About Breakthrough Central Texas

Breakthrough is the leading college access and success nonprofit 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 55% of Breakthrough students graduate from college, compared to 17% of low-income students in our region. Our work has resulted in more than 550 college graduates, with 4,000 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 Student Advising and Program Coordinator Role

The Student Advising & Program Coordinator leads critical advising services and programs for 11th- and 12th-grade high school students on their path to postsecondary success through matriculation at one of Breakthrough’s partner schools. The Student Advising & Program Coordinator provides critical support within Breakthrough’s school-based model, a new organizational strategy to increase postsecondary attainment rates among students in Central Texas. The school-based model will create impactful and sustainable results by blending direct service to students with capacity-building support for the high schools they attend. The primary responsibility is to provide high-quality academic advising and support, career and postsecondary pathway advising, and college access support to 11th- and 12th-grade students, ensuring they meet crucial college access milestones. In addition, the Student Advising & Program Coordinator designs and leads engaging school-based programs that provide students and their families with learning about the path to and through college, and is part of a high-performing team. The role includes both supervisory and team collaboration responsibilities. Specific responsibilities of the Student Advising & Program Coordinator include:

Student Advising & Support

• Provide timely, high-quality academic advising and mentoring to an average caseload of 50-55 students. 
• Develop and maintain relationships with a diverse group of students and their families, teachers, and other key stakeholders to support their success by adhering to advising standards of service and conducting holistic check-ins. 
• Meet and communicate with guardians/families on student progress. 
• Support students in taking academic and non-academic steps necessary to prepare for postsecondary pathways, including college and career exploration, college readiness testing, SAT/ACT testing, post-high school plans, college list creation, all steps of college application submissions, and all aspects of financial aid application submission and tracking. 
• Track student progress and identify critical needs to provide timely and appropriate interventions.
• Continue advising 12th-grade students after graduation and through the summer to support Breakthrough’s postsecondary enrollment efforts, known as Summer Success work. 

Program Development, Coordination, and Leadership 

• Design, plan and lead campus-based programming during or after school to promote school success and foster a culture that promotes postsecondary education options.
• Support program evaluation efforts and make continuous program improvements to achieve outcomes. 
• Participate in committees and workgroups to engage in team planning, organizational change work, as needed. 
• Manage large groups of students to build a positive learning community aligned with Breakthrough’s core values and college-going culture. 

Supervision 

• Supervise, support, develop and evaluate an AmeriCorps fellow(s) to ensure highest performance and optimal student outcomes. 
• Manage and support volunteers assigned to students or events. 

Partnership Development

• Strategically develop relationships with key partners, including teachers, school administrators, district leaders, counselors, recruiters, and leaders of other community-based organizations on campus. 
• Meet regularly and work collaboratively with other staff members and volunteers in order to support students and families. 

ABOUT YOU

You are a strong candidate for the Student Advising and Program Coordinator role if, above all, you are a champion for closing the opportunity gap and increasing social and economic equity and mobility through educational attainment. You are a servant leader, and feel at your best in a deep relationship with the communities in which you serve. You are passionate about building authentic relationships with students, family members and caregivers, and educators. You bring content expertise in youth development, college access, supervision and team development, and in event or program operations. You will also bring experience or demonstrated capacity in the following competencies:  

• High School Success & College Access Advising: Ensures strong high school course selection and academic progress, meeting testing requirements, and envisioning a career pathway, and successfully navigating the college/postsecondary application process including applying to strong “fit” programs, securing funding, finalizing housing and lifting holds. 
• Direct-to-College Enrollment Advising: Provides highly individualized support to ensure high school graduates who are college-bound remove typical barriers to enrollment (testing, financial aid, housing, etc.) quickly enough to enter fall programs. 
• Student Advising & Relationship Building: Provides high-quality advising services to students, with a focus on building authentic relationships and a skill at advocating for the student’s success in school and other settings. Demonstrate advising behaviors that build trust and foster student and family engagement. 
• Family Navigation & Caregiver Engagement: Builds trusting relationships and works effectively with caregivers to provide information, guidance, and resources so that students stay engaged and thrive. 
• Program Design and Delivery: Uses age-appropriate content knowledge to design programs that support postsecondary success, maximizes program design by delivering experiences that achieve program outcomes, and inspires and engages groups of varying sizes.
• Inclusive Communication: Approaches conversations about identity, power and privilege with awareness, humility and a quest for greater understanding. Tailor communication to meet the needs of a variety of audiences including students, families, staff members, school personnel, and individuals who speak a language other than English.
• Data Tracking & Evaluation: Submits timely, accurate, comprehensive case notes and other information and tracks/analyzes data with fidelity to drive action that supports student success, informs program design, and ensures meeting team, advising and persistence goals. 
• Continuous Learning & Improvement: Embraces and applies feedback, demonstrates curiosity, creativity, and a growth mindset, and pursues opportunities to strengthen individual performance and team/organizational outcomes. 
• Talent Development: Coaches, provides effective feedback and training, and supports direct report(s), and others on the team who supervise others,  to set priorities, build skills, meet goals, and grow toward professional aims.
• Prioritization & Resourcefulness: Effectively puts time and effort where it is needed the most, asks for help,  maximizes resources, and envisions innovative solutions to reaching outcomes. Prioritizes multiple tasks and deliver commitments in a timely manner, and possesses a disciplined, strong work ethic and comfort with working non-standard hours (some weekends and evenings). 

REPORTING AND SUPERVISING RELATIONSHIPS

The Student Advising & Program Coordinator will report to the Associate Director of Schoolwide Postsecondary Advising Program of their advising site (Manor New Tech High School or Eastside Early College High School). Direct reports may include a year-round AmeriCorps Fellow. 

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS 

• Competitive salary between $56,000-$74,000 depending on experience and qualifications
• Health, dental and vision insurance(Breakthrough pays 100% of employee premiums)
• Life insurance
• Matching 401K retirement plan
• Thirty days of PTO annually, with immediate accrual, recognizing that staff have lives outside of work
• Additional leave benefits, including company holidays and FMLA eligibility (varies by year)
  
  

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. We strongly encourage people from diverse backgrounds to apply.