About KIPP TEAM & Family

KIPP TEAM & Family is our network office that includes support teams - such as Leadership Development, Recruitment, Advocacy, Facilities, Finance, HR and more - dedicated to empowering our schools and ensuring the success of KIPP students throughout New Jersey and Miami. Our schools are part of the nationally recognized “Knowledge Is Power Program” network of free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public schools dedicated to preparing students for success in college and in life. The first KIPP New Jersey school opened in Newark in 2002 and since then our school network has expanded to educate 8,135 students in grades K-12. By 2025, KIPP New Jersey will provide a world-class education to over 10,300 students across fifteen schools in Newark and five in Camden.

In 2018, we grew our KIPP community in response to a need for high-quality school options for students in Greater Miami’s Urban Core communities. That led to the creation of KIPP Miami, which currently educates more than 1,000 students in four schools, with plans to reach 5,800 students by 2025. By offering highly effective educators with strong bonds to families, more time in school learning, services that support a variety of student needs, and a culture focused on achievement, our students in New Jersey and Miami are on the path to and through college, career, and choice-filled lives.

Here's what you should know:

KIPP New Jersey/Camden’s KIPP Forward team is looking for a Manager of Career Services to ensure our Newark and Camden alumni launch into strong first jobs after receiving post-secondary credentials. As the Manager of Career Services, you will be responsible for executing a career launch strategy for alumni to support them during their years of their postsecondary journey through a strong Career Launch. In addition, this role will build capacity, knowledge and skills of the College Success Team to support all post-secondary career work including tracking and reporting outcomes. As the Manager of Career Services, you also will be responsible for leading execution of all components of our annual organization-wide internship program. You will maintain partnerships with local companies and stakeholders to help place alumni into strong career opportunities that will ultimately set them up for career advancement and financial freedom.

Here's what you'll be doing:

Program Development & Strategy

• Develop and execute a framework for career integration and career launch for our alumni.
• Collaborate with the Director of Career Services & External Partnerships and the College Success Team to develop a program strategy that supports our team’s continued growth and is inclusive of clear goals, metrics, and progress monitoring benchmarks
• Create and facilitate programming for alumni (ie. resume workshops, skill building, labor markets, interview prep, etc) to support them in securing employment or maximizing their employment options.
• Lead our organization-wide internship program, which places our alumni in strong internship experiences across our KIPP NJ organization each summer.
• Assist with the planning and lead key components of team events (e.g Be The Change Alumni Career Summit)
• Connect College Success Counselors to the necessary tools and resources needed for them to provide critical career advisement to their caseloads
• Develop and execute the recruitment and communication plans needed to meet alumni participation and completion goals specific to various programs and exposure opportunities
• Engage in meetings with key career leaders in our region and nationally to share-out key findings/insights in order to help inform career programming/initiatives in both our K-12 and post-secondary work at KIPP NJ

Career Advising & Coaching

• Provide 1:1 support to a subset of KIPP NJ alumni around all components of a strong career launch. This will be accomplished through regular outreach and check-ins which include, but are not limited to, individual career planning and personal goals.
• Work 1:1 with KIPP NJ alumni to place them in competitive summer internships and programs
• Assist alumni in completing and analyzing a career interest/aptitude assessment
• Work with KIPP NJ alumni to prepare professional resumes and other application materials for jobs and internships
• Build and maintain a programmatic & local career guidebook and job openings for alumni.
• Regularly disseminate targeted employment opportunities to alumni via KIPP Forward Career Newsletter and other methods of communication such as individual text messages and social media.
• Stay current on the most in-demand industries in the area and turnkey that information to students and teammates

Training & Implementation

• Plan and lead professional development sessions for the College Success Team to support the team in building the necessary skills and content knowledge needed to execute on career programming goals
• Evaluate program design and execution based on outcomes and through the lens of multiple stakeholders (alumni, advisee, program partners, managers) to continuously improve

Partnership Management

• Develop local and national partnerships with employers in an effort to secure internships and employment for KIPP NJ college students
• Develop partnerships with local professionals to provide mentorship to alumni interns
• Manage career program partners through regular one-on-one in-person and/or virtual meetings to drive forward goals and results and ensure your recruitment and communication plans are in alignment with their planning and execution strategy.
• Continuously research, learn about, and develop relationships with new and existing career programs and exposure opportunities in the cities and states where our alumni live and that are reflective of alumni needs and varied career aspirations.

Data Reporting & Management

• Track meeting notes and student data – both qualitative and quantitative – consistently and accurately in alumni database (Salesforce).
• Collect and track employment data for alumni.
• Work with the data team to create the systems/tools to track and report on program metrics and outcomes
• Demonstrate a results-oriented mentality by analyzing key data points (ex: full-time jobs earned, internships completed, employment, % successful monthly contact, etc.) and effectively using the data to drive results in career-related advising sessions with alumni.

Skills

• Proficient in Microsoft Office (specifically Excel) and Google Workspace
• Outstanding written and oral communication skills
• Strong quantitative, analytic, strategic, and problem-solving skills
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Strong organization skills and meticulous attention to detail
• Superb customer service skills and love and support for families and children
• Adept at data analysis and strong content knowledge; ability to extract meaningful insights and actions from data
• Growth-mindset and desire to receive regular coaching and adjusting feedback in order to grow
• Experience with database management and reporting is ideal (such as Salesforce, Overgrad, etc.).

Abilities

• Commitment to do whatever it takes, whenever it needs to be done, to ensure our alumni have what they need to launch into strong careers
• Ability to travel to central offices when needed to support the execution and facilitation of meetings, training, and other in-person events.
• Ability to build strong relationships with students, families & external stakeholders that effectively move students towards their career goals.
• Ability to proactively problem solve; anticipate challenges before they occur
• Ability to identify inefficiencies and generate creative solutions
• Ability to develop and manage multiple projects simultaneously and comfortably with ambiguity
• Experience developing and planning programs including career development training sessions.
• Experience managing others OR proven track record of successfully managing projects or processes while motivating others to action even when no direct reporting relationship exists
• Demonstrated ability to meet ambitious goals within deadlines
• Ability to troubleshoot and manage high stress situations with a calm and positive demeanor
• Willingness to check and respond to email/texts after hours during peak work cycles
• Belief that all students, regardless of background, have the ability to go to and through college; and students may begin that path to self-sufficiency via careers that do not require a bachelors degree.
• Cultural Competence: Demonstrated ability to create inclusive environments that honor and support a diversity of backgrounds and perspectives

Nice-to-Haves

• Previous experience in an educational or non-profit setting
• A car for travel to local companies, schools and programs between Newark and Camden.
• Resume and Career coaching experience.

Must Haves

• Bachelor's degree
• At least 6-8 years of experience successfully managing programs/projects/teams, preferably focused on young adults and/or programming that serves traditionally underrepresented students at the collegiate level.
• Experience managing projects or processes and collaborating with internal and external colleagues resulting in a documented track record of personal and professional success.
• Strong alignment with and commitment to KIPP Forward’s program model and goals
• Flexibility, determination and an entrepreneurial spirit to accommodate a high level of responsibility, multiple priorities and an evolving programmatic design.

Compensation & Benefits

In addition to a competitive salary, KIPP NJ offers a full comprehensive benefits plan, including health care, retirement, a school laptop and transportation benefits for TEAMmates commuting into New Jersey from New York City or the Philadelphia area.

KIPP New Jersey | KIPP Miami is an equal opportunity employer