Department: Human Service Programs

Job Title: Success Coach (part-time), College Success Initiative

Job Code: X336

Civil Service Position: Non Civil Service position

Union Affiliation: None

Hours Per Week: 19.5 hours/week

 

OVERVIEW AND ROLE DESCRIPTION

About The City of Cambridge:

The City of Cambridge is a diverse and vibrant community that people of different ethnic, racial, religious, national, and other backgrounds call home. We take pride in our city's diversity and strive to create a workplace that is reflective of the community we serve. The city is also deeply committed to creating an environment in which all our employees are treated equitably and feel included. We seek to hire, develop, and advance individuals who value antiracism, diversity, equity, and inclusion (ADEI), and are committed to embedding ADEI best practices and tenets in all aspects of our work.

About The Department of Human Service Programs:

The Department of Human Service Programs (DHSP) creates and coordinates services that enhance the quality of life for Cambridge residents. Driven by the needs of residents, DHSP's extensive services and programs touch almost every sector in the city: from newborns to senior citizens, from school-aged children to homeless families, from non-profit organizations to local employers.

About The Role:

The College Success Initiative (CSI) is an effort of the City of Cambridge and its school and community-based partners to support the college persistence of students who are traditionally underrepresented in higher education.   Campus-based coaching is one of CSI's critical strategies to help students make a successful transition to college and to stay on track to graduate. 

 

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: The coach is one of a team of coaches who support graduates of Cambridge Rindge and Latin School (CRLS) and graduates of the Community Learning Center's Bridge to College program who attend UMass Boston (UMB) or Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC).  Services begin prior to graduation and support students from matriculation to graduation.

Reporting to the CSI Director, the coach's specific duties include, but are not limited, to the following:

• Providing ongoing coaching and support to CSI students around academic, financial, and social/emotional issues to increase the likelihood of successful college completion
• Helping students complete their matriculation, enrollment, and registration processes
• Finalization of financial aid applications and verification, as necessary
• Connecting students to campus-based resources
• Connecting with parents/family members as needed to support students' successful transition to college.
• Collecting completed FERPA forms and helping students complete CSI registration form
• Maintaining spreadsheets and notes on student progress and entering data into a template to share with evaluators
• Weekly meetings with supervisor and participation in team meetings
• Participation in the department's Race & Equity Initiative 

Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.

 

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

Education and Experience

• 2 to 4 years' experience providing college access/persistence coaching

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Demonstrated skills in communicating with and effectively engaging first generation to college students, low income, immigrant, and Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) students
• Ability to work collaboratively with higher education, city, public school, and community partners
• Strong time-management and organizational skills
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Demonstrated proficiency in MS Office including Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint; Calendly
• The City of Cambridge's workforce, like the community it serves, is diverse.Applicants must have the ability to work and interact effectively with individuals and groups with a variety of identities, cultures, backgrounds, and ideologies.

 

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS, WORKING CONDITIONS, WORK FLEXIBILITY AND ACCOMODATIONS:

• Ability to access, input and retrieve information from a computer
• Ability to answer phones and maintain multiple files
• Ability to lift a minimum of at least 10 lbs.
• Ability to travel to meetings within the city
• This position may be eligible for hybrid work under the City's new Telework Policy, depending on operation needs
• Be comfortable to work primarily in a standard office environment with moderate noise level, telephones, personal computers, printers, and other office equipment.
• Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.

 

RATE: $30 per hour. Sick leave eligible. Otherwise, this is not a benefited position.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE:

Recruitment of external applicants is underway concurrent with this posting. Internal applicants submit job bidding form and 2 copies of your resume and cover letter; external applicants, submit your resume and cover letter via email to: employment@cambridgema.gov or to the Personnel Department, Room 309, City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge MA  02139. Fax 617-349-4312. Position will remain open until filled. 

THE CITY OF CAMBRIDGE IS AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER AND DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE ON THE BASIS OF RACE, COLOR, SEX, RELIGION, AGE, NATIONAL ORIGIN, DISABILITY OR ANY OTHER PROTECTED CATEGORY. WOMEN, MINORITIES, VETERANS, MEMBERS OF THE LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY, AND PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES ARE ENCOURAGED TO APPLY. CITY OF CAMBRIDGE RESIDENTS ARE ESPECIALLY ENCOURAGED TO APPLY. AUXILIARY AIDS AND SERVICES, WRITTEN MATERIALS IN ALTERNATIVE FORMATS, AND REASONABLE MODIFICATIONS IN POLICIES AND PROCEDURES WILL BE PROVIDED TO QUALIFIED INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES FREE OF CHARGE, UPON REQUEST. The City is committed to advancing a workforce culture of antiracism, diversity, equity, and inclusion.