An established leader in the Northeast Ohio civic landscape, College Now has been changing the lives of students in our region since 1967. We do this by providing college and career access advising, financial aid counseling, and scholarship and retention services to students from middle school through adulthood with a special focus on supporting those from low-income backgrounds and first-generation college students. An individual filling this position can expect to have an impact on Northeast Ohio students and families.

When you work for College Now, you are part of an innovative and visionary team, committed to College Now's mission, vision, and values as we are committed to creating a collaborative, inclusive workplace for team members. Offering superior benefits, ample opportunities for professional growth and development, and the chance to make an impact on the community, College Now is where careers are made and grown.

Position title: Alumni Programs Manager, Retention Department

Status: full-time, exempt

Standard Hours: Monday-Friday, 40 hours per week (some evenings, weekends, and travel required)

Location: Hybrid-1 day in office each week required, with other days in office or in-person at a partner site as required. Other days remote.

Reports To: Senior Director, Mentoring Program

Starting Salary: Starting at $54,0000 annually and increases with relevant experience.

Assigned To: Mentoring / Retention

Position Summary:

The Alumni Programs Manager is responsible for managing the design and implementation of College Nows alumni outreach and engagement efforts, with the aim of establishing better connections between alumni and College Now, and between alumni themselves. College Now has thousands of alumni residing in Northeast Ohio and across the country but have not historically engaged this group in a sustained way. The Alumni Programs Manager will use research and feedback from College Nows own alumni base, as well as national best practices of scholarship alumni organizations, to construct and launch an outreach and alumni engagement program.

Essential Functions:

Initiation, Planning:

• Develop a strategic plan for the launch of the alumni association. Oversee the implementation of the strategic plan, in concert with the Senior Director of the Mentoring Program.
• Develop and deliver programming for alumni.
  • Develop innovative programming for specific alumni audiences, including in-person events, virtual events, and social media campaigns; and
  • Execute event logistics, including scheduling events, purchasing necessary elements, marketing and outreach, technological needs, data capture, and all event-related tasks; and
  • Evaluate programming offered and collect feedback from alumni.

Execution/Operations, Management, and Monitoring:

• Lead College Nows outreach to alumni, to determine characteristics of that group, desired programming, and overall potential for engagement.

Budgeting:

• Ensure relevant activities are within the budgetary scope.

Business Development Support:

• Provide strategic insight about the alumni audience to the College Now Marketing team, and to the Mentor Recruitment team, to support specific messaging for that audience.
• Collaborate closely with the Mentor Recruitment team in bringing volunteer mentor messaging to the alumni audience.
• Develop relationships with current students who will soon be graduating. Design and deploy feedback mechanisms with this group. Collaborate with the Mentoring Program team in developing and executing the feedback mechanisms.

Research and Program Evaluation/Compliance

• The review and assessment of delivering quality services.
• Research other scholarship providers or similar organizations with successful alumni associations. Establish contact with these groups to gather best practices information and open channels of communication.
• Develop a set of engagement metrics for alumni, and in consultation with the College Now Data team, establish a data capture and management approach.

Must-Have Skills:

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills. Previous experience in relationship-focused positions and/or customer service positions is highly preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to interact successfully with diverse audiences, ranging from current college students to later-career professionals. Particularly vital will be knowledge of / experience with first-generation college experiences, experiences of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) students, and experiences of high-financial need students.
• Demonstrated ability to develop, drive, and manage projects to completion.
• Must be able to work independently and stay on course, but also be adaptable and flexible as needed.
• Desire to plan events, meet new people, and be a connector is essential. Energy, passion, and creativity will be important!
• Must be proficient in modern technology (including Microsoft Office and Zoom), with the desire to learn additional tools.

Special considerations:

• Please note that this position requires a flexible schedule, with some evening and weekend hours required. The position also requires travel across Northeast Ohio. Applicants must have a drivers license and a vehicle.

Previous Work Experience:

• Successful candidates will have at least three years of related work experience. College Now will consider relevant experience to include work with alumni groups and networks, work with young professional or professional organizations, etc. Internships or work experiences taking place during undergraduate studies will be measured at half-time.

Education Requirement:

• Candidates must have a post-secondary credential.

Disclaimer: "Nothing in this position description restricts management's right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time."