College & Career Advisor

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. 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 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: College and Career Advisor
Status: Full-time, Non-Exempt
Standard Hours: 40 hours/week; occasional evening and weekend hours
Locations: Langston Middle School - Oberlin, Clearview Middle School, and Heritage Middle School - Painesville
Reports To: Manager of Advising Programs and Services 
Salary Range: $43,000 - $48,000, commensurate with relevant experience

Position Summary:

The College & Career Advisor helps students aspire to, prepare for, and eventually enroll in and find resources to pay for postsecondary education. This is mainly accomplished through coordinating comprehensive programs and services that are implemented via classroom workshops, group sessions, individual student meetings, and parent/guardian meetings, and afterschool programming.

The College & Career Advisor will work with students in grades 6th -7th grades initially and then continue to follow and serve these same students as they matriculate into high school and college.

Essential Functions:

Provide group and individual services to students in assigned schools or sites. The Advisor will be serving 2031/2032 high school graduates, beginning in their 6th or 7th grade year. As such, the types of services the Advisor provides will change as the students matriculate through middle school to high school and eventually to college. The following encompasses all of the services an Advisor will provide to a student along their education path during this seven-year grant:

• Assisting students with discerning career and college goals by providing information regarding educational options beyond high school, including institutional choice, career options, admissions and financial aid.
• Advising students about college entrance exams (including ACT, SAT, SAT subject tests) and test preparation resources; assisting students with test registration forms and providing fee waivers. Provide entrance exam preparation.
• Supplying students with admission and financial aid applications; providing waivers, where appropriate, for application fees and tuition/housing deposits.
• Guiding students through the financial aid process, including assistance with the FAFSA and CSS Profile, advocating for those with special circumstances, reviewing the SAR, interpreting college financial aid award letters, assisting with verification, and helping students with any other necessary paperwork.
• Promoting scholarship opportunities and encouraging students to research and apply for applicable scholarships and awards.
• Recommend qualified high school seniors for College Now scholarships, collect required documentation, and enter appropriate information in a web-based student database.
• Attend all advisor trainings and meetings.
• Provide support for various College Now events and functions as requested or assigned 
• Provide support for various Advising Programs and Services department meetings and training
• Track all services by accurately entering demographic information, contacts, and notes in a student information database. 
• Adhere to strict confidentiality in student record keeping.
• Knowledgeable of program grant guidelines.

Must-Have Skills:

• High-level organizational skills and ability to multi-task in a busy environment
• Must be oriented to meeting goals and due dates.
• Must be detailed oriented
• Professional oral and written communication skills
• The individual must be able to work autonomously and in a team environment with a collaborative focus
• Demonstrate excellent judgement; and as a support to administrative and financial functions Adaptable to changing priorities, changes in schedules due to grant, schedule, or school changes
• Must be able to provide own transportation to multiple locations throughout Northeast Ohio.
• Must be able to carry up to 10 pounds daily, consisting of a laptop computer, printer, and advising materials.
• Must have reliable transportation to be able to go to multiple sites or locations

Must-Have Technical Skills:  

• Proficient in Microsoft Office 365 Applications (Outlook, One Drive, Word, Excel, Teams, OneNote, PowerPoint)
• Ability to support meeting facilitation and run meetings, when necessary, on various virtual meeting tools such as Teams, Zoom, Google Meet, and GoToMeeting
• Ability to enter data on advising services, run reports, and monitor services offered to students

Previous Work Experience:

Must have experience working with adolescents, and strong communication and interpersonal skills. Ideally, teaching or tutoring experience within schools or organizations that support schools are a plus, but not required. A minimum of either one year of college access/ financial aid experience or one year of experience teaching adolescents. Fluency in Spanish is a plus for some location assignments but is not required. Must be able to work autonomously and in a team environment with a collaborative focus.

Education Requirement: 

An Advisor must have a bachelor’s degree.

DISCLAIMER: “Nothing in this position description restricts management’s right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time.”