About the position

About BEAM

The mission of BEAM is to create pathways for students from low-income and underserved communities to become scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and computer scientists. Led by staff with these same technical backgrounds, BEAM believes that pathways to STEM careers are created through community, individual support, and access to advanced work that typically lies outside most school curricula. We work to directly support students and to transition them to other supportive enrichment programs that enable their future success.

BEAM's model provides continuous support from middle school through college graduation, including intense academic summer programs for middle school students (after 6th and 7th grade), weekend classes and mentoring, and STEM-focused support through college. Our program includes not just access to learning advanced math but also support finding and applying to other opportunities, including support with college admissions and financial aid. In addition to our academic content, bringing students into community is a key part of our mission and all of our work is designed to support that goal.

BEAM has grown from a small summer program serving 17 students in the summer of 2011 to a year-round, national program, serving 420+ students at six summer program sites and 600+ students in year-round programming in New York City and Los Angeles this school year. In addition, our BEAM National pilot program now reaches over 500 elementary-aged students in seven different states, working to create a new nationwide pathway modeled on our local work.

With our strategic plan, our team has committed to transforming the organization from a successful startup to a more mature and scalable organization that can drive change across the country.

DESCRIPTION OF THE POSITION 

Are you a strategic leader with a passion for empowering underserved students in STEM? As our Senior Manager, College and Career Success, you'll lead a pivotal function at BEAM, directly impacting the lives of 100+ low income, underserved students as they navigate their college and pre-professional opportunities with a focus on ensuring they succeed in college and transition to high quality, entry-level STEM career placements. 

This role is a key hire for BEAM. We have been providing college support for years, and now thanks to insights from our alumni, we are ready to take our college success and STEM career readiness work to the next level. The upcoming phase of work is an evolution from highly individualized guidance to a comprehensive set of services designed to increase accountability and executive functioning, enabling young adults to effectively use campus resources and, with BEAM's help, find additional support if campus gaps exist. The work also focuses on scaleable steps to support students in preparing to access STEM opportunities (networking, internships, early career opportunities, and more). You will be building on program plans developed to benefit your role, but with built in flexibility to adjust plans in service of clear programmatic goals and outcomes, identifying what to expand and what to streamline. The ideal hire is someone with strong design experience, past experience working on college success services, and a deep knowledge of STEM majors, pathways and/or careers.

DESCRIPTION OF THE TEAM/DEPARTMENT

The team (Senior Manager, College and Career Success and a College Success Coordinator) will work together to propel BEAM students toward their college and career aspirations. We achieve this through a blend of group coaching, designing impactful college success curricula, and offering individual student advising as needed. The team directly guides up to 100 first-year students through the critical transition to college phase, supporting them as they execute their personalized college transition case plans, which serve two purposes: first, the case plans help students access the necessary on campus resources and services, through which they can create their own robust system of support. Second, the case plans prepare students with the tools and clear vision necessary to navigate STEM career opportunities and networking during and beyond college. Once students have completed their case plans, students are eligible for rewards from BEAM to support key next steps toward their career. The team is also available to take meetings with upperclassmen who need reminders of how and where to get resources on and beyond their college campus.  

BEAM has been serving students since 2011 and has admitted a total of 1100 students to our program. Across the first five BEAM cohorts of college graduates, at least 70% of conferred undergraduate degrees have been STEM-related. Today, BEAM currently serves up to 400 students in college at any one time. 

SUPERVISION

Senior Director, Program Design 

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES: 

Program Design and Management (60%) 

• Conduct program design cycles to manage design, build, launch, and reflect phases of college success work 
• Identify and create resources that address the unique interests of BEAM students, design workshops and career events tailored to BEAM students, and provide advising in both individual and group appointments
• Develop and maintain accurate and up to date data trackers for alumni, identifying factors that would impact a student’s persistence and timely graduation 
• Collaborate with BEAM local program team to conduct presentations and workshops on various topics related to college and career success to pre-college students 
• Consult with BEAM local program team to understand students’ experiences earlier in the program 
• Prepare and evaluate quantitative data and narrative reports to be used for decision-making and program improvement

Team Leadership (20%)

• Set annual plans for the College Success team in line with programmatic annual goals 
• Provide direct supervision of College Success Coordinator:
  • Hold staff accountable for their assigned responsibilities and goals
  • Utilize systems for managing staff performance and fostering a positive team culture
  • Provide staff with ongoing feedback and professional development opportunities.
  • Train and manage the team on the process and expectations for enrolling and retaining students in our college  
• Support overall team workload management 
• Share program impact and students successes with key stakeholders and BEAM staff

Direct Student Support (10%) 

• Meet with college students as requested, including:
  • First year students requesting support on case plans
  • Students beyond the first year seeking advice on where to go for more information in making informed choices relative to career/major choice, job search strategies, and graduate school planning.
• Support them in identifying next steps as challenges arise  
• Use the perspectives from these meetings to inform overall program design and implementation 

Other Duties (10%)

• General programmatic support of BEAM’s local programs office, which may include (but is not limited to) sourcing BEAM alumni to volunteer for younger student events, chaperoning field trips, attending fundraising events
• Other programmatic duties as assigned 

QUALIFICATIONS

We understand that there are many paths to acquiring experience and therefore welcome candidates from diverse and nontraditional backgrounds for this role who have demonstrated equivalent transferable skills to carry out the major duties outlined in this job description. 

