Assistant Director of Internships and Career Success

Title: Assistant Director of Internships and Career Success
Reports to: Managing Director of Programs
Status: Full-Time Exempt
Supervisees: Senior Manager, Internships and Career Success; Senior Coordinator, Internships and Career
Success; 2 Associates, Internships and Career Success
State Date: November 2021

The Job
The Assistant Director of Internships and Career will oversee the generation, preparation, and placement of
summer opportunities for all Fellows. The Assistant Director will create a strategic plan to provide offerings that
align with student interests and career trends, while considering the organization’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) objectives and the current career landscape. The Assistant Director will also create sustainable in-house programming offerings related to career success. This role will closely collaborate with other Fellows department leads on projects that furthers the exposure and awareness to OppNet Fellows of career opportunities and industry trends. The Assistant Director will also work with the Strategic Advancement team to strategically share the of career impact stories of Fellows during their summer opportunities. This individual will provide lend their knowledge within the career landscape to teams and external groups on OppNet’s behalf.

Due to COVID-19, the position will operate virtually, but may require some travel to OppNet’s lower Manhattan
office location as soon as it is safe to do so. The OppNet staff is currently working remotely and offering a fully
virtual model for students. We plan to continue working virtually through January 2022, with periodic in-person
offerings at our lower Manhattan office location. The in-person offerings are contingent upon public health
conditions. The candidate will be expected to be available to work from OppNet’s office in NYC and resume work as a standard non-remote employee as soon as public health regulations and conditions allow.

The Organization
Since 2003, The Opportunity Network (OppNet) has ignited the drive, curiosity, and agency of underrepresented
students on their paths to and through college and into thriving careers, powered by our commitment to access
and community. This year, OppNet will reach more than 10,000 students of color across the nation to support
them in achieving their college and career goals.

• OppNet’s founding Fellows program works with 1,000+ students over the course of six years, from 11th grade through to college graduation, to provide college guidance, five summers of paid internships, career exposure and skills-training, and support in growing personal and professional networks.
• OppNet’s Career Fluency® Partnerships Program works with 35+ schools and youth-serving nonprofits across 20+ cities to build their capacity to amplify college and career outcomes for their own students.
• Through Opportunity Ignited we provide advisory services to corporations seeking to embed values of diversity, equity, and inclusion in their businesses.
• UninterruptED, launched in 2020, is OppNet’s free, open-access learning portal for students and educators offering flexible courses spanning our proprietary Career Fluency® curriculum.

The Person
The ideal candidate will be a strategic and driven individual with a passion for advancing educational, racial, and
social equity. A professional with five to eight years of applied experience, the ideal candidate will be someone who enjoys cultivating and sustaining meaningful youth development opportunities for OppNet Fellows. The candidate must also balance working collaboratively and productively with colleagues across the Program team and broader organization with the ability to work independently with focus and a drive for quality. The candidate must have demonstrated ability to supervise and coach direct reports in their pursuit toward shared and individualized outcomes. The ideal candidate will also personally connect to the important work we do, value diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) across the organization and align themselves with and channel OppNet’s core values in all aspects of their work. The candidate will demonstrate DE&I values by actively participating in all organizational-wide learning sessions and self-reflection as well as working with others to enact changes that contribute to meeting the organization’s DE&I goals.

Responsibilities
Internships and Career Success Program Management – 60%

• Design and implement a year-long strategic plan to cultivate, create and secure high school and college internships, and enrichment opportunities in alignment with Fellow interest
• Lead and support the Internships and Career Success team with managing internship and enrichment partners
• Liaise with the Strategic Advancement team to develop and manage relationships with employer partners to offer panels, space, pro bono skills training, etc. for Career Success programming for College Fellows
• Manage the Internships and Career Success department’s budget and negotiate on behalf of OppNet to secure cost-sharing agreements with enrichment or employment partners
• Responsible for supporting the team in achieving KPI’s related to OppNet’s Internship and Career Success annual team goals, i.e., placement rate, number of summer opportunities generated, etc.
• Lead the collaborative process of streamlining and instilling consistent data practices for all Internships and Career Success related data metrics
• Understand program data to drive continuous improvement and decision making
• Create an employer/summer partner pipeline management system using Salesforce to track new and existing relationships
• Partner with the Partnerships Team to improve existing and create new employer trainings and workshops
• Responsible for creating and scaffolding general employer trainings for internship and enrichment partners
• Oversee OppNet’s Proprietary Summer Enrichment Program
• Create and manage in-house summer opportunities programming, which includes:
  • Identifying program areas and partners to provide programming
  • Recruiting and hiring Teaching Assistants
  • Working with the Internships and Career Success team to recruit and enroll student participants
  • Creating key performance indicators and metrics for in-house programming
• Manage the Internships and Career Success team to oversee the enrichment and internship application process for both high school and college Fellows
• Streamline and standardize the college funding application process to allow college Fellows to access academic year and summer career related opportunities
• Lead the process of creating digital and in-person resources for college Fellows to secure summer opportunities:
• Standardize the calendar/timeline for application processes based on career field/interest
• Liaise with the Communications team to create infographics for Fellows to understand the summer opportunity application process

