College Completion Mentor Specialist
About The Position
Improve Your Tomorrow (IYT) was founded in 2013 with the mission to increase the number of young men of color (YMOC) to attend and graduate from colleges and universities. We envision a world where men of color are overrepresented in higher education, underrepresented in the criminal justice system, and leaders in their communities. By embodying our core values of Character, Service, Teamwork, and Liberation we work to combat academic inequities and build a college-to-community pipeline. The College Completion Mentor Specialist is the primary point of contact for students actively navigating college. This role owns the 1:1 navigation relationship from the warm handoff during senior year through graduation — delivering navigation sessions, Brotherhood Huddles, career readiness support, and College Comeback re-engagement across the region.
Requirements
- Commitment to the mission, vision, and values of IYT.
- Ability to self-motivate to achieve results.
- A multi-tasker with a solid ability to work under pressure.
- Ability to prioritize work, meet deadlines, and produce quality results.
- Excellent communication and management skills that can both inspire and push others to accomplish their goals.
- Ability to operate with an appropriate, responsible level of transparency and vulnerability, engendering confidence and trust.
- Strong understanding of community college, transfer pathways, financial aid, and 4-year graduation requirements.
- Ability to manage a multi-phase caseload with tiered intensity and consistent follow-through.
- Comfort with technology and data systems (Salesforce experience preferred).
- Bachelor's degree from an accredited university is required
- G-Suite
- Microsoft Suite
- Zoom
- Salesforce
Nice To Haves
- Master degree preferred
- Personal experience navigating college as a first-generation student.
- Experience in college advising, case management, or postsecondary navigation.
- Knowledge of internship and career readiness programming.
- Bilingual in Spanish strongly preferred.
Responsibilities
- Receive warm handoff from the High School Advising Mentor Specialist/APD during senior year; be introduced to every senior before graduation.
- Conduct summer melt prevention outreach between high school graduation and college start.
- Deliver monthly 1:1 navigation sessions in Year 1; escalate to weekly or bi-weekly for students below 2.5 GPA, on financial hold, or showing engagement risk.
- Track milestones: FAFSA/CADAA completion, college applications, intent-to-enroll, orientation, registration, education plan, declared major, counselor connection.
- Connect students to belonging programming and IYT Brotherhood community on or near campus.
- Begin internship pre-placement preparation in spring of Year 2: resume development, pathway exploration, and application coaching.
- Support internship placement aligned to each student’s major and career interests through IYT’s corporate and partner network.
- Conduct monthly navigation sessions with internship reflection and quarterly supervisor check-ins.
- For community college students, support transfer applications, FAFSA renewal, and verified transfer.
- Conduct quarterly navigation sessions and mid-semester academic and financial aid checks.
- Ensure degree audits and graduation applications are completed on time.
- Activate College Comeback re-engagement for stopped-out students.
- Attend family engagement events and orientations at IYT high school sites to build rapport with students and families.
- Log all navigation sessions, milestone progress, and family touchpoints in Salesforce within 24 hours.
- Maintain accurate phase records, risk flags, and intervention notes for every student on caseload.
- Capture and submit regular site content — photos, short videos, student stories, and impactful program moments to the Associate Program Director, with all required consent and release documentation on file.
- Additional Duties as Assigned
Benefits
- Medical
- Dental
- Vision
- Life AD&D (with additional voluntary options)
- Employee Assistance Plan (EAP)
- 403(b) retirement plan with 3% employer match after one year of employment.
- Sick Leave
- 2 weeks of accrued paid Vacation Leave
- 8 Paid Holidays
- Additional paid time off during select school breaks (about 3 weeks of additional PTO in total)
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Entry Level
