Educational Outreach Counselor/Early College Advisor

UMass Boston•Boston, MA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

UMass Boston’s TRIO Pre-collegiate program, Talent Search (TS), provides participants with the skills and motivation necessary for successful completion of high school and entry into and completion of post-secondary education. Programming includes academic courses, tutorials, college advising, and career awareness activities, social-emotional skill-building, and cultural enrichment. The program is currently funded to serve 1,452 students enrolled at the following partnering Boston Public Schools: Albert Holland School of Technology (7-12), Dearborn STEM Academy (7-12), Charlestown High School, Madison Park Technical Vocational High School, Ruth Batson Academy (7-12), and TechBoston Academy (7-12). The Educational Outreach Counselor is responsible for providing comprehensive college, career, and academic advising and readiness services to a designated caseload of approximately 300–350 middle and high school students. Working primarily within partner schools, the incumbent develops strong relationships with students, families, school personnel, community partners, and university colleagues to provide coordinated supports that promote high school persistence, post-secondary access, and long-term student success. The Educational Outreach Counselor directly supports student recruitment and enrollment; facilitates college and career readiness workshops and curriculum; provides individual and group advising; engages families; coordinates college, career, cultural, and enrichment experiences; and maintains accurate student participation and outcome data. A significant component of this position is collaboration with the university's Pre-collegiate TRIO programs and Early College (EC) program. Currently, UMass Boston’s EC initiative partners with the following schools: TechBoston Academy, Ruth Batson Academy, New Mission High School, Margarita Muñiz Academy, and Fenway High School. Because TS and EC serve the same and overlapping populations of students, the Educational Outreach Counselor works closely with Pre-collegiate TRIO program and EC staff to coordinate student services, outreach, recruitment strategies, advising, college-success programming, workshops, and professional development. This collaboration is intended to provide students with a cohesive and comprehensive college access and success experience across programs. In addition to this general collaboration with the EC program staff, the incumbent spends 20% of their time working directly on the EC initiative as an EC Advisor. In this capacity, they are assigned to work with students at New Mission High School, Margarita Muñiz Academy, and/or Fenway High School.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree with coursework in Counseling, Career Development, Human Services, Special Needs, Education, or a related field.
Three to five years of relevant experience in a secondary school, higher education institution, or comparable educational setting.
Demonstrated ability to work effectively with Talent Search-eligible students and families, including experience working with individuals with disabilities.
Knowledge of postsecondary education, college admissions, and financial aid processes, with demonstrated experience providing academic, postsecondary, and financial aid advising.
Demonstrated ability to develop and facilitate workshops, presentations, and training sessions.
Strong understanding of the developmental needs of middle and high school students and the transitions from middle school to high school and from high school to postsecondary education.
Demonstrated experience with event planning, promotion, and implementation.
Proficiency with office and database software, social media, and web-conferencing platforms.
Strong communication, interpersonal, organizational, and collaborative skills.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with career and technical education (CTE) pathways, including Early College and dual enrollment, as well as workforce opportunities such as apprenticeships, internships, and digital credentialing.
Demonstrated experience working with students who have faced barriers and challenges similar to those experienced by the populations served by Talent Search.
Knowledge of Boston Public Schools or a similar urban school district.
Bilingual proficiency in Spanish, Vietnamese, Cape Verdean Creole, Haitian Creole or other prominent language spoken by students at the partner schools.

Responsibilities

Manage a caseload of approximately 300–350 Talent Search student, providing individual and group advising focused on academic success, college and career exploration, post-secondary planning, applications, financial aid, and enrollment.
Provide academic advising and coaching to approximately 60-100 Early College students that is focused on EC course selection, academic success, progress monitoring, and connection to supports and resources.
Connect TS and EC students with appropriate academic and institutional resources and monitor progress toward key college-readiness milestones.
Deliver college and career readiness workshops and curriculum on topics such as financial aid, college applications, academic success, career exploration, financial literacy, and college transition.
Recruit and enroll eligible students in collaboration with partner-school staff, families, and community organizations.
Conduct classroom presentations, information sessions, and other outreach activities to promote program participation.
Engage parents and guardians in students' educational and postsecondary planning and assist families with college and financial aid processes.
Collaborate closely with the Pre-collegiate TRIO programs and Early College program to coordinate recruitment strategies and services for students served by both programs.
Support Pre-collegiate TRIO programs and Early College recruitment and outreach strategies and provide individual and group advising, college-success curriculum, workshops, and other student-support activities.
Participate in joint planning, student-support meetings, and professional development with Pre-collegiate TRIO and Early College staff to strengthen coordinated services and shared approaches for recruiting and serving the same student population.
Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with partner-school administrators, counselors, teachers, community organizations, University departments, and other stakeholders.
Coordinate advising, workshops, student referrals, college visits, career exploration, cultural activities, and other enrichment opportunities.
Assist with and chaperone program-sponsored activities, including occasional evening, weekend, and overnight events.
Enter student records for new and continuing participant information and documentation of services provided.
Maintain accurate student records, all service documentation, eligibility information, and program data in accordance with grant and university requirements.
Track student participation and outcomes and prepare reports to support program assessment, compliance, and continuous improvement.
Provide monthly and/or quarterly program reports to appropriate school staff, as assigned by the Director of Programs.
Participate in all staff meetings, planning, professional development, and other program initiatives, and perform related duties as assigned.