Director of Admissions and College Enrollment, Year Up

Year Up is an award-winning, national 501(c)3 organization that enables motivated young adults, ages 18-24, to move from minimum wage to meaningful careers in just one year, by providing the skills, experience, and support they need to reach their full potential. Through a one-year, intensive program, Year Up utilizes a high expectations, high support model where students spend the first six months learning in-demand technical and professional skills, focusing on one of five career pathways, before applying their skills during a six-month corporate internship with a top company. Throughout the program, students earn an educational stipend, and complete coursework eligible for college credits.

Year Up has served more than 24,000 young adults since its founding in 2000, and will serve more than 4,700 young adults in 2019 nationwide. Year Up currently serves 25 U.S. cities across 18 markets, including Arizona, Baltimore, Bay Area, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Greater Atlanta, Greater Boston, Greater Philadelphia, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, the National Capital Region, New York City, Puget Sound, Rhode Island, South Florida, Tampa Bay, and Wilmington. 90% of Year Up graduates are employed and/or enrolled in postsecondary education within four months of program completion and employed graduates earn an average starting salary of $40,000 per year.

Voted one of the Best Nonprofits to Work For in the country by The NonProfit Times for eight consecutive years, Year Up is a rewarding place to work. Our staff is passionate, supportive, mission-driven, and committed to positive change and continuous learning. We set high standards for both ourselves and our students, and live by a set of core values that reflect an unshakable belief in the talent and full potential of our young people. The work we do is life-changing, and we know that our team is the greatest asset in achieving our mission.

Position  Description: Reporting to the Regional Director of Recruitment & Admissions, the Director of Admissions and College Enrollment (Wilmington, DE) will be responsible for ensuring that the site meets its student enrollment goals each year. You will manage the Admissions team to work with the Year Up team, college partner's Admissions and Academic team and other community resources to drive efforts to implement the Year Up PTC program model, which is geared toward connecting top corporations in need of entry level talent with college trained, high-potential urban young adults.

To be successful in this role, you will thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic organization where you can manage a team through an entire process that underpins the service delivery of a mission-driven organization. You will participate actively in applications, assessments, selection and database management with a keen eye for opportunities to improve quality and efficiency of the Year Up admissions process through implementation and maintenance of systems. You will leverage superior communication and relationship building skills to connect with potential students, community resources and our college partner.

The Director of Admissions and College Enrollment (Wilmington, DE) will also have the opportunity to interact with students as a mentor, group facilitator, and advocate, participating in building a positive educational environment.

We understand that people gain skills through a variety of professional, personal, educational, and volunteer experiences. We encourage candidates to review the key responsibilities and qualifications below. If you believe you have the transferable skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of this role, we encourage you to apply.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Student Assessment/Admissions

• Oversee a team to successfully meet the following annual goals: recruit young adults; admit and enroll of a full class of students
• Support and manage the Recruitment and Admissions team to develop and execute a unique and rigorous selection process, including evaluating applications and candidate essays, conducting in-person interviews, managing a range of innovative candidate selection activities, completing high-level reference checks, and collecting recommendations
• Responsible for managing entire recruitment and admimssions pipeline to ensure applicants are moving steadily through each stage of the pipeline
• Responsible for making data-driven strategic decisions to maintain consistent flow of applicants for each stage of the process
• Shape strategy systems for executing admissions, recruitment, and applicant data tracking
• Integrate the learnings from ongoing assessment, research, evaluation, and best practices to continuously improve admissions and recruitment processes
• Facilitate enrollment process with our partner college
• Provide excellent customer service to every prospective student via phone and in person
• Other duties as assigned

• Ensure proper usage of Year Up database and systems to ensure the most efficient storage of information and utilization of data
• Produce regular reports to track, document, and measure progress to inform improvements to the Admission process and selection criteria
• Coordinate data entry (prospective interest forms, interviews, all admissions related documents, completed applications, enrollment support & follow up) into Year Up national database system and other data collection
• Ensure data integrity for all Admissions related contacts and accounts

Recruitment

• Identify and establish new partnerships to ensure a robust recruitment pipeline by building and maintaining relationships with the college, local high schools, community-based organizations and other groups that work with urban young adults from a full range of
• Build awareness of the Year Up program in the community
• Attend community recruitment events to connect with potential students
• Conduct presentations to both community organizations and potential students about the Year Up PTC program

College Liaison

• Manage and work in partnership with local college partner to ensure successful enrollment and navigation of financial aid, admissions and course enrollment processes
• Manage day-to-day relationship(s) with community college administration (enrollment management, admissions, financial aid, operations, etc.) to oversee on-campus recruitment and ensure that enrollment and financial aid information is up-to-date
• Ensure that all community college enrollment objectives are integrated into PTC project plans, data collection, and outcomes measurement

Program Development & Start-up and Expansion Team Member

• Work to preserve a high support, high expectation, high service model in a fast-pace environment positioning for regional growth
• Have a willingness to "get things done" while cultivating and sustaining a trusting and nurturing environment for staff and key stakeholders
• Serve as a professional skills coach for a small number of current students
• Join and sometimes facilitate weekly group sessions with students
• Participate in staff meetings and trainings

QUALIFICATIONS:

• At least 4-5 years of professional experience preferred
• Experience in the college recruitment, admissions and/or enrollment field
• Local experience working with a young, ethnically diverse urban population
• Ability to assess student's social emotional needs
• An existing network of high schools and youth serving organizations in the local area a plus
• Knowledge of the breadth of youth serving organizations, services and resources in the local area
• Effective communication/public speaking skills, and the ability to connect quickly and authentically with people from a variety of different professional and cultural backgrounds
• Strong work ethic and positive attitude, with a willingness to be flexible
• Professional and resourceful style with the ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Knowledge and comfort with marketing and social media a plus
• Exemplary skills in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Outlook and Excel required
• Knowledge of Salesforce.com preferred
• A passion for working with urban young adults, an unshakable belief in their potential and a strong commitment to the mission of Year Up
• Understanding of the Opportunity Divide and its drivers
• Commitment to diversity and inclusion

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS:

Salary: Competitive and commensurate with education and experience

Benefits: Competitive package including 100% healthcare coverage, dental, and 401(k) match

Vacation: Three weeks paid vacation in first year of employment; four weeks after initial year

Professional development: Funds available to support staff in achieving career objectives

COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY:

Year Up actively engages individuals from all backgrounds. We are committed to embracing diversity within our organization because we firmly believe that diverse employee teams help us to achieve our best organizational outcomes and provide the most effective support to our young adults as we work to close the Opportunity Divide. We are deeply dedicated to creating and maintaining an inclusive and supportive work environment. Learn more about our commitment to diversity:http://www.yearup.org/about-us/careers/commitment-to-diversity/

As an equal opportunity employer, Year Up is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified individuals and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, marital status, veteran status, pregnancy, parental status, genetic information or characteristics, or any other basis prohibited by applicable law.

TO APPLY:

Please submit a thoughtful cover letter and resume through our website.

Note that applications without a cover letter will not be considered. We respectfully request no phone calls.