9th Grade Scholars Advisor

Title: 9th Grade Scholars Advisor 

Department: SEO Scholars Miami  

Reporting to: Executive Director, SEO Scholars Miami   

Compensation: $58,656 - $65,700 (Annually)  

FLSA: Full-Time Exempt  

Location/Hours: Miami, Florida (Hybrid – 3 days/week in person) 

• This is an event-heavy position - managing sessions, workshops and special events with external partners is a near-daily responsibility in addition to 1:1 student and family meetings as needed. 
• Work requires traveling to different physical locations for recruitment in the fall and Saturday programming in the spring. 

 All candidates must be within commutable distance of central Miami upon hire.  

 Weekly Schedule: 

• Fall Term: Monday through Friday (about 2-3 Saturday and evening events)
• Spring Term: Tuesday through Saturday (~ 3 months); Monday through Friday, some weeks
• Summer Term: Monday through Friday 

ABOUT SEO

For more than 60 years, SEO has created a more equitable society by closing the educational and career opportunity gap for ambitious young people. SEO Scholars Miami is the newest expansion region for this program and aims to replicate for Miami-Dade area students the stellar outcomes that the program has delivered in New York City, San Francisco, and North Carolina. (Learn more here: SEO Scholars) 

POSITION OVERVIEW

The 9th Grade Scholar Advisor plays two essential roles: 1) introducing potential Scholars, families, and partners to SEO Scholars, and 2) onboarding incoming Scholars to the program their first semester. Accordingly, this position has a mix of student-facing and strategic responsibilities. As a Scholar Advisor you will help implement the Recruitment & Admissions strategy; help develop special initiatives that support operations, marketing, communications, partnerships, and outreach; manage the Scholar admissions process; and work directly with incoming Scholars to provide individualized guidance and support and implement quality advisory programming with effective intervention strategies to successfully meet student outcomes.  

As key players in the onboarding process for incoming Scholars, the 9th Grade Scholar Advisor sets the foundation for critical habits, knowledge, and mindsets that allow Scholars to effectively leverage the opportunities offered at SEO Scholars. 

An ideal candidate will enjoy working one-on-one with students, enjoy and excel at public speaking, and thrive in the areas of marketing, partnership development, and project management.

Responsibilities include:  

Recruitment and Admissions (50%)

• Supports Senior Manager of Student Recruitment and Retention for Miami on executing the admissions strategy and the successful selection of a competitive incoming class. Including, helping to review incoming applications and make recommendations for advancement in the admissions process, participating in interviews for prospective Scholars, and contributing to deliberation sessions with the team to select the final class.
• Liaise with school and community stakeholders to facilitate recruitment presentations and application workshops and provide individual support to prospective applicants and their families. This may include managing a portfolio of M-DCPS public high schools.

• Partner with peers and colleagues throughout the Scholars team to support the admissions strategy and timeline, ensuring timely execution of key milestones, documentation of processes and data, and the successful selection of a competitive incoming 9th grade cohort. 
• Develop content, coordinate across teams, and facilitate engaging and informative orientation sessions to ensure successful execution of Orientation for families and students.
• Help facilitate interviews for prospective Scholars, deliberation sessions, and partner with Senior team members to coordinate the selection process. 
• Review incoming applications and make recommendations for advancement in the admissions process.

Program and Student Management (50%)

