Deputy Director, Student Success, Postsecondary Success, Education

Povolania

Opis pracovnej pozície

As a nation, it\'s critical we ensure equitable access to opportunities for America\'s most vulnerable people. Nearly one-third of high school students won\'t graduate on time, and the rate is worse for Latino, Native American, and African American students. Millions of people do not have access to the powerful information that others readily access through computers and the Internet. In the Pacific Northwest, a growing number of families struggle to get by. The mission of the United States Program is to reduce these inequities and improve access to opportunities by: Significantly increasing the number of students who graduate from high school with the skills needed to succeed in college and work Improving the lives of at-risk children, youth, and families in Washington state and Greater Portland, Oregon Expanding access to information through technology in public libraries that serve low-income and disadvantaged communities JOB REQUIREMENTS: The Deputy Director, Student Success leads the strategy to support more empowered and better informed students who make decisions that enable them to achieve their postsecondary aspirations. S/he will be guided by a deep understanding and detailed segmentation of the target low-income young adult population aged 16-26. This Deputy Director will be creative in using a combination of the Foundation\'s grant making, influential voice, convening power, and strategic partnerships to deploy three types of interventions to influence student behavior:Information: These interventions focus on ideas that deliver timely, tailored information about postsecondary enrollment, persistence or completion to low-income young adults using effective delivery channels and messengers. The goal is to support informed decision making - from information to improve college matching to local labor market data to better uptake of existing resources.Social Engagement: These interventions focus on ideas that utilize social media and peer networking as a tool to drive student enrollment, retention and completion. This could include strategies to facilitate online study groups, mentoring, or other strategies to combat the social isolation that often leads to lack of postsecondary success.Finance: These interventions focus on restructuring existing, and creating new sources, of financial aid to incent completion. This could include creation of new incentives like performance-based scholarships, or forgivable loans, application fee waivers, or creation of an emergency grant fund to enable low-income students to access small amounts of dollars that can make the difference between persisting through college or dropping out.The Deputy Director, Student Success will oversee two additional, important portfolios: (1) the Foundation\'s Scholarship Programs, which includes the Gates Millennium Scholars program, the Washington State Achievers program, and the DC Achievers program; and (2) Community Partnerships, which includes efforts to better understand how local community stakeholders can create sustainable partnerships around a common goal to achieve increased postsecondary completion rates.The Deputy Director, Student Success will sit on the Postsecondary Leadership team to devise overall strategy and budget, as well as be part of the Extended Leadership team of the Foundation\'s US Program.A team of Program Officers will report to the Deputy Director, Student Success. S/he should have the kind of strategic, analytic mind that can help mentor and guide Program Officers to make high impact investments; the management skills to lead quality execution; and the kind of external networks and leadership profile necessary for this catalytic role. Last, the Deputy Director will publicly represent the Foundation with broad stakeholders including prospective business partners, public and private entities, grantee organizations, other funders, universities, think tanks, and other valued partners. The ideal background for this person would be a creative, results-oriented thinker and doer who: (1) knows the higher education world well, although is not constrained by its current structure or limitations; (2) understands the advances in new media and social networking that are creating new possibilities for student decision-making and peer engagement; (3) has experience developing and implementing strategic partnerships across the private, public, philanthropic and non-profit sectors; and (4) has a strong understanding of the target population and a student-first orientation that takes into account the context in which low-income young adults are making decisions. S/he should be innovative in understanding the new reality of student life, which demands that more than 75% must work, are starting families, and are facing a host of realities that impact their ability to complete a postsecondary credential. S/he should also have a good understanding of what colleges currently do to support student success, including understanding of financial aid and student support services.

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