Post-Secondary Program Manager

At Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts (BBBSEM) we believe that every child deserves to have a mentor in their corner and to ignite and defend their potential. That's why we are committed to promoting the healthy development of children through the nurturing of continuing, one-to-one friendships with caring responsible adults, supported by trained professional staff. To accomplish this we partner with schools, workplaces, and volunteers all over Eastern Massachusetts to bring our program and services closest to youth who need them. 

Role Summary 

As the Manager for our Post-Secondary program you will be a key part of the program services leadership team, helping to manage the day-to-day operations of our post-high school program and supporting our growing number of high school graduates. In this player-coach role, you will work on making sure that recent high school grads and their mentors have the support they need with what’s next and help guide them through challenges on a pathway to success. All in all, you will be the primary point of contact for youth and mentors, while simultaneously working alongside Big Futures and Program Services leadership to set the vision for the program. As the program develops, you will coach, counsel, recruit, and develop new and existing staff to meet our program standards. 

Key Responsibilities 

• Provide high-quality and timely match support to mentors and mentees to address barriers to success; document and track all support provided to participants through detailed notes on match progress in the program 
• Create and deliver resources to help matches navigate college counseling and career advising services. Help them stay on top of important deadlines and decisions within the college and employment landscape 
• Build community and a team identity around the post-secondary program and its participants by hosting events, webinars and interactive content aimed at student success and career preparedness 
• Continuously analyze and benchmark performance metrics (quality, quantity, efficiency) to identify best practices, develop/enhance methodologies, and identify areas for improvement   
• Take an active role in growing the quantity of matches in the program, while meeting all established quality standards 
• Hire, supervise, coach and develop Program Services staff  
• Establish clear performance expectations for staff and consistently hold team members accountable to program standards by monitoring progress, providing timely feedback, addressing performance gaps, and ensuring individual and team goals directly support overall program outcomes 
• Manage, in coordination with the Chief Program Officer, escalations from staff with regard to procedural, clinical, and safety/risk management issues encountered in supporting match relationships 
• Lead the agency’s scholarship and persistence fund processes, including working with Development to secure funding, managing the awardee process (from selection to award), and coordinating events to celebrate student achievement. 
• Partner with other agency departments to fostering the agency’s culture of openness, positive change, and growth. 
• Create a motivating, high energy environment. Be solution-oriented and take ownership of your team’s success and shortcomings 

Basic Qualifications 

• Three to five years of non-profit leadership experience in customer support, customer relationship management, human or social services 
• Proven experience managing professional staff/interns who must use critical thinking, assessment and relational support skills (guiding, supporting, confronting, advising, negotiating) to do their work 
• Ability to travel to different locations throughout Eastern Massachusetts 
• Highly proficient with MS Office (Outlook, Word, Teams, etc.), Experience with Salesforce, and knowledgeable with business analysis tools and systems 

Desired Qualifications 

• Strong leadership skills with the proven ability to manage, motivate, and develop individual staff and teams to exceed quantitative and qualitative goals 
• Demonstrated comfort and ability to work with and motivate a wide variety of people, including youth and adults, with a preference for candidates with experience in racially, ethnically, and socio-economically diverse urban and/or recent immigrant communities 
• Proven ability to direct multiple projects concurrently.  Superior project management, organizational, and problem-solving skills. 
• Experience analyzing data and making strategic decisions based on that data 
• Experience working with diverse populations of adult and youth; experience working with volunteer populations desired.  Demonstrated ability to provide superior service and apply sound judgment when working with these groups. 
• Excellent verbal, written and interpersonal communications skills  
• Enthusiasm, creativity, a positive sense of humor, and a “can do” attitude