About Breakthrough Central Texas

Breakthrough is the leading college access and success non profit in Central Texas. For more than 20 years, we have partnered with thousands of middle and high school students who aspire to be the first in their family to graduate with a degree or certificate. We make a radical, long-term commitment to students, to and through college, unlocking the power of education and a lifetime of opportunity. We support the whole student with personalized services, work closely with community partners, campuses, and employers, and advocate for our students with lawmakers. Breakthrough students attend 60+ public schools and persist at nearly 100 colleges and universities. The result is that nearly 60% of Breakthrough students graduate from college, compared to 15% of low-income students in our region. Our work has resulted in more than 350 college graduates, with nearly 3,500 on their way, positively impacting families for generations, our region’s educational access, and the Central Texas economy.

Why Work at Breakthrough Central Texas
By working for Breakthrough Central Texas, you will help hundreds of students achieve their dreams of success and receive the high-quality education they deserve. Breakthrough is an organization committed to its students and recognizes that our greatest resource to support them is our dedicated and talented staff.  If you believe all young people deserve the opportunity to achieve postsecondary success and you desire to work at an organization committed to its employees and building the strongest team culture anywhere, then join us!  

About the role

Breakthrough recognizes the value and need of high quality advising services to students after high school graduation. In this model, we directly serve students through six years of their postsecondary endeavors, with a heavy focus on the first year after graduation from high school. The overall goal of the program is to increase postsecondary attainment rates among students participating in Breakthrough.

As a primary provider of direct services to students and their families, the College & Career Success Coordinator is committed to the academic, career, and personal growth of the students in the program. This role carries a direct caseload of up to 75 students, as well as directly supervises an AmeriCorps member with a similar-sized caseload. This role will report to the Associate Director of the College & Career Success Team. To achieve the above, Breakthrough’s College & Career Success Coordinator will:

• Manage a caseload of up to 75 students aged 18-24 to help them enroll, persist in, and graduate from college; this caseload will be comprised mostly of students enrolled in 2-year and 4-year colleges and universities as well as some who have stopped out of college but who are hoping to return
• Develop meaningful relationships with Breakthrough postsecondary students and high school graduates and their families through individualized in-person and virtual meetings, phone, text, and email 
• Meet or exceed the standards of service for student contact based on the student’s tier of service, and document student contact in Salesforce database
• Plan and facilitate group events for students at your designated campuses
• Proactively reach out to high school graduates not enrolled in postsecondary education to provide guidance about their postsecondary options, and to support them in the re-enrollment process in accordance with the students’ interests
• Assist college-aged students with enrollment and financial aid processes, including transfers between programs and institutions 
• Travel to campuses around Texas (caseload dependent) in order to meet face-to-face with students and campus partners
• Connect students to wrap-around services to support their physical and socio-emotional health, including but not limited to emergency funds, mental health counseling referrals, and immigration consultation referrals
• Collect and analyze college persistence data to determine enrollment trends, barriers, and student needs
• Design and provide timely reports regarding program outputs and outcomes
• Contribute to the healthy culture of the College & Career Success team and of the entire organization
• Drive student success to further Breakthrough’s mission of supporting students on their path to becoming first-generation college graduates
• Participate in committees and workgroups to engage in team planning, organizational change work, and other collaborative work as needed
• Perform other job-related duties as assigned

About You

Breakthrough Central Texas seeks a talented, experienced, and enthusiastic educator, with a lens to equity and inclusion and with alignment to best practices in the field of college access and success. We seek someone with a strong commitment to the mission and values of the organization. Because of the large size of the organization and the complicated, fast pace of the work, the ideal candidate will have:

• 3-5+ years of postsecondary advising experience
• Demonstrated knowledge and skill related to postsecondary advising for first generation college students, including best practices in the field related to: college enrollment and persistence; academic advising; financial aid and verification processes; cultivating students’ sense of belonging on college campuses; supporting students’ socio-emotional wellbeing; and developing campus partnerships
• A skill and expertise navigating the many challenges that often keep students from enrolling and persisting in postsecondary options, ranging from academic preparedness to financial stressors to mental health concerns
• Experience organizing events for small and large groups of students
• An ability to analyze student-level data in order to extract patterns, and convert these into actionable steps and programmatic suggestions
• An ability to develop and improve systems for greater efficiency and effectiveness
• A commitment to growth mindset, to the belief that people can develop the skills, knowledge, and abilities to achieve their aspirations
• An ability to work with and motivate a diverse group of people
• A strong comfort with ambiguity as solutions to the complicated challenges encountered in the work are still emerging
• An ability to advocate effectively while maintaining positive and trusting working relationships
• A willingness and ability to take initiative as appropriate
• An ability to be highly organized, to prioritize effectively, and deliver commitments in a timely manner
• Excellent verbal, written and visual communication skills
• A strong desire to learn and grow, with a humility to their own competencies, identity, and positionality
• A disciplined, strong work ethic and comfort with working non-standard hours
• A commitment to and comfort in communicating with individuals who speak a language other than English, in particular Spanish
• Experience working in a public or private university academic advising or financial aid office a plus

Compensation & Benefits

• Competitive salary between $53,500-$69,500 depending on experience and qualifications
• Health, dental and vision insurance; Breakthrough pays 100% of employee only premiums 
• Long-term disability and life insurance 
• Matching 401K retirement plan 
• Thirty days of annualized PTO 
• Generous leave policy

Breakthrough Central Texas is committed to a policy of equal treatment and opportunity in every aspect of its relations with its applicants, staff members, and families, without regard to race, color, ethnicity, religion, gender identity and gender expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, marital status, military status, pregnancy, or parenthood. People of diverse backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply.