Job Description

Success Advising Specialist

College Possible Chicago

This Work Is Our Mission

At College Possible, we believe talent is universal. For many students, the path to college can feel overwhelming or out of reach. That's where you come in.

We support students on their journey through higher education by providing personalized coaching, resources, and guidance. When you join College Possible, you become part of a team dedicated to making college access and success a reality. Together, we help students navigate the admissions process, overcome challenges, and earn their degrees.

Our Impact

87% of College Possible students are admitted to college and are enrolled at 866 colleges and universities across the United States. Nationwide, we've served 99,000+ students since 2000.

Why Join Our Team?

When you work at College Possible, you're not just taking a job-you're advancing a mission to help more students get to and through college. You'll play a direct role in helping students achieve their educational goals and build brighter futures.

Key Benefits

✅ Professional Growth Access training, mentorship, and career development opportunities as you support student success.

✅ Mission-Driven Impact Make a direct difference in students' lives by helping them access and complete college.

✅ Collaborative Community Join a team that values teamwork, innovation, and excellence in service of students.

✅ Work-Life Balance Enjoy flexible work options, unlimited PTO, and resources to support your well-being.

Your Role as Advising Specialist

The Advising Specialist is responsible for providing support to college students in the areas of financial aid, course registration, internships, career exposure, campus connection, and more via virtual methods as well as in-person. The Advising Specialist position advocates for College Possible's college students communicating to both College Possible and the higher educational institutions as to the needs of the students and resources needed for the students to persist and graduate.

Primary Responsibilities:

Direct Student Support – 70%

• Follow, deliver, and ensure students have access to College Possible structured college curriculum, which supports students in four areas: Advancing Your Academics, Affording Your Education, Building Community, and Planning for your future to help students progress towards specific goals/milestones.

• Coach students toward reaching milestones, including, but not limited to: registering for classes, completing financial aid applications, re-enrolling in school, transferring and more.

• Based on assessments and student data, create support plans for each student.

• Maintain ongoing communication with all students in caseload.
• Meet with students 1:1 virtually (and in some circumstances, in person)
• Meet with incoming first-year students over the summer to ensure a smooth transition to their new campus.
• Respond to all student text/calls/emails within 2 business days.

• Guide students through financial aid renewal process by appropriate deadlines.
• Support students through career exploration, career planning, and career development.
• Research relevant career information and resources to send to students.
• Identify students for specific partner internships and opportunities, and support students through the application process for these opportunities.
• Connect students with job coaching volunteers and mentors.
• Market career opportunities and events.
• Help students resolve obstacles that come up throughout the school year by coaching them on self-advocacy and resourcefulness skills and communicating with school offices to advocate for students.
• Refer students to appropriate resources when needed.
• Use College Possible's suite of digital tools to communicate with and support students, including our proprietary Salesforce Platform, AI tools, and student-facing portal.

Caseload & Data Management – 20%

• Track and record student progress, using both quantitative and qualitative measures.
  • Enter data into Salesforce, including all student interactions and other data

• Maintain accurate student contact information and records in the student database.

• Identify, run and synthesize reports into a presentable form to share key information about student trends and milestone progress.

• Manage a caseload of up to 400 college students, including, but not limited to:
  • Schedule all student meetings.
  • Manage time and calendar to meet minimum meeting standards as outlined by KPIs.
  • Support students who have become unenrolled or who have transferred out of their initial institution.

Secondary Responsibilities

Program Support – 5%

• Attend key events, college visits, and career-related student workshops.
• Support recruiting new students into the College Possible program.
• Additional program support as assigned by Program Manager.

Organizational Support – 5%

• Support the External Relations team by attending events, networking with guests/supporters, and providing event logistics as needed.

• Represent the College Possible brand in a positive light and take actions to increase brand awareness throughout the community.
• Other Duties As Assigned

Side Note : we are hiring two Advising Specialists for this requisite 

What You Bring

Education/Certifications/Licenses:

• Bachelor's degree required.

Related Work Experience:

• 1-3 years of experience related to teaching, mentoring, advising, and/or coaching high school and/or post-secondary students from underserved populations.
• Must have experience in designing student communication, activities, lesson plans, and resources for high school and/or college students.

Computer/Software Skills:

• Well-developed computer skills, including proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Office.

Other Skills, Abilities and Requirements:

• Must also possess exemplary written and virtual communications skills, and the ability to work well in a highly collaborative team or independently.
• Employees must have mobility throughout the work environment and may be required to travel to partner sites and other community locations.
• The employee must be emotionally mature and be able to handle difficult and complex student situations.
• Must demonstrate an ability to solve practical problems and deal with frequently changing variables.
• Must demonstrate strong interpersonal and coaching skills.
• Excellent written communication skills are essential
• Able to read, analyze, and interpret general educational and business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, and governmental regulations.
• Exhibit an ability to professionally write reports and business correspondence. They must be able to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.
• Able to effectively present information and respond to questions from the public, clients, students, partners, and managers.

Physical Requirements:

• Ability to lift up to 15 pounds when needed
• Ability to stand and/or sit for a minimum of 7 hours a day

What We Offer

In addition to joining a committed, diverse, values-based organization, we offer:

• An opportunity for you to have a tremendous impact both internally and in the broader country
• A competitive salary commensurate with experience
• Excellent benefits including complete health, dental, life, short-term and long-term insurance
• 401(k) retirement plan
• Encouraged sustainability through a generous paid time off program
• Personalized professional development and growth opportunities

To Join Our Growing College Possible Team

Please apply at: Include a resume and cover letter.

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