Athletics and Young Male Initiative Assistant Director- for Postsecondary Access/Success (Options)

Organization Overview: The Goddard Riverside Community Center (Goddard Riverside) and the Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center (Isaacs Center) are well-established Manhattan community-based agencies that support services to approximately 30,000 New Yorkers. We are two of New York City’s leading human services organizations meeting the needs of children, youth and families, homeless individuals, and older adults through-out Manhattan and New York City. We work every day for a fair and just society where all people have the opportunity to make choices that lead to better lives for themselves and their families. The Isaacs Center focuses primarily on the needs of children and low-income families, out-of-school and out-of-work youth, and aging New Yorkers. We operate at community centers located in the neighborhoods of East Harlem and Yorkville, and seek to deliver programs that are impactful, innovative, and intergenerational.

Program Description: The Options Center at GR supports New Yorkers to enroll in and complete college by counseling teens and adults, training school and community professionals, and convening the larger community on critical issues around equity in post-secondary education. Options has supported young people to enroll in college since 1985, professionals to support others since 2005, and college students to persist in college since 2012. Options currently serve over 2,000 people a year; counselors provide support to young people and adults to apply, enroll and persist in postsecondary education through 1:1 counseling, workshops, advocacy, and resource sharing.

Position Summary: GR Options Center’s YMGI is an exciting initiative developed to enhance postsecondary outcomes for first generation male students. This Emergent Strategy work utilizes a Collective Impact Model to organize grassroots cross-sector community stakeholders along with young people to intervene and interrupt the status quo on behalf of all first-generation students with a research emphasis on young men, education and success. Insights, touchpoints, and messaging discovered in the Options-led grassroots consortium are utilized by Goddard, participating organizations, and stakeholders to pilot measurable capacity building projects for closing identified pathway gaps. The Athletics and Young Male Initiative Assistant Director-for Postsecondary Success role was created as a direct result of this work.

In addition to directly supporting the Options Center Director(s) with spearheading grassroots cross-sector community work groups, this role is primarily responsible for supervising our Young Men’s Initiative Part-time Program Coordinator and annual cohort of interns, and for the direct services of recruiting, scouting, coaching and counseling and mentoring student athletes and male students on college access and postsecondary success. This encompasses building partnerships and community connections, expanding pipelines and supporting collective systems-change work with and on behalf of underrepresented male students and student athletes-resulting in greater college and workforce readiness, enrollment and success. Secondary responsibilities include organizing, building partnerships, influencing, public speaking/presentations, curriculum development, compiling and developing data systems, empirical research, identifying best practices, and leveraging all the aforementioned to create change.

Schedule: Mon-Fri 10am-6pm, with some weekend and evening hours required. Hours may vary based on student needs and campus visits.

Salary Range: $68,000- $75,000

Candidates must have the required qualifications to be considered for the position. The salary offer will be based on the candidate’s number of years experience in the exact or comparable position and additional preferred qualifications will be taken into account.

Roles, Responsibilities, and Essential Duties

Athletics Advising Responsibilities:

• Provide intensive one-on-one college and educational counseling to a caseload of high school and young adult student athletes to maximize their athletic recruitment opportunities for Division 1, II, and III higher education institutions utilizing the NCAA Eligibility Center Process.
• Support students’ college matriculation and college persistence process, via review of class registration and degree planning, transfer support, financial aid procedures, social service referrals, direct relief needs, academic support and personal concerns, and career readiness activities.
• Develop and implement curricula and resources for workshops and events on topics of relevance to first-generation college student athletes and their families; Coordinate and chaperone college tours; plan and co-facilitate College Transition orientations and other student enrichment workshops and events throughout the academic year.
• Track, evaluate and report on student and program performance for on-going program improvement and growth; enter student case notes into database on a timely basis and complete monthly reports updating status of student caseload.
• Build networks and effective relationships with college admissions, college athletics directors, and other referral partners to advocate for students and assist them in reaching their goals.
• Maintain partnerships via in-person and virtual meetings with representatives and serve as primary contact person, under supervision of Deputy Director and AVP.
• Stay current on the latest trends in college access, success, and career development.
• Demonstrate commitment to learning and professional development, community building, and advocacy as strategies for social change.
• Serve as liaison to NYC Public School’s Office of Student Pathways (OSP), Public School Athletics League (PSAL), and other athletics leagues.

Young Male Initiative Responsibilities:

• Spearhead Cohort programing for Young Male Empowerment Association and Grassroots Initiative
• Provide supervision of part-time young men’s initiative program coordinator
• Supervise annual cohort of YMI Interns and prior cohorts returning for summer work (SYEP)
• Provide project management oversight and supervision of all consultants, resident scholar and steering committee programming
• Build partnerships and effective relationships with stakeholders, CBOs, families, admissions counselors and other referral partners to advocate for Black and Brown male students and assist them in reaching their goals
• Build internal/program, agency and community capacity to achieve measurable results in closing the equity gap for young Black and Brown men 
• Organize and facilitate follow-up grassroots stakeholder’s meetings for collecting and unpacking data
• Document learnings to inform the next phase of Options’ work with Black and Brown males - pilot project
• Support the implementation of Options-led Goddard Riverside agency wide projects
• Facilitate group and individual sessions with young men at stakeholder sites
• Other duties as required

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Minimum 2 years combined experience supervising a small team, interns and or sports team
• Minimum 2 years combined experience working, interning, or volunteering to provide postsecondary education advisement of young people of diverse backgrounds, or a comparable experience.
• Prior Experience as a high school or college athlete, coach, or scout.
• Experience counseling in an urban, multi-cultural setting a plus.
• Knowledge of U.S. higher education system, especially New York City and State, including CUNY, SUNY, and support programs.
• Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain relationships with college admissions and support staff.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• High attention to details and meeting deadlines, especially regarding paperwork and data tracking.
• Able to work independently and in a team environment.
• Bilingual Spanish/English a plus.
• Valid NYS driver’s license preferred.
• Experience in Microsoft Office and comfortable using technology.

Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities:

• Understanding of the athletic PSAL, Prep, and College Athletics process around (recruiting, academic clearing house, Division 1,2,3, JUCO, and other transfer portals)
• Be able to articulate and create seminars and workshops to discuss the high school and college athletic landscape.
• Provide opportunities to learn about other sports careers not related to being a professional athlete

Physical Requirements:

• Packing, lifting and moving of supplies is required; ability to lift up to 30 lbs.

Work Environment:

• Office work, including heavy phone and computer use combined with frequent off-site campus visits, workshops, trainings, etc.
• Candidate must be available to work remotely and must have full WIFI capabilities when working remotely.

We are committed to building an inclusive workplace community grounded in respect for differences. We support hiring a broadly diverse team of qualified individuals who will contribute to our organizations.

Goddard Riverside and Isaacs Center provide equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, disability, marital or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

The intent of this job description is to provide a representative summary of duties and responsibilities that will be required of this position and title and shall not be construed as a declaration of the specific duties and responsibilities of any particular position. Employees may be requested to perform job related task other than those specifically presented in this description. This job description does not constitute an employment agreement between the employer and employee and is subject to change by the employer. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job.