College Access Consultant

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:

• Submit a resume, 2-3 minute video cover letter, and writing sample. The writing sample can be uploaded as the cover letter on really. In doing so, include your video link (e.g., Google Drive link) atop the writing sample document you elect to upload. Your application will not be considered if you do not follow the preceding instructions.
• Target start date is July 25th, so applications should be submitted swiftly!
• Ideally, the writing sample would exercise some degree of creative writing, though this is not required. Multiple writing samples are welcomed. If including multiple writing samples, just include it within the document you upload to really. For our convenience, include a header and some brief context as to what the writing sample was associated with.
• The 2-3 minute video cover letter should include a brief overview of yourself, along with why this opportunity speaks to you. As with a traditional cover letter, you should leverage your experience and skills relevant to the role—to the extent that you can. You are encouraged to be 100% authentic, so it may help to include some personal information (including hobbies) at the beginning of your video to loosen yourself up. However, it is your video cover letter, so structure it as you please. Once more, the key is to just be yourself and allow your personality and spirit to come through, no matter what that looks like.

ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW:
VIDAL Access is a 501(c)(3) college access organization that was launched in July 2019 by Lance Beverly, an Alabama native, UAB, Harvard, and LSU graduate, and Yale Educator Award recipient. For more information on our work, visit www.vidalaccess.org or our Instagram @VIDALaccess.

• Mission: The mission of VIDAL Access (pronounced Vie-dul) is to provide low-income and middle-class students with in-school access to elite college counseling services so that they can attend college at an affordable cost.
• Model: We opt for a daily, in-school college counseling model to enhance access to elite-level college consulting support and cultivate and sustain a college-going culture. Put differently, we want low-income and middle-class students to have free, in-school access to the level of college counseling support that affluent families often seek in the private market. By contrast, an out-of-school model cannot serve as many students due to logistical complexities, nor can they have nearly as much of a cultural impact within the school and broader community.

SALARY & BENEFITS

• The salary range for this year-round position is $30,000-$40,000.
• While there will be work in the summer of 2022, such as for planning and conducting college counseling boot camps, the summer offers considerable flexibility and time to recharge your batteries.
• $100 monthly gas stipend to compensate the employee for traveling to his/her designated school(s).
• Growth opportunities! Given that VIDAL is young and growing, you will have the opportunity to gain skills in event planning, fundraising, and grant writing.
• Due to VIDAL Access still being a young upstart, we are not able to offer benefits at this time. Fortunately, healthcare.gov exists to offer you affordable and robust coverage.
• Anticipated start date = Between Monday, July 19 and Monday, July 26th

QUALIFICATIONS:
Required:

• Bachelor’s degree
• Excellent writing and editing skills
• Experience developing trusting relationships with students
• Demonstrated commitment to our mission and core values.

Preferred:

• Conversational Spanish
• Swag
• Then some more swag after that.

POSITION OVERVIEW

• VIDAL Access is looking to make its first ever hire for College Access Counselor! The primary focus of the CAC is to provide individualized college counseling support to students using VIDAL’s LEADER [Lists, Essays, Applications, Decisions, Earn(est), Resilient] Model. The CAC helps students identify college options, write application essays, submit applications, complete financial aid requirements, analyze acceptances and award packages, and make a responsible college choice. The CAC will track meeting dates and times via Google Drive so that we have accurate input data. Likewise, the CAC will track and record outcome data, such as FAFSA completion rates and scholarship and grant dollars. During the fall, the CAC workload will be higher and there will be an expectation that you support our other schools, if necessary, for FAFSA workshops, College Signing Day, etc.

Primary Responsibilities:

Direct Student Support - 85%

• Provide one-on-one guidance to a caseload of high school seniors: services will be delivered on-site at your designated school(s) and occasionally via Zoom, when necessary, to provide students with additional, virtual support while not on site (e.g., after hours and weekends for upcoming deadlines).

College Lists

• Coach each student towards a college list that meets Access Program standards, is individualized to that student, and is in line with admissions and affordability data
• Adjust admissions chances based on changes to student academic profile throughout the year

Essays

• Help each student brainstorm, revise, and finalize college essays – by utilizing both in person and remote support tools

Applications

• Support students in identifying and completing missing/additional application materials throughout the Winter and Spring

Financial Aid/Decision Making

• Guide students (in person or remotely) to submit FAFSA and/or CSS Profile by institutional priority deadlines
• Identify and support students selected for federal income and/or citizenship verification
• Identify students eligible for a variety of scholarships
• Explain financial aid award data to each student, and coach them to make a financially responsible college decision
• Support students with submitting a deposit to a college by May 1st o

Earn(est)

• Earn means to painstakingly scour community and electronic resources to find educational funding opportunities for students and to subsequently help them in applying for said opportunities.
• Earnest means to work as hard as you possibly can to positively impact as many lives as you possibly can. Moreover, earnest, to us, means to always act and speak with conviction and honesty when providing information and feedback to our stakeholders. In doing so, we hope to inspire our students to also act earnestly in their day-to-day and long-term pursuits.

Resilience

• As a CAC, you will need to manage expectations and teach your students to be resilient. There will be many instances where students get rejected from a school or program or do not achieve the ACT or SAT score they desired. It is your job to keep them level- headed and to ensure they maintain the confidence required to get future tasks completed at a high level.

• As a CAC, you will also need to be resilient. There are student-based, familial-based, and school-based challenges that you will face. When stressed or outright heartbroken over a given situation, it is paramount that you remember the job you have to do, as many students and families are counting on you.

_ Caseload & Data Management – 10%_

• Maintain ongoing communication with all students
• Regularly email blast all senior students
• Respond to all student correspondence within 2 business days
• Help students resolve general obstacles that come up throughout the school year by coaching them on self-advocacy and resourcefulness skills

• Collaborate with staff at partner high schools
• Conduct regular meetings around student progress. “Regular” is to be defined by the CAC’s designated school, but bi-weekly meetings are ideal. o Coordinate classroom push-ins, after-school workshops, college rep visits, and events with school staff.
• Track and record student meetings, using both quantitative and qualitative measures o Enter data into the database within 3 business days of a student interaction or status change o Calculate total sessions and student counseling time that occurred in a given month.
• Prepare student profiles for site visits. Site visits are about storytelling, so it is integral for us to paint a clear picture of our work when our funders take the time to evaluate our progress. As such, it is important that CACs prepare multiple, hard-copy student profiles to provide anecdotal evidence of your work as a CAC. This, in conjunction with the data we collect, tells a well-rounded story that stakeholders of all sensibilities can appreciate.

• Secondary Responsibilities: *

Program Support - 5%

• Attend Access Program events, including but not limited to, College Signing Day and student workshops (including those not at the CAC’s designated school(s))
• Occasional assistance with grant searching and writing.
• Planning and coordinating any grant-related site visit at the CAC’s designated school(s).
• Represent the VIDAL access brand in a positive light and take actions to increase brand awareness throughout the community.

Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without advanced notice.

Job Types: Full-time, Contract

Pay: $32,000.00 - $40,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Flexible schedule
• Paid time off

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday
• Weekend availability

Supplemental Pay:

• Bonus pay

Education:

• Bachelor's (Required)

Work Location: Multiple Locations