Program Coordinator

The Peninsula College Fund makes college graduation a reality for low-income, first-generation college students. Our comprehensive program includes four-year college scholarships, one-to-one adult mentors, college and career success training, and summer internship support. We are now seeking a dynamic and committed Program Coordinator to help implement our programs, working directly with our scholars and mentors.

MISSION

Our mission is to empower low-income, first generation college students to graduate and obtain a job that aligns with their career goals.

WHO WE ARE & WHAT WE DO

Starting as a grassroots effort to support three scholars in 2005, PCF has steadily grown and today has served over 445 students and awarded over $3.7 million in scholarships. PCF operated as a completely volunteer-run agency until late 2010, and currently employs a small staff. The Program Coordinator reports to the Director of Programs.

We support our scholars through four key programs:

1. Scholarships: Each student receives a renewable scholarship for all four years of college as long as they meet program requirements.
2. One-to-One Mentoring: We carefully match each scholar with a caring adult who provides support, counsel, networking, and positive role modeling to help each student complete college. We provide our mentors with training and continuously evaluate and improve our mentoring program.
3. Summer Internships: We provide internship application support for our scholars, ideally for summer internship placements.
4. College and Career Success Events: We provide all students with targeted, in-depth training events to give them the tools for college completion and career readiness.

GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES & DUTIES

The Program Coordinator serves as the primary liaison to students and mentors for all things college-related. They provide information and support to students and mentors, help plan and execute training and social events for students and mentors, administer the scholarship program, and provide general program support to other staff members and contractors.

Student Facing 60%

• Manage a cohort of college-age scholars, attending various colleges and universities throughout the country, for college and career success.
• In collaboration with the Program Lead, share targeted internship and career opportunities with qualified students and refer students to Program Lead for more in-depth career assistance
• In collaboration with Program Lead, refer students to PCF Partners (i.e. CareerSpring) and other community resources for career exploration and readiness.
• In collaboration with the Outreach Specialist, support the scholarship selection and onboarding process (attend high school outreach presentations, review prospective student applications, and onboard new scholars).
• Troubleshoot student academic, college adjustment, career readiness and mentor issues.
• In collaboration with the Program Lead, support the scholarship disbursement (process scholarship requests from active students, follow up with students for missing information, etc.).
• Collect, review, and track students’ grades and other PCF program expectations including Online Learning Center completion rates/data.
• Facilitate positive communication among mentors, mentees and the organization.

Mentor Program 10%

• Manage a cohort of mentors who are volunteering to support scholars with social/emotional, college and career related issues.
• Communicate with mentors about student progress and support.
• In collaboration with the Outreach Specialist, troubleshoot any rising issues between mentors and students.
• In collaboration with the Outreach Specialist, rematch scholars who are without mentors.

Events 10%

• Attend PCF programming and student social and/or celebratory events such as Awards Ceremony, holiday parties, on-site college visits, etc.
• Attend and execute day-of-event tasks such as registration, deliveries, logistics, etc.

Administrative Duties 20%

• Maintain and track student and mentor progress (including touchpoints)in database and provide data used in reports on trends, progress, and findings
• Provide information and scholar stories to be used in newsletters, funder updates, etc.
• Participate in staff meetings, in program and development events, and otherwise actively contribute to the PCF mission.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by the incumbent in this position. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills.

QUALIFICATIONS

The Program Coordinator must be adaptive and entrepreneurial, with a problem-solving and positive approach to their work in a resource constrained environment. This is a highly relation-based and student facing role, so the Program Coordinator must have excellent interpersonal and communication skills as well as an ability to relate effectively to low-income, first-generation students of color. Given the small size of our staff, the ability to plan and multitask is critical. We have limited resources, so creativity, resilience, collaboration, willingness to work hard, and the ability to do more with less are key. Specific qualifications include:

Values

1. Passion for educational opportunity and equity
2. Desire to empower others through service

Required Qualifications

1. Superlative multi-tasking ability and organizational skills
2. Experience using databases or ability to learn quickly how to use databases effectively
3. Ability to work in a resource-constrained environment
4. Excellent written and verbal communication skills
5. Bachelor’s degree and one to two years of employment or comparable experience
6. Proactive and independent problem-solver
7. Ability to model self-advocacy and networking among students
8. Ability to complete all physical requirements of the job with or without a reasonable accommodation

Preferred Qualifications

• First-generation college graduate
• Positive attitude and sense of humor
• Comfort with public speaking and interacting with adults in various industries and at various stages of their careers
• Experience with event production and execution
• Demonstrated capacity to work effectively in a multicultural context, and experience working with low-income communities and/or communities of color

WORK ENVIRONMENT & BENEFITS

Work Environment

• We have a hands-on, collaborative, and entrepreneurial work environment.
• We believe in an inclusive work environment that fosters individual growth and team empowerment.
• While we take our work very seriously, we also like to have fun and enjoy each other’s company. We have a Sunshine Committee that plans fun events (that usually involve food!) for staff.

Work Location

This position is currently based out of our Milpitas office until August 2025 and then based out of our San Jose office. At this time, all staff are expected to come to the office once per week and the Programs Services team currently works from the office every Wednesday, subject to change. Staff work from a home office on the other days, subject to change. Additionally, there are various duties and responsibilities that require occasional office attendance on off-days.

Headquarters:

Sobrato Center for Nonprofits – Milpitas (until August 2025) or San Jose (after August 2025)

526 Valley Way 1400 Parkmoor Avenue

Milpitas, CA 95035 San Jose, CA 95126