Associate Director of College and Career Access

DC Prep•Washington, DC

About The Position

In order to deliver on DC Prep’s mission and commitment to students and families, the PrepNext team provides holistic support to graduates of DC Prep as they pursue success in high school and college. Beginning in the spring of students’ 8th grade year, PrepNext works with students and families to support a strong transition to 9th grade; continued academic and personal success through high school; and robust college access counseling. PrepNext’s post-secondary team then continues to support students’ success through college. We are successful if our students build the knowledge, skills, and confidence to lead self-sufficient, choice-filled lives. Achieving this goal requires an incredible team, and we need a dynamic Associate Director of College and Career Access with a wide set of skills and passions to support our team as we evolve as a program. The Associate Director will lead our college and career access program to include managing one Associate, providing holistic support to a caseload of 11th and 12th grade students at high schools across the DC region, and delivering evidence-based college and career counseling to expand access to higher education for our 11th and 12th grade students. The Associate Director will think creatively and proactively about how to best reach and impact our students, while leveraging college access expertise to ensure that all advising is nuanced, accurate, and effective. The Associate Director of College and Career Access will collaborate closely with the Director and PrepNext team to deepen our students’ understanding of their post-secondary options and support our students in developing strong, financially feasible, and individualized post-secondary plans to be implemented upon high school graduation.

Requirements

4+ years of college access experience, including financial literacy and college application knowledge, as well as an understanding of the high school and post-secondary educational landscape.
Passion for working with young people and their families, and a willingness to provide deep, nuanced support grounded in an understanding and commitment to uprooting historic and current racial and economic injustices.
A team player mentality, with willingness to proactively and positively confront challenges and obstacles; comfort taking initiative and thinking creatively to provide strong, scaffolded support to students; and the ability to thrive in circumstances involving ambiguity and nuance.
Experience designing and implementing trauma-informed interventions to help young people create and reach their post-secondary goals.
Strong written and verbal communication, interpersonal, analytic, and organization skills to support strong relationships and program management.
Ability and willingness to work flexible hours, including evenings for meetings with students and parents. While flexible, this role requires the applicant to be based out of DC and to be physically present across the DC area daily, primarily for high school visits.
A deep belief in DC Prep’s mission and values and in the power of all young people.
A bachelor's degree.

Responsibilities

Providing intensive, individualized college and career counseling, as well as high school graduation support, to a caseload of approximately 120 seniors and juniors, both virtually and through consistent and frequent visits to students’ high schools and in-person meeting locations (including DC Prep campuses). Support provided to seniors should result in a strong, financially feasible, and individualized post-secondary plan upon graduation that continues to build their skills and provides a solid foundation for their future career aspirations.
Building trust and engaging with parents and guardians as partners throughout the college application process.
Refining, managing, and implementing college and career access group programming grounded in a research-based approach and reflecting current trends, including the facilitation of key workshops for students and families on topics such as financial literacy and FAFSA, college essays, and the broader post-secondary landscape.
Leading the College and Career Access (CCA) team, including: Management of an Associate of College and Career Access.
Fostering strong relationships with school-based contacts at high schools across the DC region
Cultivating relationships with college admissions offices
Researching best practices in the college access field, and staying updated on shifts and trends in the college admissions landscape
Consistently inputting and analyzing Salesforce data, and making programming adjustments accordingly, to ensure CCA team stays on track to meet annual goals
Building and implementing college access resources, systems, and tools to strengthen quality of college advising
Collaborating with the College Success and High School Transition Teams to facilitate data sharing between all PrepNext teams, to foster a warm handoff of students between teams, and to ensure programmatic interventions meet student need.