Senior Manager College Access Consulting and Professional Learning

Title: Senior Manager, College Access Consulting and Professional Learning

Classification: Full-time, Exempt

Location: New York, NY

Reports to: Associate Director, College Access & Professional Learning

At Student Leadership Network, we believe in the potential of all students and are cultivating a generation of young people empowered to lead. We work with every student, developing their abilities to achieve their educational ambitions. Our 25+-year track record demonstrates higher rates of college enrollment and graduation, significantly surpassing national benchmarks.

We are advancing educational equity by increasing access to higher education in under-resourced public schools nationwide. Our Young Women’s Leadership model elevates practices in girls'+ schools that lead to success and change the face of leadership. Our co-ed CollegeBound Initiative develops college-going school cultures — creating high expectations and viable pathways for post-secondary success. To learn more, visit our website at: www.studentleadershipnetwork.org.

Position Summary: The Professional Learning Team is seeking a full-time Senior Manager based in New York, NY, who will lead service delivery and build scalable systems to expand the organization’s coaching and consulting services around post-secondary planning for schools and districts both in New York City and nationally. The senior manager will partner with stakeholders at all levels - district leaders, school administrators, teachers, and guidance personnel - to develop the requisite skills, action plan, and best practices needed to bolster the postsecondary outcomes for students from under-resourced communities. The Senior Manager will report to the Associate Director, College Access and Professional Learning.

Primary Roles and Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Partnership Engagement and Management

• Manage a portfolio of college access clients, ensuring high-quality service delivery and measurable client impact.
• Identify, recruit, and manage a cohort of college access coaching and consulting clients, ensuring high-quality service delivery and measurable client impact.
• Manage ongoing client relationships including communication, progress monitoring, and service customization based on client needs.
• Provide one-to-one coaching support for counselors regarding post-secondary planning for seniors and deepening the college-going culture of their schools.
• Build school staff capacity, understanding, and investment in college & career access through training and coaching.
• Develop school-based teams focused on building and sustaining the postsecondary planning, preparation, and goal setting of students.
• Lead development and execution of individualized school work plans for clients in collaboration with the Associate Director.
• Coordinate and facilitate student workshops and/or student application intensives at partner schools.
• Coach the designated school counselor in developing and maintaining partnerships with colleges, universities, and post-secondary programs, as well as professional organizations for college counseling (e.g., NYACAC).
• Conduct comprehensive assessments of partner schools' college & career counseling programs; present findings and strategic recommendations to school leadership.
• Communicate regularly with partner school administration regarding the content, progress, and impact of program support.

Program Development and Implementation

• Build scalable systems and infrastructure that enable the department to serve schools and districts efficiently through consultant leverage and efficient delivery models.
• Codify Student Leadership Network's college access methodologies into comprehensive consultant playbooks, training materials, and resource libraries.
• Develop systematic coaching strategies for school counselors, post-secondary planning coordinators, and college & career counseling teams.
• Design and revise post-secondary exploration workshops for students, for maximum engagement and impact.
• Create standardized client assessment tools, reporting templates, and work plan frameworks ensuring consistency across consultants and service models.
• Establish quality assurance protocols for assessing partner schools' college & career counseling programs, measuring and tracking student outcomes, and strategic goal setting.
• Design and implement feedback and evaluation protocols for post-secondary exploration workshops and college application intensives that assess student engagement and session impact.
• Facilitate professional learning communities (PLC) of college access clients that efficiently deliver college access and post-secondary planning support to multiple schools while building peer learning networks.
• Design and facilitate high-impact PLC workshops and convenings that integrate college access strategies, school-wide culture development, resource sharing, and counselor networking.
• Manage PLC operations and logistics: registration, scheduling, venue coordination, materials preparation, participant communication, and post-event follow-up.
• Build knowledge management systems that capture organizational expertise and make it accessible to consultants, new hires, and cross-functional partners.

