National Director of Post-Secondary Success

About iMentor

iMentor builds mentoring relationships that empower students from low-income communities to graduate high school, succeed in college, and achieve their ambitions. iMentor partners with public schools and matches every student in participating grades with a college-educated mentor. Mentors commit a minimum of 3 years to a single student, after which they have the option to extend the relationship through college completion. Students work with their mentors through the iMentor curriculum, which is designed around 4 core outcomes: developing strong personal relationships between mentors and students, nurturing each student’s college aspiration, developing the non-cognitive skills critical to success in college, and successfully navigating the college exploration, application, financial aid, and transition process.

Since 1999, iMentor has connected 25,000 students with mentors. With direct service sites in NYC, Chicago and the Bay Area, iMentor is currently serving 7,400 students and will expand to a fourth region by 2018. Learn more about our impact here.

iMentor has been recognized through funding by New Profit Inc., the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation, the Robertson Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, the Robin Hood Foundation, and is a sub-grantee of the federal Social Innovation Fund. As a team, we are collaborative, bring passion and joy to our work, believe deeply in human potential, and were named one of the Best Nonprofits to Work For by Opportunity Knocks and The Nonprofit Times.

Position Overview

iMentor is seeking a National Director of Post-Secondary Success (DPS) to lead the design, launch, and assessment of a program model that drives college success outcomes for program participants across the country. Reporting to the Chief Program Officer, the DPS will join iMentor’s national team and will be responsible for codifying a college pathways, entrance and retention model that leverages the personalized support from a mentor with a best-in-class college success curriculum. In partnering with regional Program leaders, iMentor’s Research & Evaluation team, curriculum consultants, aligned educational programs, colleges and universities, the Director will build and refine a program where the strength of intervention is transformative in supporting college completion for first-generation students.

The ideal candidate will have extensive content-area expertise in the field of college readiness and success and will have demonstrated experience in program development, curriculum design, and the ability to effectively operationalize strategies. The candidate will also have exceptional communication skills, strong relationship development instincts, and a deep commitment to a model that focuses on the importance of individual relationships to holistically support first-generation college students to and through college.

Responsibilities

Create a national college pathway, entrance and retention program model that prepares iMentor’s Post-Secondary Success Program to drive college success outcomes for mentees
Develop all content and model methodology for iMentor pairs in the Post-Secondary Success Program, with a specific focus on building curriculum for both mentors and mentees that support model milestones for the first two years out of high school
Support the CPO in conceptualizing and leading the redesign of iMentor’s college success curriculum (12th grade transition through college graduation)
Oversee all curriculum development, consultant recommendations and revisions for mentee/mentor interactions towards college-success goals
With the CPO, devise a theory of change and theory of action for PSP pairs through focused observations, descriptive feedback, partnership development and continued assessment and evaluation
Identify technology, specific campus resources and communication plan for mentors and staff to support students to and through college
Develop a referral network of partners, post-secondary training programs, community colleges and four-year institutions to meet student needs beyond iMentor programming and mentoring relationships
Codify baseline requirements for successful iMentor post-secondary programs to allow iMentor to scale with high quality
Advise on all aspects of measuring program efficacy, program evaluation and data analysis for iMentor Post-Secondary Success Program
Support iMentor organization-wide initiatives, requiring occasional evening and/or weekend events

Qualifications

10+ years of relevant work experience, including at least 4 years designing curriculum and content area expertise in college readiness and success
Proven track record of program design and execution, ideally at an innovative and fast-paced nonprofit organization
Deep understanding of college readiness and success for first generation college students; significant credibility with education reform/college success partners
Proven ability to motivate and engender buy-in regarding programmatic outcomes
Exceptional communication, presentation and interpersonal skills and the ability to establish and maintain effective and collaborative working relationships with a wide range of people and personality types
Strong analytical and planning skills; ability to operationalize strategies and produce significant and sustained programmatic results and improvements
Practiced in using data to inform strategic decisions
Excellent project manager, able to prioritize effectively, manage many projects at once and adapt to changing priorities
Experience or high comfort level working closely with a senior leadership team through periods of significant organizational growth and change, with successful outcomes`
Deep commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion and aligned in thought and action with iMentor's values
Bachelor’s degree required, advanced degree preferred
Employment is contingent upon the completion of a satisfactory fingerprinting and criminal background check, conducted by the Division of Human Resources at the New York City Department of Education

Compensation & Benefits

Salary commensurate with experience
Up to 100% employer funded comprehensive medical and dental coverage
18 days paid annual vacation and 13 paid holidays + most iMentor functions closed between Christmas and New Year’s Day
401K match up to 4%
Significant opportunities for professional development and growth

How to Apply

Visit www.imentor.org/jobs to submit a resume and detailed cover letter describing your interest in and qualifications for the position. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis, so it is in candidates’ best interest to apply as soon as possible. No phone, email, mail, or fax inquiries will receive a response.

iMentor is an Equal Opportunity Employer