Career and Placement Coach, Engineering and Technology

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 75 permanent employees and 170 summer employees. 
(Please read Thrive’s Economic Mobility Statement below.)

The Career Pathway Program:

Our Career Pathway program specifically includes three years of intensive, personalized career coaching, and access to our professional network and to corporate partnerships for internships and jobs. In recent years, Thrive Scholars has moved from a generalist career pathway program model to an industry pathway model to ensure that Scholars receive the tailored preparation and gain the specialized skills, experiences, and networks they need for the industries they are pursuing.  Currently, Thrive Scholars has the following Career Pathways programs: Life Sciences, Engineering, Technology, Law, Finance, and Consulting. Scholars interested in other fields participate in our generalist Core pathway.  

The Position: 

Thrive Scholars is looking to recruit a student-centered, results-driven, and experienced Career and Placement Coach in Engineering and Technology. The Career and Placement Coach will partner with other members of the Engineering and Technology Career Pathway team to ensure that interested Scholars are exposed to career options in engineering and technology, land excellent internships and jobs in the field, and develop the knowledge and skills they need to thrive in engineering and technology across sectors. These sectors include corporate, research, consulting, think tanks, academia, and others. In this role, you will provide high-quality, tailored individual career support to a caseload of Scholars within the Engineering and Technology pathway by leveraging your skills in rapport-building and career coaching, developing effective and impactful relationships, and facilitating group programming. You will leverage your extensive knowledge of engineering and technology career paths, along with the necessary skills and competencies, to enable successful entry and advancement in these industries, ultimately supporting Scholars in achieving economic mobility.

The Career and Placement Coach will collaborate closely with other members of the Career Pathway team, as well as with the broader Thrive program teams, fostering cross-functional collaboration. Reporting to the Pathway Director of Engineering and Technology this role will actively engage in interdepartmental cooperation to enhance program effectiveness and support for scholars.

To succeed in this role, candidates need a strong understanding of the college and internship experience for students pursuing Engineering and Technology careers; demonstrate knowledge of corporate talent requirements; high emotional intelligence and motivational skills; and the ability to build rapport with students, corporate partners, and Thrive Scholar staff. 

Key Responsibilities:

Case Management, Individual Scholar Coaching, and Support (60%):

GOAL: Ensure students are effectively exposed to opportunities within the engineering and technology space, that they obtain excellent internships and jobs, and that they have the preparation to enter and grow in the industry.

• Provide individual coaching and support to engineering and technology pathway students, focusing on career exploration; career road mapping and skills development; applying for internships, jobs, graduate school, or fellowship opportunities; and the bar for success in the Scholar’s identified function and industry. Given that our students are distributed nationally, coaching most often takes place virtually, through in-depth video, phone, and email exchanges.

• As the primary relationship manager for students on the caseload, assess and triage holistic needs that Scholars may have, including needs related to academic and socio-emotional success.

• Maintain records of all appointments, presentations, and services to students.

Internship and Job Recruitment (25%):

GOAL: Ensure Scholars are successful in obtaining internships and jobs that align with their engineering and technology career goals and position them for economic mobility. 

• Partnering with the Engineering and Technology Account Manager, develop a keen understanding of the success profile sought by engineering and technology companies and effectively support the recruitment and preparation of Scholars for these internship and job opportunities.

• Provide coaching around resume and cover letter preparation, interview skills (including technical interviewing), and prepare Scholars for on-the-job success before and during internship/job.

• Provide individualized outreach to students using our Salesforce database.

• Contribute to department-identified metrics and goals for Scholar placement.

Career Program Development, Implementation, and Support (15%):
GOAL: Partner collaboratively within and beyond the Career Pathway team to ensure a cohesive and successful Scholar experience, actively engaging in cross-collaboration with other program teams across the organization.

• In collaboration with others on the Career team, the Career Coach will have the opportunity to develop, implement, and support the core Thrive Scholars Career Pathway curriculum and programming, as well as Life Sciences programming, including events, workshops, webinars, and the production of lasting resources.

• Deliver relevant career pathway programming utilizing a Learning Management System as our curriculum hub and in-person at Summer Academy and Thrive Academies (approximately 2 weeks of total travel per summer).

• Partner with the Mentorship team to facilitate high-impact relationships between Scholars and industry mentors, ensuring their active participation and benefit.

• Collaborate with High School and College Programs, as well as other relevant teams, to align program activities and optimize support for Scholars, ensuring program coherence and effectiveness. 

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. 

• Bachelor’s degree required

• Minimum 5 years of professional experience, including 3+ years providing career/grad school coaching in higher ed, specializing in coaching students into engineering or technology careers OR 3+ years in an engineering and/or technology field

• Ability to build strong rapport with diverse college students

• Strong knowledge of engineering and technology career paths and the job market

• Results-driven with an adaptable approach to achieving goals

• Deep understanding of the college-to-career journey for underrepresented students

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills

• Strong analytical and organizational abilities

• Capacity to balance multiple tasks, meet deadlines, and manage time effectively

• Experience using database tools for documentation and reporting (Salesforce preferred)

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, non-exempt position.

Travel Expectations:

This role will include up to 2 weeks total of travel during our Summer Academies (Evanston, IL and Amherst, MA- locations subject to change), plus attendance at our Thrive Academy locations. Additionally, there will be travel to retreats and other events throughout the year to support the engagement and development of scholars within the Engineering and Technology Career Pathway program.

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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 Pathway 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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