Nonprofit Remote Digest - Issue #517
Minds Matter National, Inc. is a national nonprofit whose mission is to transform the lives of accomplished high school students from low-income families by broadening their dreams and preparing them for college success.
Minds Matter — www.mindsmatter.org Minds Matter connects driven and determined students from low-income families with the people, preparation and possibilities to succeed in college, create their future, and change the world.
National Program Associate
Minds Matter is a national nonprofit organization that connects driven and determined students from low-income families with the people, preparation, and possibilities to succeed in college, create their future, and change the world. For more than 25 years, every Minds Matter student has been admitted to a four-year college or university.
Founded in New York City in 1991, Minds Matter is now a national college access program with chapters in 14 cities. Collectively, Minds Matter serves nearly 1,000 students and engages over 2,500 volunteers in meaningful service. Our three-year program supports students, called mentees, in their sophomore, junior, and senior years. The program offers a unique combination of individualized support, group instruction, and mentoring. Minds Matter provides students with the resources, information, and guidance needed to gain admission to and succeed at rigorous four-year colleges. Mentees attend summer enrichment programs on university and college campuses during sophomore and junior summers referred to as “summer programs.”
Minds Matter now seeks a Program Associate with project management expertise, experience working in education, strong emotional intelligence, and effective communication skills to join the Minds Matter National team. This is a part-time (20 to 30 hours per week), temporary position lasting nine months to a year with the opportunity to transition to a full-time role.
Reporting into the National office, the Program Associate will be principally responsible for managing existing National summer program partnerships. They will lead the effort to bring all chapters onto the alumni platform and provide support to chapters as they move towards more standardization (curriculum, training, outreach, etc.). Successful candidates must be highly organized, detail-oriented, and love building effective, collaborative relationships with various personalities, both internally and externally.
Specific Responsibilities include but are not limited to:
Summer Programs Operational Management:
Act as the central point of contact for all national partner summer programs providing timely information to all chapters.
Ensure all chapters have access to the most up-to-date information about the upcoming summer programs and are adhering to a consistent process (driving chapters towards a standard process where it makes sense)
Manage national summer program partners (universities and colleges). Negotiate financial aid, spots for Minds Matter mentees, the application process, communication, and invoicing with national partners on behalf of the entire organization.
Update timelines, critical information from each national program
Build and maintain collaborative/effective relationships with all National partner summer programs.
Plan and facilitate cross chapter Summer Program Director meetings to ensure alignment, smooth overall process for summer programs across all chapters
Provide structure and support to chapters who need extra support in regard to the summer programs by providing resources and answering questions of volunteers (act as a go-to resource for newer chapters/volunteers)
Build and maintain collaborative and effective relationships with all chapter Summer Program Directors and Executive Directors.
Alumni Support:
Drive implementation of the Minds Matter Connect alumni engagement platform. Lead efforts to get all chapters onto the platform. In partnership with chapters, establish engagement targets and activities.
Connect Minds Matter students from across chapters in college.
Support chapters in the collection and maintenance of alumni records and metrics.
Chapter Operational Support:
Communicate regularly with chapter leadership. Develop an understanding of the needs of smaller volunteer-run chapters versus larger chapters with staff and seek out ways to provide value for smaller chapters.
Aggregate and share best practices across chapters in service of creating more consistency and limiting duplicate work.
Support Chapter Leadership Council (CLC) program committees in efforts to create more standardization across chapters.
Qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree required
4 to 5 years’ experience in the Education or Nonprofit sector preferred
Previous experience with CRM databases, such as Salesforce and GSuite preferred
Must be available to work occasional evenings and weekends
A successful candidate will:
Be deeply committed to the Minds Matter mission
Build effective relationships with multiple stakeholders
Approach their work collaboratively, be a team builder, and develop strong working relationships remotely
Communicate with others in a warm and helpful manner while building credibility and rapport.
Connect with a range of stakeholders, including volunteers, universities, staff, and others.
Build credibility, create alignment and buy-in among diverse stakeholders
Lead projects to benefit programming and students across all chapters
Use strong project management skills to drive forward big projects involving multiple stakeholders
Seek ways to improve existing processes and create new ones
Work well independently, seeking guidance and support as needed
Show up with a solutions-oriented mindset
Model best-in-class customer service with high attention to detail
Be comfortable with ambiguity and create a path forward amid competing priorities
Excellent written and verbal communication skills that allow successful interaction with all areas of the organization and with external constituents
Compensation
The position will earn between $21 and $27.50 per hour, depending on your level of experience. The position does not come with benefits. Minds Matter offers a fun and inclusive work environment.
This is a part-time role working between 20 and 30 hours per week for a minimum of 9 months, a maximum of 12 months. There is a potential for this role to transition to a full-time position within the 12 months.
How to Apply
To apply for this position, please click here.
Applications will be reviewed and processed on a rolling basis until the position is secured.
Minds Matter encourages individuals of all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds and all gender and sexual identities to apply for this position. Minds Matter is an equal opportunity employer and considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, disability, veteran status, or any other basis prohibited by applicable law.