Next Step Systems

Occupational Summary AmeriCorps Next Step Adviser Position Description

The following position description is for [insert high school name and location here].

Advise NC seeks recent college graduates to serve as full-time AmeriCorps Next Step Adviser Members in low-income or under-resourced public high schools in North Carolina. As an AmeriCorps Next Step Adviser, members are a part of a statewide postsecondary planning movement, helping students and families in underserved communities prepare for life after high school graduation by advising on Enrollment, Employment, and Enlistment (the Three Es) pathways.

Next Step Advisers are AmeriCorps Volunteers and Duke University Employees. Next Step Advisers will be expected to tailor programs and activities to meet the specific needs of their assigned schools and perform the following primary essential functions:

Provide one-on-one admissions and financial aid advice to any student or family seeking assistance.

• Encourage each student to consider a broad range of appropriate college choices
• Develop for each student a comprehensive college timeline, including application deadlines for admission and financial aid
• Help each student complete and submit admissions and financial aid applications
• Assist each student in interpreting correspondence from colleges, including offers of admission and financial aid

Organize group events that encourage students and their families to consider, plan for, and apply to colleges and universities.

• Visit classrooms, assemblies, and club meetings to offer postsecondary advising services and emphasize the importance of college
• Work with local community groups-churches, boys' and girls' clubs, social service providers-to offer group events outside the school setting and hours

Establish productive working relationships with principals, counselors, and teachers in each assigned high school.

• Assess, in consultation with Advise NC program staff and school personnel, the needs of each school, and adapt programs and activities to meet these needs
• Actively seek the advice and counsel of the on-site supervisor at each partner high school

Assist in the assessment and long-term sustainability of the program.

• Assist the program staff in identifying, collecting, and interpreting key progress and outcome variables to evaluate the effectiveness of the Advise NC program
• Submit monthly progress reports to the program director documenting progress and outcome data
• Meet, as appropriate, with evaluators
• Represent Advise NC, as requested by program staff, to potential supporters and to other interested parties

Maintain expertise in admissions and financial aid advising.

• Participate fully in training
• In consultation with the program director, seek out and participate in other opportunities for professional development

Required Qualifications

• • U.S. Citizenship or permanent residency status
  • Must be 17 years of age or older
  • Must have a high school diploma or GED
  • Applicants must have earned or will earn a bachelor's degree by the start of employment in the position.

Preferred Qualifications

• • An interest in equity and access to education.
  • Experience working with students through tutoring, volunteering, and/or mentoring.
  • Experience with organization and/or planning events.
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills.

The following activities are non-essential functions to assist in the efforts of other AmeriCorps Volunteers within the service area:

• Regularly visit other high schools in their assigned service area during school days
• Help organize, provide support for, and attend evening and weekend events organized by other Advise NC members.

Required Commitments

• Members must serve at their service site in accordance with the school/district calendar. This includes arrival to and departure from the site at the appointed time consistent with school staff (teachers/counselors).
• Some evening and/or weekend service may be required.
• The full-service term requires at least 1700 hours of service on or by June 30, 2027.

Advise NC AmeriCorps Volunteers will report to the Assistant Director, Program Coordinator, and an on-site liaison in the schools they will serve. They are encouraged to live within their service areas and to involve themselves in the surrounding communities. Advise NC AmeriCorps Volunteers must consent to a criminal history check as they will have recurring access to high school students, age 17 or younger, considered by the Corporation for National and Community Service to be a vulnerable population. The required background checks include a National Sex Offender check, a North Carolina criminal check, and an FBI check. Appointments will be for one year, with an option for a second year, if mutually agreed upon by the program director and the Advise NC AmeriCorps Volunteers.