College Access Mentor Specialist

IMPROVE YOUR TOMORROW • Madison, WI

4d • $25 - $30 • Onsite

About The Position

The College Access Mentor Specialist is the primary relationship-builder and college-going culture anchor for students in grades 6–8. As a full-time, single-site leader, this role provides bi-weekly mentorship, identity-centered programming, open study hall, and family engagement to build the Brotherhood foundation that supports students through high school and into college. The Mentor owns the site culture, leads programming, and serves as the consistent adult presence students expect to see.

The position is field-based at an assigned local school campus in Madison, Wisconsin. The schedule is Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; some weekends, evenings, and organization-wide events are required. Travel is up to 25%. The hourly pay range is $25.00–$29.88.

Improve Your Tomorrow (IYT), founded in 2013, works 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. The organization’s core values are Character, Service, Teamwork, and Liberation.

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 toward their goals.
• Ability to act with an appropriate and responsible level of transparency and vulnerability to build 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 using 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 aspiration.
• Build trusting, consistent relationships with students that support long-term engagement with IYT.
• Lead open and structured study hall, keeping the space welcoming and purposeful, ensuring students sign in and identify their work, and prioritizing students with D/F grades or a GPA below 2.5.
• Track study hall attendance and follow up with students who are not attending.
• Lead the structured programming day, facilitate Brotherhood rituals, and support delivery of the Member Development Workshop.
• Deliver developmentally appropriate Brotherhood programming aligned with the middle school program design philosophy.
• Incorporate high school readiness conversations and college exposure into programming throughout the year to support 8th-grade transitions.
• Debrief with the Associate Program Director after each structured programming day to identify student follow-up priorities for the coming week.
• Conduct family touchpoints after mentorship sessions, centering on student strengths and progress.
• Lead quarterly family engagement touchpoints or events, including orientation/welcome, milestone, mid-semester, and celebration moments.
• Log mentorship sessions, programming attendance, and family touchpoints in Salesforce within 24 hours.
• Manage the 8th-grade pipeline handoff by transferring student data, relationship context, and engagement history to the High School College Advising Mentor Specialist before the end of the year.
• Submit regular site content, including photos, short videos, student stories, and program moments, to the Associate Program Director, with required consent and release documentation on file.
• Perform additional duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• 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.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level