Knowledge 

• STEM knowledge, via a degree and/or coursework in a STEM field or professional experience at a STEM organization
• Knowledge of the higher education landscape(s) within NY and/or CA 
• Knowledge of college scholarship and/or cohort program providers (e.g., Questbridge, Posse, Stony Brook Simons STEM Scholars Program) 
• Knowledge of STEM-based summer internship programs and/or work entry programs
• Knowledge of entry-level STEM career pathways 
• Knowledge of Los Angeles and/or New York City nonprofit and/or educational environments 

Skills and Abilities 

• Proven ability to design, implement, and evaluate experiential learning initiatives tailored to STEM students
• Demonstrated success in building and managing partnerships with diverse stakeholders, including students, faculty, industry, and alumni
• Professional experience working with low-income communities 
• Experience in supporting college students, ideally via higher ed advising, workshop design, and/or career services  
• Experience building strong relationships with students, families and other partners by presenting a positive, inspiring, and growth-oriented message
• Communicates clearly and collaborates authentically with families and students
• Organized and detailed oriented in both planning and implementation of programs 
• Data driven planner focused on goals and prioritizing the work that drives impact  
• Solutions-oriented problem solver who can quickly identify and address challenges

Significant Pluses include

• 5+ years of professional work experience 
• Bachelor's degree 
• Demonstrated commitment to developing and implementing programs designed to ensure equitable access to STEM learning and fields 
• Past managerial experience 
• Experience using a database for documentation and reporting (Salesforce preferred) 
• Experience creating courses and/or learning modules via a LMS 
• Experience with managing communications at scale 
• Experience with an email communication platform (eg. Mailchimp or others)
• Knowledge of basic HTML/CSS 
• Experience with networking and networking platforms, including Linkedin 
• A strong connection to the “why” of our work for both you and the team you will lead

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

Must be able to perform the essential functions of the job, with or without reasonable accommodation

• Sitting - constantly (50%+)
• Moderate noise levels

APPLICATION PROCESS

Our process, as described below, has approximately four stages and we anticipate the process lasting about 4-6 weeks in total with someone starting in the role as soon as possible, although we are flexible with the specific date. 

The initial step is to submit your application, including resumé and responses to a few short application questions, via our online portal. When your application is complete, we will follow up with next steps.

Next steps in our process will include a short 30-minute phone interview and/or sample projects so we can get to know you and you can show us your work. We believe in the importance of demonstrated ability and providing opportunities that allow candidates to demonstrate relevant skills for the role throughout our process. The final step of our process is a final interview with the team. 

We will review applications on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

SALARY, BENEFITS, AND OTHER DETAILS

The salary range for this position is $70,000 - $90,000 This is a good faith anticipated range of the job, but the actual pay will be based on any applicant’s skill and experience. 

BEAM provides a number of benefits including:

• Flexible working hours
• Health, dental and vision benefits including health plan options that are free for individuals
• 12 paid holidays including an office closure between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day
• 15 days of paid annual leave to start, and will increase by one day for each year worked for your first 5 years of employment
• Paid sick leave
• 403(b) Retirement Plan
• Student loan reimbursement
• Pre-tax commuter benefits
• $1,500 annual allowance for professional development

COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION

Beyond a commitment to nondiscrimination, we are committed to fostering a supportive and inclusive environment where everyone can thrive.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY 

BEAM is an equal opportunity employer and does not unlawfully discriminate against employees or applicants for employment on the basis of an individual’s race (including traits historically associated with race (including, but not limited to, hair texture and protected hairstyles, such as braids, locks and twists), ethnicity, religion (including clothing or facial hair worn in accordance with the religious tenets), color, sex, pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions, breastfeeding, gender (including actual or perceived sex, gender identity, and gender expression including a person’s actual or perceived gender-related self-image, appearance, behavior, expression, or other gender-related characteristic, regardless of the sex assigned to that person at birth), sexual orientation, sexual and reproductive health decisions, national origin, immigration or citizenship status, status as a veteran, active military service member, or uniform service member, marital or partnership status, familial status, caregiver status, age (18 or older), predisposing genetic characteristics, disability, creed, status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual violence or stalking, unemployment status, salary history, credit history, an individual’s status as having a known relationship or association with a member or members of a protected category, or any other protected status in accordance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws. This policy applies to all terms, conditions, and privileges of employment, including recruitment, hiring, placement, compensation, promotion, discipline, and termination. 

All personnel decisions will be made in accordance with the principles of equal employment opportunity and subject only to valid (job-related) requirements for employment, benefits, or promotional opportunities.

Place of work