Associate Director, Academies

The Organization

At Thrive Scholars, our mission is to help high-achieving, low-income underrepresented students get into and graduate from top colleges equipped to achieve their full career potential, with the focus of helping Scholars achieve economic mobility. 

Our comprehensive and data-driven program model focuses on the key inflection points that can be the difference between graduating from any college and graduating from a top college with the grades, degree, career skills, and network needed to thrive in any career. Thrive Scholars originated in Los Angeles as South Central Scholars (“SCS”) twenty years ago. Over this time, the organization has refined its program model and, in the last five years, has focused on expanding nationally; reaching more high-achieving underrepresented students, growing the number of Scholars we serve; and deepening our program impact. Looking ahead, Thrive Scholars is embarking on a new strategic plan which will include launching new program offerings and continued organizational growth. Thrive Scholars has approximately 85 permanent employees and 170 summer employees. 
(Please read Thrive’s Economic Mobility Statement below.)

The Program:

Summer Academy is a cornerstone of the Thrive Scholars experience. This intensive, in-person program is designed to prepare Scholars for success in competitive academic and professional environments. Expansion of this proven model is already under way, with commuter versions of our academy launched in two cities and growing. We are seeking an Associate Director to uphold our tradition of excellence while refining the model for scalability and responsiveness to evolving Scholar needs.

The Opportunity:

The Associate Director will contribute to all aspects of designing, preparing for, and executing our summer programs with a particular focus on the Scholar experience. They will participate in continuous improvement efforts using internal data, relevant research, and proven practices. With a results-oriented mindset, they will create, deploy, and monitor systems and practices that promote an affirming, inclusive, mission-aligned environment for academy participants.

As a steward of Academies culture, the Associate Director will be a crucial contributor to seasonal staff hiring, onboarding, and support. Additionally, they will report to the Program Director, Academies, and supervise at least one Program Operations Manager, ensuring smooth execution of programming. Strong project management and collaboration across Thrive Scholars teams will be essential.

This role is remote for most of the year, and requires significant travel during the summer. The Associate Director of Academies is expected to be on site during the summer, with ample time spent at the locations of both Summer Academy 1 and Summer Academy 2. 

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Co-create the conditions for Academies excellence by:

  • Leading the ongoing improvement of all Scholar-facing plans, practices, policies, and protocols

  • Working closely with the Recruitment Team to ensure consistent messaging to Scholars and their families, beginning with first contact

  • Collaborating with other Thrive teams to facilitate outstanding enrichment programming, leveraging insights from past years to address inefficiencies, drive innovation, and enhance the Scholar experience

•  Ensure the success of seasonal and year-round staff by:

  • Collaborating with the Program Director and Director of Faculty on seasonal staff hiring

  • Contributing to the onboarding, support, and management of seasonal staff to uphold program quality

  • Supervising and supporting the Program Manager to optimize program operations 

  • Working collaboratively to ensure that all staff involved with Academies have the conditions they need to achieve their Scholar-centered goals

• Manage internal workflow and program performance by:

  • Monitoring the quality of program execution across assigned Academies locations

  • Coaching and directing seasonal staff on site as needed

  • Ensuring clear, inclusive communication with Scholars, families, staff, and partners

  • Responding nimbly to challenges, making sure that Thrive’s mission and the Scholar experience are upheld even as we navigate difficult or unexpected situations

• Evaluate the impact of Academies and seek continuous improvement by…

  • Establishing annual program goals

  • Maintaining data collection methods for ongoing evaluations and quality checks

  • Participating in a thorough after-action review process

Qualifications and Experience: 

There are innumerable ways to learn, grow, and excel professionally. We respect this when we review applications and take a broad look at the experience of each applicant. The qualifications and experiences listed below are intended as a guide; we do not expect candidates to check every box.  If you believe you can meet the expectations and responsibilities of this position, we want to get to know you and the unique strengths you will bring to the work.  

• At least 5 years of student-facing professional experience in relevant settings (preferably with high school or undergraduate students)

• At least 3 years of professional experience managing complex projects

• At least 3 years of professional experience leading a team or managing at least one person 

• Professional experience in the education, non-profit, and/or college-access space

• Earned reputation as a “culture-carrier” (influential model of organizational values)

• Ability to coordinate diverse groups of stakeholders toward a common objective in a dynamic environment

• Proven track record of meeting or exceeding performance goals

• Ability to balance logistical execution and nimble leadership

• Strong written and oral communication skills, with the ability to synthesize complex information into a simple and understandable form

• Experience using data to assess progress and inform decisions

• Commitment to the Thrive Scholars mission and to diversity, equity, and inclusion in all aspects of the work

Competencies

Along with the specific qualifications and experiences noted above, leaders at Thrive Scholars are expected to demonstrate the following leadership competencies:

• Strategic Collaboration: Understands how and when to work with others to drive strong results; able to balance attention to both results and relationships

• Problem solving: Is able to analyze situations and apply critical thinking in order to identify issues and solutions

• Setting Strategy: Creates clear, effective strategies that inform the team’s work and build towards the larger vision

• Leadership Presence: Demonstrates confidence, authenticity, and poise to both internal and external audiences

Compensation and Benefits:

Thrive Scholars offers a competitive compensation and benefits package including high-quality health, dental and disability insurance, three weeks of paid vacation (four weeks after two years of employment), generous professional development funding, and access to an employer-matched retirement plan. This is a full-time, exempt position.

COVID-19 Vaccine Requirement

Thrive has instituted a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all employees, including remote staff. Individuals selected for job opportunities must be fully vaccinated and up to date, per CDC guidelines, and will be required to provide proof of vaccination status in advance of your hire date. 

If you are unable to be vaccinated for medical reasons or sincerely-held religious beliefs, Thrive will consider requests for reasonable accommodations consistent with our policy.  Accommodation requests cannot be guaranteed, Thrive will consider requests where we are able to provide such accommodations without undue hardship to the organization pursuant to applicable law.  Any such accommodation must be approved in advance of signing an offer letter.

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Thrive Scholars provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment based on race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, national origin, sexual orientation, age, disability, or veteran status. Knowing their importance to the success of our work, Thrive Scholars is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and we aspire to build a diverse staff team and community. We strongly encourage people of all backgrounds to apply.

For more information, please visit thrivescholars.org

Thrive Scholars’ Economic Mobility Statement:

We know that everywhere in our country, there are incredibly high-achieving BIPOC students from economically disadvantaged communities who have big aspirations for their future. By virtue of everything they have achieved—academically, personally, and extracurricularly—these students demonstrate tremendous promise to continue to achieve at great levels in college and in their careers. However, as a result of structural barriers they encounter during the pivotal transitions from high school to college to career, we know that many are hindered from reaching their career ambitions and their goals of economic mobility and financial security. We understand these barriers to be complex and rooted in deep societal inequities and in systemic racism, and we believe they must be addressed at all levels—individual, institutional, and systemic.    

    

At Thrive Scholars, we have found that we are well-equipped to make a meaningful impact on the individual student level. As an organization, we have identified some of the main barriers that get in the way of Scholars getting that first job out of college that will position them to realize economic mobility. We have developed, over the last twenty years, key interventions, delivered through our College Access, Summer Academy, College Success, Mentorship, and Career Development programs - all aimed at helping high-achieving students from economically disadvantaged communities overcome these obstacles to experience economic mobility. This is our North Star. We do not believe that is all of the work that needs to be done at a societal or even individual level in order to promote a just society where every individual can succeed holistically, but we believe this part of it is where we as an organization should focus. 

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