Operations / Administration Senior Manager of College Success, Scholarships
Job Description
ABOUT MAKING WAVES FOUNDATION
Making Waves Foundation is a private operating foundation located in Richmond, California. With a unique focus on college attendance and graduation, Making Waves Foundation has supported historically underrepresented and underserved students in pursuing their college graduation and career goals for more than 30 years. The foundation supports Making Waves Academy, a public charter school in Richmond, California, educating more than 1,100 students and leads a college success program, known as the College and Alumni Program (CAP). CAP provides coaching, scholarships, financial and career support for more than 500 college students as well as a network for more than 500 Wave-Maker alumni.
Our unique, holistic educational model supports students academically, socially, emotionally, and financially on their journey to, through, and beyond college. In 2020, Making Waves Foundation launched a new ten-year strategic plan centered on increasing the effectiveness of our existing program and expanding programming to reach more students across Contra Costa County in the Bay Area.
OVERVIEW of SENIOR MANAGER of COLLEGE SUCCESS, SCHOLARSHIPS
MWF seeks to hire a Senior Manager of College Success, Scholarships to help CAP deliver high-quality financial services to Wave-Makers. This role will manage a small team of College Financial Services Coordinators and College Financial Services Managers in identifying measurable goals and executing them through a strong DEI lens. This person will be responsible for supporting the team’s development, performance, satisfaction, and retention. Additionally, the Senior Manager of College Success, Scholarships will provide direct service to a small caseload of approximately 25-35 Wave-Makers and manage projects and support the program’s overall success.
Our ideal candidate is energized by supporting young people in maneuvering the complexities of making higher education financially accessible and has direct experience in higher education financing, student financial aid, and/or scholarships. This position reports to the Director of Financial Services, Ivette Chavez. Throughout her sixteen-year tenure with the organization and in the field of college finances, she has passionately shared her knowledge and expertise with students and families. As a manager, Ivette believes in the power of people and that compassion, integrity, and courage are key pillars to developing the next generation of leaders in the workforce.
OUR COMMITMENT to the SENIOR MANAGER of COLLEGE SUCCESS, SCHOLARSHIP
We are proud to offer our employees an above-market total rewards package in line with our guiding principles of promoting transparency & equity, rewarding expertise & performance, and championing professional wellness. The Senior Manager of College Success, Scholarships is a full-time, exempt role and will be eligible to receive:
- Salary: A competitive base salary range of $88,400-$119,600 based on requisite work experience and performance during the interview process.
- In line with our commitment to equity, fairness, and transparency, we have adopted a no salary negotiation policy. We understand the historical inequities created by salary negotiations and believe in offering a fair starting salary grounded in evidence collected during a clear, competency-aligned hiring process.
- Time off: 51 total days off per fiscal year (a combination of company-paid holidays, vacation, sick, and personal time).
- Medical benefits: 100% employer-paid medical (Kaiser HMO Platinum), vision, and dental benefits for the full-time staff member and a spouse/domestic partner or dependent child(ren).
- Wellness benefits: An array of well-rounded benefits, including monthly staff lunches, retirement match, mental health benefits (HRA), FSA for medical and childcare expenses, and a professional development stipend.
- Flexible workspace: A hybrid work environment where staff work from the office 1-2 days per week and have flexibility to work remotely otherwise. We provide a monthly wi-fi reimbursement and a home set-up stipend to set staff up to successfully work remotely.
