Post-Secondary Transition Coach

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 ROLE: Post Secondary Transition Coach
LOCATION: Plymouth, MI

Organizational Overview
Detroit Regional Dollars for Scholars (DRDFS) empowers and supports students throughout Southeast Michigan to achieve post-secondary success. Founded in 1990, DRDFS provides equitable opportunities for students to access and earn a post-secondary degree, reach their goals, and strengthen our communities.

Through our Next Level Scholars Program, scholars are engaged beginning in 10th grade and continue through post-secondary credential or degree attainment. The program inspires and prepares scholars to pursue post-secondary education, which we accomplish through tailored campus visits, SAT preparation, leadership workshops, FAFSA completion, one-on-one coaching, and more. DRDFS awards each scholar a $4,000 scholarship upon high school graduation and continues to provide resources, coaching, and support until they earn a post-secondary degree or credential. We are proud that our scholars outpace their peers in post-secondary enrollment, persistence, and graduation.

Over the past 35 years, what started as a small group of committed neighbors who established the organization to support their local school has evolved into a comprehensive, award winning post-secondary access and success program, serving 16 partner high schools and more than 1,000 scholars across Southeast Michigan annually.

Opportunity
Detroit Regional Dollars for Scholars is currently seeking a motivated, reliable, and passionate Success Coach . This role will report to the Success Program Manager and work with a cohort of approximately 150 students in the Next Level Scholars Program. Partnering with students, their families, and high school advisers, you will guide seniors through the college selection, application, and enrollment process to support a smooth transition to post-secondary education. Your support continues during the first year of post-secondary education, with consistent communication, events, and initiatives. You will be responsible for tracking and recording scholar progress throughout their senior year and beyond to reach our enrollment and persistence benchmarks.

This is a full-time in person position based in Plymouth, MI.

Post-Secondary Planning, Enrollment and Success Advising

• Coach students in building and applying to their personalized reach, match, and safety strategy for post-secondary education.
• Provide resources and guidance to students as needed for essays, application support and scholarships.
• Support students in completing the FAFSA by the DRDFS deadline, as well as offering support throughout the verification and follow up processes.
• Review financial aid award data with each student in relation to their post-secondary decision making.
• Maintain ongoing communication with all scholars on caseload, providing regular and timely reminders, coaching, and guidance to students virtually and in person at partner high schools.
• Host small group and 1:1 meetings at high schools monthly and multiple college campuses every semester, based on school and student need.
• Walk students through the college enrollment process using checklists through coaching sessions and 1:1 meetings, and track milestones in CoPilot, our database built in Salesforce.
• Coordinate and lead senior year focused programming and experiences like list building, FAFSA completion sessions, financial literacy sessions, and comparing aid award letters among other topics.
• Coordinate and lead summer melt programming and communication for students to ensure matriculation after high school graduation.
• Coordinate and lead post-secondary success initiatives, with a focus on the first-year experiences that lead to persistence to year 2 of post-secondary education.
• Support scholars in navigating transitions in their post-secondary education pathways such as transfers, gap year, trade programs, stop outs, renewing FAFSA, reviewing SAP and financial aid changes as they arise.

Data Collection and Caseload:

• Maintain accurate and timely student records in CoPilot, our database built on Salesforce, by entering key updates—including progress, interactions, and contact information—within three business days of each student touchpoint or status change.
• Manage a caseload of 100-200 school seniors and/or first-year post-secondary students by:
  • Proactively scheduling monthly (or as-needed) student meetings
  • Effectively managing time and calendar to meet weekly and annual meeting benchmarks
  • Guiding students and aligning meetings with key milestones and deadlines for their individual post-secondary plans
  • Monitoring and supporting students to be accountable to institutional and personal deadlines
  • Responding to all student and stakeholder inquiries within two business days

Organizational Responsibilities

• Attend all organizational events and student programming, supporting lead staff as assigned.
• Contribute to DRDFS’ mission, vision, and long term strategic plans as a dedicated and flexible team member.

Qualifications

• Requires a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.
• Demonstrates a consistently positive, strengths-based mindset in both student interactions and team collaboration; encourages growth, resilience, and a solution-oriented approach, even in challenging situations.
• Youth program experience and desire to empower and support students to achieve post-secondary success.
• Ability to regularly visit assigned high schools and support off-site DRDFS events throughout Southeast Michigan.
• Approximately 70% local travel, with reliable transportation required.
• Strong teamwork, interpersonal and coaching skills
• Highly organized, detail-oriented and self-motivated; able to take initiative, manage, and complete multiple tasks within deadlines and within budget.
• Ability to solve practical problems and deal with frequently changing variables.
• Commitment to ongoing self-improvement and professional development.
• Emotionally mature and be able to handle difficult and complex student situations.
• Proficiency with the Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Publisher).
• Bilingual fluency in English and Spanish or Arabic a plus.

Organizational Culture and Values
All team members are expected to demonstrate our organizational culture and values, also known as our ways of being. The DRDFS team created these statements to encompass the perspectives, knowledge, skills and attitudes of how we approach our work both collectively and individually. By following our ways of being and seeking out ways to improve in these areas, team members can successfully contribute to DRDFS’ mission, vision and long term strategic goals as a dedicated team member.

• Connect Meaningfully : Be respectful and compassionate first. We create safe, respectful and compassionate spaces that honor both the individual and team needs and goals. We agree to shared norms and values.
• Engage Fully : Show up as your best. We are present: using our voices and lending our input, as it matters. We show up as our best and acknowledge that our best may change. We are prepared and ready to engage fully.
• Be Brave : Assume positive intent and deliver feedback and ideas respectfully to keep moving forward. We take wise risks, own our mistakes, speak up and ask questions. We encourage one another to step outside our comfort zones and try new things.
• Embrace Differences : Collaboration amongst diverse perspectives and voices leads to results. We honor the wisdom, experience and values of everyone and respect those in and out of the room. We are open to new ideas as well as established ones and collaborate to ensure the best possible outcome.
• Aim High : Set big goals and strive to meet them with a sense of ambition and a growth mindset. We know that to achieve our mission, we need to think big and seek opportunities for innovation and continuous improvement. With an understanding that both challenges and successes offer us an opportunity to learn and grow, we support each other in the process with compassion and accountability.
• Celebrate Success : Infuse joy, recognition and gratitude into daily wins both big and small. We take time to pause, reflect and acknowledge successes. We focus on our goals and work collectively toward them.

Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Detroit Regional Dollars for Scholars strives to promote a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion. We value differences in experiences, perspectives, and identities, including but not limited to ethnicity, socioeconomic background, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, gender identity, and disability status.
The need for post-secondary education applies equally to all students, and since its inception, DRDFS has focused support efforts to ensure students from all backgrounds have equitable access to higher education.

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