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Assistant Director of Upward Bound

The Assistant Director has primary responsibility for the academic support concerns of the students, academic advising, student leadership, freshman recruitment/orientation, senior college preparation, and management of the academic component of the six-week summer program, including the end-of-summer educational trip. The Assistant Director handles instructor hiring and curriculum development of the summer program, training and classroom coordination. The Assistant Director plays a supporting role with tutoring, record-keeping, report preparation, grant compliance, and budgetary management. The Assistant Director is supervised by the Director, with annual performance reviews co-facilitated by the Director and TRIO Compliance Specialist. Work is divided between travel to the target area secondary schools and time in the office implementing the academic year and summer components, monitoring mid-term, quarterly, and semester progress, and designing curriculum.

Upward Bound is a federally funded program for generating academic skills and motivation for first-generation, low-income students beyond high school. Beloit College Upward Bound serves a minimum of 78 participants, primarily from its target schools, Beloit Memorial and South Beloit High Schools. Future funding is contingent upon continued grant support.

Characteristic Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Assists with 9th grade student recruitment, completing documentation and application selection for Upward Bound student participants.
2. Administers, scores, and interprets the needs assessment instruments completed by new participants and completes an individualized plan of academic and personal support with each student based on the results of the assessment (IAP).
3. Monitors mid-term, quarterly, and semester academic grade reports (prepared by the Academic Coordinator) and follows up with advising, creating new strategies, as needed, for academic support and accountability of student performance.
4. Prepares progress reports or academic alerts for parents/guardians and students, as needed, to ensure student success.
5. Advises parents and students on course selection for completion of secondary education and preparation for postsecondary education.
6. Maintains contact with target school personnel for coordination of services.
7. Recruits, selects, and consults with summer instructors. Recruits, selects, and trains summer teaching assistants.
8. Assists in the development of the entire summer program – in particular, oversees academic curriculum in a comprehensive way, and manages classroom behavior and disciplinary situations.
9. Co-coordinates, with director and academic coordinator, preparation of the monthly calendar and news bulletin.
10. Collaborates in planning and coordination of monthly workshops and community service activities, with director's input and approval.
11. Develops curriculum and leads weekly senior application nights in the fall and spring, assisting seniors and their families with the college application process, their financial aid applications, and their scholarship applications.
12. Assists in planning and executing the new participant retreat in the winter and the new participant trip in the spring.
13. Plans and leads senior retreat to support graduates with their transition to college.
14. Provides follow-up to instructors and professional staff on student needs.
15. Documents student contacts and progress towards academic goals. Keeps staff informed of student concerns.
16. Develops policies and procedures for the academic component of the program, to be approved by the director.
17. Along with the Director and Academic Coordinator, provides guidance and support for the Upward Bound Student Leadership Council, a council of student representatives from each class.
18. Assists staff with input on technological communication such as the website and other social media.
19. Attends workshops and conferences which pertain to job responsibilities.
20. Performs other similarly related duties as assigned to support the success of the Upward Bound Program.

Credentials and Experience:

1. Bachelor's degree in education or relevant; Master's degree, preferred.
2. Minimum two years of experience working with young people from first-generation and/or low-income backgrounds.
3. Experience in curriculum development, college access, and experiential education is highly recommended.
4. Event/trip planning with youth is desired.
5. Experience with educational evaluation processes.
6. Experience and knowledge working with secondary and postsecondary institutions.
7. Experience working with diverse populations preferred; willingness to work with diverse populations required.
8. Experience planning, organizing, and prioritizing multiple tasks and projects simultaneously with frequent interruptions is required.
9. Proficiency with Microsoft Office software; Google Workspace; ability to learn other software relevant to duties.
10. Experience working with grant funding and grant compliance is desired.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

1. Ability to understand and appreciate the mission of a residential, liberal arts college, the needs of first-generation, low-income students and to work well, in a fast-paced office, with diverse faculty, staff, students, alums, and the general public in a variety of situations.
2. Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including grammar, punctuation, spelling and proofreading.
3. Flexibility and willingness to adapt to changing activities, expectations, and responsibilities.
4. Excellent problem solving skills, with the ability to think critically, effectively prioritize, plan, and organize multiple tasks and projects and meet set deadlines without immediate and constant supervision.
5. Knowledge of customer service standards and the ability to communicate effectively with faculty, administrators, staff, students, families of students, prospective students and their families, and the general public.
6. Ability to maintain confidentiality and to safeguard the confidentiality of records.
7. Willingness to look for improvements in personal and office performance and initiate proposals which enhance the work of the office.
8. Commitment to and understanding of educational opportunities for first-generation, low-income students.
9. Ability to articulate the goals of the program to the college, community, and public officials.
10. Demonstrated ability to exercise good judgment.
11. Ability to work some evenings and weekends.

Special Requirements:

1. A valid driver's license and dependable transportation are required.

The intent of this job description is to provide the general nature and level of work required of employees who are assigned to this classification and shall not be constructed as an all-inclusive list of duties and responsibilities. Employees may be instructed to perform job-related duties and responsibilities other than those specifically presented in this description.