RESPONSIBILITIES
The Senior Manager of College Success, Scholarships’ Primary Responsibilities include:
- Staff Management (40%)
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- Manage a team of College Financial Services Coordinators and College Financial Services Managers, each of whom is supporting a caseload of up to 150 college students
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- Coach and develop team members to help them identify areas of success and growth; manage progress toward their program, department, OKRs, and individual goals; mentor them through challenges, and provide feedback on their performance and skills
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- Create a safe, supportive, and inclusive work environment by being available and approachable, and providing individualized support to team members
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- Support the Director of Financial Services in hiring, onboarding, and training new College Financial Services Coordinators
- Department Management (25%)
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- Ensure the delivery of high-quality, consistent financial services within CAP’s scholarship policies and guidelines through observation, group and individual staff meetings, Salesforce reports, and other feedback
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- Support the Director of Financial Services in setting, assessing, and achieving programmatic goals
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- Work with the Director of Financial Services to assign and manage caseloads, monitor Wave-Makers with financial obstacles, and support College Financial Services Coordinators with implementing scholarship policies and guidelines
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- Review and approve Wave-Maker scholarship payment requests, budgets, and scholarship petitions following CAP policies and guidelines
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- Manage program resources by ensuring that the team has what they need to successfully do their job and communicate with the Director of Financial Services when gaps in resources exist
- Direct Service (10%)
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- Assist a small caseload of 25-35 Wave-Makers through federal, state, and institutional financial aid application and renewal processes, paying attention to critical deadlines
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- Support Wave-Makers to identify and overcome financial obstacles that prevent them from succeeding
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- Advise Wave-Makers on financial aid and CAP scholarship policies and guidelines, budgeting skills, and loan and repayment options
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- Provide financial aid and literacy advising to Wave-Makers and their families through presentations, workshops, seminars, group working sessions, and one-on-one meetings
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- Collaborate with CAP and Making Waves Foundation staff to ensure that Wave-Makers receive excellent financial services
- Program & Organizational Collaboration (25%)
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- Effectively create and manage project plans for assigned project(s), and ensure that assigned project(s) are delivered with the highest quality, on time, and within budgetary requirements
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- Collaborate with the Director of Financial Services to design and deliver financial aid, financial literacy, and other student-facing programming (e.g., workshops, events, and newsletters) and develop curriculum
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- Maintain detailed and accurate records in CAP’s Salesforce database, including Wave-Maker communication, task completion, budgets, scholarship payments, and financial aid
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- Collaborate cross-functionally with CAP and Making Waves Foundation staff to ensure that Wave-Makers receive excellent financial services
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- Foster and manage strong college partnerships
KEY EXPERIENCE QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS
What you’ve accomplished (required):
- 5+ years of work experience, with at least 1 year of management experience
- Experience working with or knowledge of higher education financing, student financial aid, and/or scholarships
- Experience managing full-time staff members to strong job performance and satisfaction while centering Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
- Experience serving or working with marginalized communities and holds an asset-based belief in our students
- Bachelors degree
Skills you may have accomplished:
- 3+ years management experience
- Proven track record of developing direct reports and cultivating a high performing team
- Advanced degree
Skills you have developed and knowledge you have acquired:
- A strong operator who is able to plan and manage actions for self, and for others who do not report to them
- A highly relational professional with the capacity to build strong, trusting relationships with both staff, students, and community stakeholders
- A strategist who approaches work through an intentional lens in service of thoughtful prioritization, purposeful pivots, and contingency planning to ensure outcomes are met
- A Working knowledge of education systems, including schools and college access, and an excitement to stay current on financial aid trends within higher education at the national level and local to the Bay Area
How you work and what you value:
- You relate with and align with our core values (drive impact, promote equity, build community, do hard things, learn and grow)
- You have a deep and authentic commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and are eager to manage staff, engage students, and support our financial services department in ways that are fully centered on these values
- You will be excited to innovate, enjoy the iterative nature of that work, and are an entrepreneurial and self-starter
- You enjoy working on a team and will operate in ways that will build trust with teammates (integrity, reliability, empathy, etc.)
- You enjoy managing others and are adept at coaching and developing others to strong job performance and satisfaction outcomes
RELEVANT POLICIES AT MAKING WAVES FOUNDATION
Making Waves Foundation requires all staff members who work on-site to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, as defined by the CDC. Accommodations or exceptions can be requested directly to someone on the Talent Team for medical or religious reasons.
Making Waves Foundation strives to build a staff that reflects the cultural diversity of the communities that we partner with. Making Waves Foundation provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. We encourage BIPOC-identifying individuals to apply.
