The College and Career Pathways Counselor inspires participants to envision the role that post-secondary education plays on their path to well-paid and sustainable careers and supports participants through the process of taking their next steps. Reporting to the Director, College Access Program, the Pathways Counselor is responsible for developing OBT’s new sector-focused college and career pathways coaching strategy for our technology training programs: Digital Marketing and Cloud Engineering. Funded by the College Completion Innovation Fund, the goal of this new initiative is to contextualize OBT’s post-secondary planning services within a robust career pathways strategy, equipping our participants to connect their long term career aspirations to concrete understandings of the credentials and skills required to progress. The Pathways Counselor is responsible for individual advising to participants with a diverse range of needs and aspirations; facilitating educational workshops; and developing both partnerships and resources to support this new strategy.
Specific Duties:
One-one-one work with participants:
- Utilize a holistic and youth-development approach to plan, implement, and track all aspects of participants’ post-secondary process, including individualized coaching to help students envision their future pathways; supporting with the completion of college and financial aid applications; and helping participants plan for challenges they may face in transitioning to post-secondary education
- Work in close collaboration with counselors, academic coordinator, and employment staff at both programs regarding participant goals, transition planning, and processes, including referring participants to appropriate internal and external resources as necessary
- Develop, maintain, and share up-to-date information about best fit post-secondary programs for participants, including colleges, certification programs, non-profit trainings, and bootcamps; support participants in researching and identifying best-fit opportunities
- Maintain a resource bank for support programs and opportunities specific to the populations OBT serves, and assist students with submission of applications for such
- Support OBT alumni persistence in post-secondary education through conducting email and/or text message outreach to alumni on a monthly basis, and providing additional one-on-one support as necessary
- Engage families to support positive outcomes for youth during the post-secondary planning process, including selection, application, and financial aid submission
- Maintain timely and appropriate records to support internal case management and funder reporting
Development of new tech sector coaching resources and strategies:
- In collaboration with the Employment Services Team and OBT’s College Access Director, build on existing partnerships and create new relationships with employers, colleges, partner institutions, and training providers in the field
- Through these partnerships, and with the support of local labor market information, develop robust understandings of the certifications, experience, skills and degrees that are required to advance in targeted technology career pathways
- Create participant-facing documents that outline the steps involved in achieving a desired career outcome, including required degrees and certifications and opportunities for advancement
Facilitate in-person and virtual workshops:
- Facilitate a series of post-secondary planning workshops for enrolled participants, including differentiating for a range of student needs
- With support from the College Access Director, redesign workshop curriculum to better align content with career pathways strategy, and refine content and materials on an ongoing basis in response to participant feedback
- In collaboration with the Tech Pathways Job Developer, support the delivery of labor market and work readiness workshops
- In collaboration with the retention services team, co-lead quarterly alumni “reunions”
- Maintain accurate and up-to-date documentation of attendance and participation in workshops to fulfill grant requirements
Collaborate with and assist the College Access Director, College Access Counselor, and College Access Interns in implementing the vision and strategic goals of the College Access Program and OBT, including planning for special events and initiatives
Perform all other appropriate duties assigned by supervisor
The College and Career Pathways Counselor is expected to have the following professional and personal skills, qualities, and characteristics:
- A passionate commitment to OBT’s mission and vision, and an understanding of the inextricable relationships between workforce development, post-secondary planning, and equity
- A track record in youth development with young adults, preferably in college, employment, or career-oriented programs
- Excel in building strong, supportive relationships with a diverse young adult population with varying needs and backgrounds, including an understanding of their strengths and the barriers they face in earning post-secondary credentials
- Demonstrated skill-sets in both individual counseling and workshop facilitation; a strong candidate for this role will have dynamic facilitation skills with the ability to engage non-traditional students in curricula both remotely and in person
- Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively to achieve results, including establishing strong working relationships with employers, college staff members, colleagues, and other key stakeholders
- Ability to effectively present information both orally and written to individuals, public groups, and partners
- Be able to manage, delegate, and prioritize multiple tasks and projects in a fast-paced setting
- Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail
Education and experience:
- Minimum three to five years of experience in education, youth development, college access, career advisement, or relevant fields as described above required
- The following are pluses but not required: prior experience developing high-quality materials that translate complex content into youth-friendly formats; comfort with designing and developing trainings or curriculum; familiarity with tech sector careers; prior experience with non-traditional populations or opportunity youth
- A Bachelor’s Degree; candidates with at least three years equivalent of real world experience in directly relevant settings may also be considered
Why You Should Join Us:
- We are a passionate and motivated staff excited to propel NYC’s youth and adult communities
- Salary $50K + full benefits. Please note that this is a 2 year grant funded position. Continued employment in this position is contingent upon ongoing sufficient funding.
To apply
Please apply with a cover letter and resume at https://obtjobs.typeform.com/to/WlrBXA.
Enter Position code AE4MS when prompted.
OBT values the diversity of the people it hires and serves. Diversity at our organization means fostering a workplace in which individual differences are recognized, appreciated, respected and responded to in ways that fully develop and utilize each person’s talents and strengths without regard to race, color, religion, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation/affectional preference, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, or veteran status.