Operations / Administration High School Placement Director
Job Description
ABOUT BREAKTHROUGH NEW YORK
Since 1999 Breakthrough New York has supported more than 600 motivated, low-income students prepare for, enroll in, and persist in rigorous high schools and colleges. It is our mission to help students break through barriers and obstacles that stand in the way of their success, and we’re proud to be a part of their journey.
During Middle School We…
- Support some of the most talented and motivated middle school students you’ll ever meet with over 200 hours of academic and leadership programming per year
- Guide students and families through the high school application process to ensure their acceptance and enrollment into high schools that will truly prepare them to thrive in college
Our High School Students…
- Develop their leadership potential through experiential community service opportunities, internships, and college prep programming
- Receive academic support to ensure they excel and persist through high school
- Are supported through the college application and decision process so they stand out as exceptional candidates to colleges and universities around the world
After 12th Grade, Our College Students…
- Remain engaged with the Breakthrough New York family
- Receive academic and college persistence support
- Work with our team to explore career pathways and choose one that best meets their professional aspirations, talents, and skills
- Graduate with the academic credentials and leadership ability to thrive in their professional careers and make a difference in the world
As an added bonus, throughout the entire program, our students…
- Learn and grow with the support of 200+ exceptional Tutors and Teaching Fellows (high school and college students!) in our unique “students-teaching-students” model
Since the inception of our current program model, each year…
- 98% of our rising ninth grade students enroll in college preparatory high schools
- 100% of our high school students matriculate to four year colleges
- 98% of our college students are persisting in college and are on track to graduate within four years
ABOUT THE TEAM
We are a small and mighty team committed to living our core values by:
- Learning and leading flexibly and constantly
- Embracing a sense of the possible
- Valuing relationships
- Modeling integrity
- Being all in
We work together to foster a strong and positive staff culture by supporting each other to advance the work, navigating challenges actively, celebrating our successes, being open and purposeful, and ensuring our community comes first.
ABOUT THE POSITION
As the High School Placement Director you will ensure every BTNY middle school student is prepared to gain acceptance and financial aid into a college prep high school. The HSP Director leads and manages the organizational roll out of all student-related preparation, application, and commitment activities for the HS application process.
Primary Duties and Responsibilities
Vision and Strategy
- Develop, implement, and inspire a vision and strategy for the growing high school placement program at BTNY. This will include setting goals, measures of success, and the operating plan to achieve high school placement goals.
- Quickly able to identify, implement, and codify innovative strategies to ensure all our students gain entry to the most competitive, college preparatory high schools in the country with the adequate financial aid necessary.
Leadership
- In conjunction with the Program Director, develop, implement, and inspire a shared vision and strategy for high school placement aligned with the organization’s mission and goals. Lead program-wide meetings, decisions, and the program operating plan.
- Invest, inspire and engage stakeholders (students, parents, school partners, staff) to gain their trust, confidence, and commitment to high school placement.
- Proven ability to counsel students and families.
- Partner with the senior leadership team to elevate organizational trends and proactively provide solutions to continuously improve high school placement.
Management
- Maintain organizational expertise in the high school placement process – coordinating all high school placement activities, establishing policies, procedures, and training to maximize effectiveness and efficiency.
- Manage the execution of all high school placement activities delivered by full-time and part-time staff.
- Manage BTNY brand and relationships with HS admissions and financial aid officers.
- Lead evaluation processes to assess the strengths of high school placement and program, identify areas for improvement, and prioritize and implement programmatic improvements.
- Manage all vendors associated with high school placement, including test prep companies to ensure student results.
- Develop and manage the high school placement and tuition aid budget including monitoring monthly cash flow, anticipating variances, and elevating resource needs to the senior leadership team.
- Identify and evaluate the risks associated with program activities and take appropriate action to mitigate risks.
Qualifications, Proven Skills, and Mindsets
- Proven ability to articulate, inspire, and achieve a shared vision.
- Curiosity and critical thinking to synthesize information and ideas quickly, recognize opportunities that arise, and take action to seize opportunities.
- Ability to learn quickly and foster a growth mindset culture by modeling continuous learning and adaptability to change.
- Ethos of personal responsibility evident by consistent pattern of achieving ambitious goals on time with high standards.
- Outstanding communication skills, both written and oral, including ability to adjust communication as socially and culturally appropriate.
- Proven ability to build effective relationships across lines of difference, effectively resolve conflict, and gain the confidence of others through honesty, integrity, and authenticity.
- Proven ability to use quantitative and qualitative methods to measure program effectiveness and leverage data to drive strategy.
- Ability to balance daily operations with a strategic and long-term perspective.
- Sound discernment and judgment with the ability to move work forward independently.
Minimum Experience and Education
- A minimum of 5 years of professional experience including no less than 2 years managing the school application process
- Experience developing and applying tools and methods to evaluate program success
- Experience developing systems and processes to transition an organization from the start-up phase to sustainability
- Proficiency with MS Office (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint), Salesforce and comfort learning new systems
- Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree
COMPENSATION
BTNY strongly believes in attracting, engaging, developing, and retaining the most diverse, qualified candidates. As a Breakthrough New York employee you will receive:
- Competitive salary commensurate with experience and skills
- Benefits
- Medical, Dental and Vision benefits (100% employer-sponsored)
- 401K/Retirement Plan (with an employer-matching component)
- Commuter Benefit Plan
- Health and Dependent Flexible Spending Accounts
- Very generous paid time-off including holiday, vacation, sick, and personal time
- Annual Professional Development Stipend
- Employee Referral Compensation Policy
How to Apply
TO APPLY Email hiring@breakthroughnewyork.org with HIGH SCHOOL PLACEMENT DIRECTOR in the subject line and attach the following:- Your Resume
- A Cover Letter that includes your salary requirements.
- BTNY Questionnaire – Send answers to the following questions:
- What are your career goals?
- What are you really good at professionally?
- What are you not good at or not interested in doing professionally?