Cross Functional Collaboration – 30%

• Leverage the Internships and Career Success team to work with the Student Services and Program Operations team to create and hone student communication and application systems
• Work with the Curriculum and Facilitation team to streamline and scaffold high school and college Career Success workshops
• Liaise with the Decision Science team to hone efficiencies in Salesforce for tracking data related to the program records, surveys and evaluations, and core competencies
• Partner with the various program teams to update the existing resume and mock interview workshops to respond to career development trends – various types of resumes, LinkedIn resumes, innovated AI interview practices, etc.
• Work in collaboration with Associate and Assistant Director-level and Director-level staff to inform cross-functional work
• Work with the Strategic Advancement team to secure donor acknowledgements for summer opportunities
• Work in partnership with Fellows Program teams, to hone and develop career curriculum that aligns with OppNet’s established Career Fluency® curriculum
• Collaborate with the College Success team to implement Career Transition into existing and new program components, i.e., 1:1 check in support, campus visits, college success matrices, etc.
• Partner with Partnerships Team to support and serve as an expertise within career development, programming, and employer relations for Opportunity Ignited Program

Overall Fellows Program Assistance – 10%

• Participate in Career Fluency facilitation training
• Facilitate workshops for Internships and Career Success related events
• Facilitate annual intensive programming and special events as required, e.g., Summer Institute, College Application Boot Camp, College Transition Boot Camp, Speed Networking, and Career Fluency® panels
• Partner with other Fellows team leads to refine OppNet competency model
• Serve as a chaperone for college and other field trips, as necessary
• Lead recruitment visits/information sessions at area high schools and interview prospective Fellows
• Work and play appropriate active roles in OppNet's various equity goals working groups

Qualifications and Competencies

•  B.A. from a U.S. accredited college/university
• Five to eight years of relevant experience required
• Capable of leading, modeling, motivating, and coaching staff to deliver highest quality support to OppNet Fellows
• Program management skills, including the ability to create and run programs to ensure that program activities among team members are done on time, within budget, at a high level of quality, and lead to successful, measurable outcomes
• Ability to connect with college-level students from historically underserved and underrepresented communities; can help facilitate interactive workshops in rigorous but dynamic fashion; understands how to be both nurturing and demanding; appreciates boundaries, but not afraid to push or challenge
• Demonstrated skill set in project management, including:
  • ability to keep a project moving toward successful completion
  • awareness of budget parameters
  • ability to set and meet deadlines
  • understands how metrics and competencies are connected to various projects
  • effective cross-departmental communication
  • detail oriented
  • takes initiative
  • can operate self-sufficiently and collaborative as part of a team
  • outstanding organizational skills
  • creative and critical problem-solving skills
• High comfort level working with education professionals, executives, donors, and board members
• Supportive of team-based, collaborative management that is based on open, transparent, continual communication, information sharing, and inclusive decision-making
• Public speaking, facilitation, and professional written communication
• Personal qualities of integrity, credibility, and a commitment to and passion for OppNet’s values and mission
• Ability to travel to college campuses throughout the country and has a valid driver’s license

Salary
Commensurate with experience, full medical benefits, generous paid time off policy, 401K plan, and a great work environment

To Apply
Please submit a resume and cover letter, outlining how your credentials relate specifically to the responsibilities
and qualifications listed above, salary requirements and earliest available start date to jobs@opportunitynetwork.org. Please put “Assistant Director of Internships and Career Success November 2021” in the subject line.

The Opportunity Network is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an open and diverse workplace. People of color, people with differing abilities, and veterans are strongly encouraged to apply.