurance
Retirement Benefits: 401(k) plan with immediate company match
Paid time off: 15 days plus 11 holidays and two “shut-down” weeks
Professional development fund for professional growth and learning opportunities
Application Process
Apply online through this site. Please indicate where you heard about the position in your cover letter. We will review applications on a rolling basis.
BTSV engages with individuals of all backgrounds and we are committed to embracing diversity within our organization, including developing a team who represents the communities we serve.
As an Equal Opportunity Employer, BTSV is committed to providing employment opportunities to all individuals and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, marital status, veteran status, pregnancy, or any other basis prohibited by applicable law.