• Successfully onboard incoming Scholars 9th grade classes by establishing a culture of high expectations, providing individualized guidance and support, and implementing quality student advising to meet target retention, attendance, and assignment completion goals during Saturday and weekday programming. This includes developing/revising content for Opening Circles, office hours, community time, etc.
• Works with the Senior Manager of Student Recruitment and Retention to ensure the translation of data from the Recruitment & Admissions cycle is used to strategically advise and support students through their first semester at SEO Scholars Miami.
• Develop and refine advisory content, including whole group, small group, and one-on-one advising content based on feedback from assigned cohort and in collaboration with the larger team.
• Facilitate community day/community time (in-person and online) during the spring semester. Assist with the planning, coordinating, and supervising of occasional trips (e.g., college tours).
• Create and nurture an environment that encourages intellectual curiosity; an inclusive, close-knit, and supportive community; academic excellence, college readiness, and a college-going culture.
• Foster and maintain relationships with parents, guardians, school partners, volunteers, and community/corporate partners as needed to improve student experience, performance, and retention; Provide online academic advising to all Scholars in their assigned cohort through academic advising hours, conduct meetings for students and parents, and meet with Scholars 1:1 or in small groups.
• Monitor the performance and engagement of all Scholars in the assigned cohort; lead Opening Circle (OC) with high-energy execution; track and analyze Scholar attendance, assignment completion, assessments, and grades in SEO Scholars classes, high school courses, and standardized test scores. Support Scholars by referring Scholars to IT support email as needed.
• Leverage data to develop proactive academic advising strategies that provide socio-emotional guidance, advising, and support to ensure high scholar persistence and retention for SEO Scholars and continued student academic success at their high school.
• Facilitate weekly instructor check-in meetings to gather information about Scholar performance and advise on action plans to support Scholars. Collaborates with instructors to support Scholars’ successful completion of coursework.
• Tracks progress and manages qualitative and quantitative data to make evidence-based decisions to improve Scholar performance and engagement, including making recommendations and ensuring that Scholars successfully follow through with additional support and services. Engage parents, guardians, and school partners as needed to improve student performance and retention.
• Collaborates with C&I’s Teaching and Learning team on various academic program elements including, but not limited to, grade audits and scholar attendance.
• Manage/update information in Brightspace including but not limited to updating the calendar, posting flyers for community day and community time, advertising instructor office hours, and using Brightspace assignment completion and attendance data to inform proactive academic advising of Scholars.
• Participates in effective transition meetings with the 10th-grade Scholar Advisor to support a successful transition of Scholars between grade levels including obtaining and uploading student academic data and reporting.

QUALIFICATIONS & SKILLS

• Bachelor’s degree required. 
• Direct experience working with high school-age students. 2+ years’ public teaching experience strongly preferred.  
• Experience working in community outreach, student recruitment, or college admissions. Familiarity and/or experience with public education and youth communities in Miami is strongly preferred.
• A background in student coaching and advising, including direct experience interfacing with parents and families.  
• Evidence of progressive career growth within roles increasing in responsibility and autonomy. 
• Excellent communication and internal personal skills. Must be comfortable communicating internally and externally via email, chat, phone, or video conference.
• Exceptional public speaking skills and ability to connect with and inspire a variety of audiences including students, parents, educators, and nonprofit leaders.
• Intermediate to advanced Excel and data analysis and reporting skills with an affinity towards data-driven outcomes.
• Working knowledge of standard workplace online applications (MS Office, Google Suite, Box.com) and proficiency in Zoom and intermediate Excel. Salesforce and LMS experience are a plus. 
• Organizational aptitude to manage complex and competing projects, set and achieve ambitious goals, and communicate progress to various stakeholders.
• Must be available to work a Tuesday through Saturday schedule and some nights as dictated by programming needs. 
• Bilingual Spanish/English preferred; all language skills are welcome! 

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS   

SEO offers a competitive compensation package and comprehensive benefits plan including low-cost health, vision, and dental options, a generous holiday schedule and PTO policies, disability coverage, fully paid time off for new parents, and employer contributions to health reimbursement and retirement accounts. We are constantly working to improve our benefits each year based on the needs of our employees. We value wellness and strive to consistently use a DEIB lens to put people first and foremost.  

The compensation listed in this posting reflects what SEO believes it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on the skills, qualifications, and experience of the applicant along with the requirements of the position, and SEO reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time.  

EEOC Policy 

At SEO we are committed to cultivating a team that embodies the backgrounds and experiences of the constituencies we serve and the communities we live in, and a workplace that reflects the impact we make in the world. Candidates from all communities – including people of color, women, members of the LGBTQIA+ Community, veterans, and people with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply. 

Equal Employment Opportunity is not just the law, it is our commitment. 

Sponsors for Educational Opportunity is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer – M/F/D/V. We will consider all qualified applicants for employment regardless of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, marital status, veteran status, pregnancy, parental status, genetic information or characteristics, or any other legally protected status. 

If you need accommodation while applying for a role with SEO, due to a disability, please email SEO Talent. 

THE ORGANIZATION 

Established in 1963 by Michael Osheowitz, SEO (Sponsors for Educational Opportunity), is an educational non-profit focused on improving outcomes for students from underserved backgrounds. For over 60 years, SEO has been an innovator in education, mentorship, and creating educational programs and opportunities that maximize the full potential of our participants. Each year SEO serves 7,000+ participants nationally, and the organization is widely recognized for developing best-in-class programs with exceptional results. 

Not every SEO participant is on the same journey, but all are hungry for opportunity and SEO creates an ecosystem of excellence. Learn more about SEO’s programs here: https://www.seo-usa.org/scholars/program/.