College Access Mentor Specialist

Improve Your Tomorrow•Madison, WI

3d•Onsite

About The Position

Improve Your Tomorrow (IYT) is a nonprofit founded in 2013 to increase the number of young men of color who attend and graduate from colleges and universities. Its vision is for men of color to be overrepresented in higher education, underrepresented in the criminal justice system, and leaders in their communities. IYT works to combat academic inequities and build a college-to-community pipeline through its values of Character, Service, Teamwork, and Liberation. The College Access Mentor Specialist is the primary relationship-builder and college-going culture anchor for students in grades 6–8. This full-time, single-site position delivers bi-weekly mentorship, identity-centered programming, open study hall, and family engagement to establish a Brotherhood foundation that supports students through high school and into college. The Mentor owns site culture, leads programming, and serves as a consistent adult presence for students. The role is field-based at an assigned local school campus. The schedule is Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; some weekends, evenings, and organization-wide events are required. The pay rate is $25.00–$29.88 per hour.

Requirements

Commitment to IYT’s mission, vision, and values.
Ability to self-motivate to achieve results.
Ability to multitask and work under pressure.
Ability to prioritize work, meet deadlines, and produce quality results.
Excellent communication and management skills, with the ability to inspire and push others to accomplish their goals.
Ability to demonstrate an appropriate and responsible level of transparency and vulnerability to engender confidence and trust.
Patience, warmth, and genuine enthusiasm for working with middle- or high-school-age youth.
Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university.
Computer skills with G-Suite, Microsoft Suite, Zoom, and Salesforce.

Nice To Haves

Tutoring, mentorship, or youth development experience.
Bilingual in Spanish.

Responsibilities

Deliver one-to-one mentorship focused on identity, belonging, brotherhood, confidence, study habits, goal setting, and early college aspirations.
Build trusting, consistent relationships with students that establish a foundation for long-term engagement with IYT.
Lead open and structured study hall, keeping the space welcoming and purposeful, and ensuring students sign in and identify their work.
Prioritize students with D/F grades or a GPA below 2.5 during study hall; track attendance and follow up with students who do not attend.
Lead structured programming days by facilitating Brotherhood rituals, including the Brotherhood Clap, Creed, Family Love, announcements, and energizers, and support delivery of the Member Development Workshop.
Deliver developmentally appropriate Brotherhood programming aligned with the middle school program design philosophy and focused on identity, belonging, confidence, study habits, goal setting, and early college aspirations.
Incorporate high school readiness conversations and college exposure into programming throughout the year to support 8th-grade transitions.
Debrief with the Associate Program Director at the end of each structured programming day to identify student follow-up priorities for the coming week.
Conduct family touchpoints after mentorship sessions, centering discussions on student strengths and progress.
Lead quarterly family engagement touchpoints or events: Q1 Orientation/Welcome, Q2 Milestone, Q3 Mid-Semester, and Q4 Celebration.
Log mentorship sessions, programming attendance, and family touchpoints in Salesforce within 24 hours.
Manage the 8th-grade pipeline handoff, transferring student data, relationship context, and engagement history directly to the High School College Advising Mentor Specialist before the end of the year.
Capture and submit regular site content, including photos, short videos, student stories, and impactful program moments, to the Associate Program Director, ensuring required consent and release documentation is on file.
Perform additional duties as assigned.

Benefits

Medical insurance.
Dental insurance.
Vision insurance.
Life and AD&D coverage, with additional voluntary options.
Employee Assistance Plan (EAP).
403(b) retirement plan with a 3% employer match after one year of employment.
Sick leave.
Two weeks of accrued paid vacation leave.
Eight paid holidays.
Additional paid time off during select school breaks, approximately three weeks in total.