Data Management, Evaluation, & Impact Measurement

• Track the progress of key postsecondary planning metrics in order to support school-based teams and/or designated school staff in data-driven decision making.
• Conduct assessments of clients' current College & Career Access Programs; present findings to the Associate Director and school leadership.
• Lead collection and analysis of student and school data from clients; generate strategic insights for service improvement.
• Prepare and present annual reporting of support provided, impact on school’s post-secondary counseling program, and student progress towards & achievement of key milestones.
• Track client portfolio performance against departmental targets (retention rates, satisfaction scores, student outcomes); identify trends and improvement opportunities.
• Partner with RITA (Research, Innovation, Technology & Analytics) team to develop client data dashboards, implement outcome tracking systems, and benchmark performance against Student Upward Mobility Initiative indicators.

Strategic Support, Market Expansion, & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Support identification and evaluation of new geographic markets and client segments for service expansion in partnership with Associate Director and Managing Director.
• Collaborate with Marketing team to create client-facing collateral (service descriptions, one-pagers, case studies) and thought leadership content (blog posts, webinars, conference materials).
• Coordinate with Girls' Education team to integrate WholeGirl Education practices into co-ed college access work and share best practices between programs.
• Foster collaborative relationships with Student Leadership Network content experts to ensure coaching & consulting services reflect the full depth of organizational knowledge from CollegeBound Initiative, Girls' Education, and Young Women’s Leadership Affiliate programs.
• Represent Student Leadership at college access conferences and practitioner convenings (NCAN, NACAC, regional networks); present on Student Leadership best practices and build field relationships.
• Maintain expertise in post-secondary planning trends and emerging practices; engage in professional development and stay current on relevant frameworks (NYC Career Navigation Roadmap, CRIS, Student Upward Mobility benchmarks).
• Support other College Access Services and Professional Learning programs and initiatives as needed.
• Other duties as assigned.

Key Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s Degree in Higher Education Administration, College Counseling, Social Work, or a related field preferred
• Five (5) years of experience in college access, higher education, and/or an educational non-profit preferred.
• Experience designing and facilitating professional learning for adult educators.
• Project management expertise with ability to coordinate complex, multi-stakeholder initiatives across multiple sites.
• Extensive knowledge of college admissions and the financial aid process, including understanding requirements, forms, and college opportunity programs such as Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), College Scholarship Service Profile (CSS profile), New York State Tuition Assistance Program (TAP), and the Excelsior Scholarship Program, and strong knowledge of CUNY and SUNY application and enrollment processes.
• Ability to perform simple to complex data analyses.
• Experience in navigating & understanding the NYC public school system and culture.
• Experience working with and ability to build relationships with New York City students from diverse socioeconomic, racial, and ethnic backgrounds.
• Excellent communication skills, including written, verbal, and editing skills.
• Ability to communicate in small groups, one-to-one, and in public speaking contexts. Strong interpersonal and organizational skills.
• Strong computer skills, including proficiency with Google Business applications (Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive) and Microsoft Office applications (Word, PowerPoint, Excel). Familiarity with Salesforce preferred.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with partner schools’ administration, faculty, and staff.
• Ability and willingness to travel throughout New York City’s five boroughs is required.
• Ability and willingness to travel nationally to support clients outside of New York City.
• A demonstrated passion for expanding educational opportunities for students from under-served communities and commitment to Student Leadership’s mission, vision and core values.

Benefits: Student Leadership Network offers a competitive benefits package to eligible employees, including:

• Medical (health, dental, and vision)
• Health Reimbursement Account (up to $14,000 for families)
• Flexible Spending Account (for Medical, Dependent Care, and Transit/Parking)
• 401K Retirement Plan with 4% Employer Match
• Generous Paid Family Leave, minimum twelve weeks based on tenure
• Life Insurance (100% of the insurance premium)
• Employee Assistance Program
• Paid Time Off:
  • Full-time employees earn 17 vacation days per year in the first three years
  • 11 Federal holidays and 2 floating holidays
  • 10 sick days per year
  • Annual Wellness Week between Christmas and New Year’s
  • Summer Fridays early dismissal

Student Leadership Network is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to cultivating a respectful, inclusive, and equitable workplace where diverse talents, skill-sets, and lived experiences are valued as essential to advancing our mission.