College and Career Readiness Manager, Stamford Cradle to Career - United Way of Coastal & Western Connecticut, Inc.

Position Summary

The College and Career Readiness Manager (CCR) will play an integral role on the Stamford Cradle to Career (SC2C) backbone team reporting to the Senior Director of Operations. SC2C (www.stamfordcradletocareer.org) is a collective impact organization with the mission to collectively align community resources to ensure equity and excellence in education, for every child, from cradle to career. Our goal is that all students in Stamford, CT, have the access and support they need to graduate high school and be prepared for college and career. SC2C works closely with Stamford Public Schools and community organizations to coordinate efforts. SC2C is dedicated to eliminating racial inequality in education and creating opportunities for children and youth to succeed. United Way of Coastal and Western CT serves as the administrative backbone for SC2C. All staff must possess an ability to work with multicultural communities.

Three specific goals for this position are:

1. Facilitate the Transition to Postsecondary, College and Career CAN (Transition CAN). The way we do collective impact work is through our Community Action Networks (CANs), which are collaborative groups of partners that include community members and staff from various organizations who work with middle school, high school and college-aged youth and families. The Transition CAN is a group of approximately 20 members that meet monthly to discuss, share, and guide Stamford’s college and readiness work. Members include youth-serving non-profit staff, Stamford Public Schools staff, local college staff, city staff, community members, and youth. The CCR will facilitate meetings and work closely with partnership members and various local and statewide college and career readiness focused groups and resources. The role includes revisiting needs and goals of the CAN and adjusting the focus as needed to best meet the needs of youth and young adults in Stamford.

1. Lead our Youth and Family Engagement. A key goal of SC2C is to partner with students and parents. This role will lead the work with our five Youth Leadership Interns, co-manage with the interns the annual process to recruit and hire new interns, support the interns on their projects, revise our Youth Engagement Framework as needed, and coordinate the process and structure to ensure youth are involved in SC2C’s planning and decision making. For the past two years, this included supporting our interns to plan an annual Teen Fair. This past year we also had a stronger focus on supporting caregivers, particularly Spanish speaking caregivers, with workshops and information on college and career readiness, planning, and application.

1. Manage ongoing implementation of Transition CAN Initiatives. Current initiatives include:
   1. Bridge to College (B2C). B2C is a summer program which supports high school graduates with the transition from high school to college. We work closely with Stamford Public Schools, Norwalk Community College, and other partners, and are looking to integrate this initiative into Stamford Public Schools. This role will include working with Stamford Public Schools on a transition plan and supporting the annual planning, hiring and onboarding summer counselors, managing the Signal Vine text messaging platform, planning the Keys to Success summer workshops, and coordinating program implementation and data tracking along with SC2C’s Data Manager.
   2. Manage ongoing implementation of Skill Building for Success (SBFS). SBFS is a multi-pronged approach to helping youth gain the eight essential skills needed for success in college and careers. This includes leading the SBFS workgroup, reviewing and updating resources and communications materials as needed, and training and supporting organization staff and youth to use the SBFS resources.

*The role includes keeping up to date on local, state, and national issues and resources related to college and career readiness and participating in various local and statewide college and career readiness-focused groups.*  

Essential Functions

• Collaborate with CAN chairs to plan and facilitate monthly Transition to Post secondary, College and Career Community Action Network meetings. This includes developing meeting agendas, writing up meeting minutes, and following up to ensure the next steps are implemented before the next meeting. Follow-up may include managing smaller workgroup meetings to work through specific steps for each initiative, including the Bridge to College Program, Skill Building for Success (developing non-academic essential skills that youth need to be successful in college and career), and supporting awareness building and workshops for caregivers.

• Lead SC2C’s youth engagement work including the Youth Leadership Internship, incorporating youth voice into the Transition CAN and SC2C’s overall planning and decision making, and coordinating/aligning other youth internship and engagement opportunities.
• Manage the ongoing implementation of Bridge to College.
• Manage the ongoing implementation of Skill Building for Success.
• Manage and cultivate relationships with members of the Transition CAN, including recruiting new members and chairs as needed, to ensure effective representation. ·Work closely with SC2C’s Data Manager and Senior Director for Operations to establish quantitative and qualitative success metrics aligned to the goals in the position summary
• . Collect and analyze data to learn and make improvements to initiatives through a continuous learning process.
• Research and participate in local and statewide youth and college and career readiness-related groups including but not limited to: Focus on Youth/LIST, CT Governor’s Workforce Council, MYLC (Mayor’s Youth Leadership Council).

Requirements and Expectations:

• Expected to successfully complete the goals and essential functions outlined above.
• Communicate concisely, respectfully, and professionally with co-workers, community partners, community
• members, youth, and funders.
• Co-facilitate monthly Transition CAN meetings and complete identified follow-up work.
• Participate in SC2C staff meetings and support SC2C community-wide work, including attending events.
• Participate in United Way of Coastal and Western CT staff meetings and trainings.
• Bachelor’s degree or associate Degree and equivalent work experience.
• Experience working with high school and/or college-aged youth. Experience in working with middle-school youth is a plus.
• Bi-lingual (English and Spanish, Haitian Creole, or Ukrainian) strongly preferred.
• Candidates must understand the challenges and barriers faced by marginalized communities, including but not limited to race, ethnicity, class, ability, immigration status, gender and their intersections, and have experience engaging with and working alongside communities of color.
• Strong public speaking and presentation skills.
• Data entry, collection, quantitative analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Strong results-orientation to achieve or exceed performance metrics.
• Project management and organization skills, including ability to meet deadlines.
• Demonstrated attention to detail.
• Strong interpersonal and communications skills.
• Availability to work flexible hours to include evening and weekends.
• Self-starter who takes initiative to learn and make connections with new resources and ideas.
• Team player willing to support team members and team goals.

Benefits:

• Paid Time Off – 11 paid holidays, 1 floating holiday, vacation, sick and personal time
• Paid Family Leave
• Health Insurance – medical, dental, and vision
• Health Reimbursement Account
• Sponsored life Insurance, short-term disability, long-term disability, and related coverage
• Matched retirement plan
• Hybrid work arrangements – 2 days remote and 3 days in office

How to Apply:

Interested candidates should apply at www.unitedwaycwc.org/employment. No application will be reviewed without a cover letter. United Way is an equal opportunity employer and seeks to hire staff members who reflect the diversity of the communities we serve.

All positions are filled without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, employment status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. This job description's statements are intended to describe the general nature of the work being performed. They are not intended to be a complete list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required for the position.

If much of this job describes you, please apply. Research shows that women and people from underrepresented groups often apply to jobs only if they meet all qualifications. We recognize this and encourage those with relevant skills and experience to apply.