The Organization

At Thrive Scholars, our goal is to see talented BIPOC students from economically disadvantaged communities develop economic mobility and financial security, and become the diverse corporate, civic, and academic leaders our country so desperately needs.

Our comprehensive, data-driven, high-touch program model focuses on the key inflection points that can be the difference between just graduating from any college, and graduating from a top college with the grades, degree, career skills, and network needed to thrive in any career. Over our six-year program, Scholars benefit from admissions and intensive academic preparation before college and a comprehensive set of academic, personal, social-emotional, financial, and career supports throughout college. 

The Position

Thrive Scholars is looking to recruit a strategic, results-oriented, and relationship-driven Director of Scholar Recruitment to ensure that each year, high-achieving underrepresented students across the country join the Thrive Scholars community.  The Director of Scholar Recruitment oversees and leads recruitment and Scholar selection strategy, with a focus on growing the overall number of Scholars served, reaching priority regional markets, and recruiting a diverse Scholar cohort with a strategic priority on recruiting Black and African American men. 

This position reports to the Managing Director of High School Programs and manages a team of Scholar Recruitment Managers. The Director of Scholar Recruitment can work remotely anywhere in the United States, with preference for candidates being located in one of Thrive Scholars' priority regional markets (Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, or NYC).  The role requires some national travel, primarily in the fall during our key recruitment season.

Key Responsibilities:

Recruitment Leadership and Strategy (30%)

• Goal: Ensure success and continuous improvement in Thrive Scholars’ recruitment efforts, leveraging data insights to inform and adapt strategy. 
  • Design a comprehensive and agile recruitment strategy that is focused on Thrive Scholars' growth goals and strategic priorities, and which is informed by data
  • Create systems and processes to guide the recruitment and application process, ensuring clarity and consistency over time
  • In collaboration with our Senior Director of Business Intelligence, dynamically track and report on recruitment outcomes and applicant progression through stages of the application, and conduct detailed analysis of the efficacy of that year’s strategy upon completion of the cycle. 
  • Manage and develop the Recruitment team, ensuring that all members of the team are equipped to reach ambitious goals and are supported in their growth

School and Community Partnerships (25%)

• Goal: Schools and Community organizations see Thrive Scholars as a high-quality program and refer eligible students to our program.
  • Leveraging internal and external data, identify target school and community partners, with a focus on strategic recruitment priorities
  • Develop new and strengthen existing relationships with strategic referral partners, including schools, districts, and school networks, and national and regional non-profit organizations. 
  • Design and implement a referral partnership strategy that will lead to Scholar referrals
  • Provide education and support to partners in engaging eligible students, including through information sessions, production of resources, and communications
  • Track and report on partner applicant progress and yield 
  • Serve as primary contact for priority regional partners and cultivate and steward partners through year-round outreach and engagement
    
    

Scholar Outreach and Recruitment (20%)

• Goal: Ensure that high-achieving, low-income underrepresented students in the country apply to and enroll in Thrive Scholars.
  With support from the Recruitment team:
  • Identify prospective students using external data sets and conduct outreach through email and mail
  • Design applicant communication and stewardship strategy focused on supporting students in initiating and finalizing applications and on ensuring a high yield of accepted students  
  • Plan and manage the creation of a suite of updated outreach materials each cycle
  • Plan and facilitate local and virtual informational sessions
  • Collaborate internally to plan and implement social media outreach efforts

Scholar Application and Selection Process (20%)

• Goal: Enroll a cohort of 300+ exceptional Scholars who meet academic and demographic requirements, and fulfill our strategic priorities related to Scholar diversity and regional focus areas. 
  • Design, launch and manage the Scholar application and selection process
  • Coordinate and equip all parties involved in application selection, including Thrive Scholars staff, volunteer interviewers, selection committee comprised of board, staff, and college admissions officers 

Organizational Initiatives and Cross-Team Collaboration (5%)

• Support cross-departmental and organization-wide events and initiatives, including Summer Academy.

Qualifications

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. 

• Five or more years of professional experience required
• Minimum of five years of experience in student recruitment, in a non-profit, corporate or admissions setting, with significant project management experience
• Prior experience managing professional staff
• Strong leadership and project management skills, and ability to leverage a team towards results
• Ability to bring a strategy to fruition, build effective new systems and processes, and adapt to meet evolving needs
• Ability to leverage technology to develop strong rapport with students across the country
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to evaluate outcomes and make data-informed decisions
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to lead presentations and workshops for diverse audiences
• Highly skilled relationship-builder, who is able to build trusting relationships with colleagues, high school students, guidance counselors, and community-based partners
• A passion for, and experience in, working with a racially, culturally, and socially diverse community of academically talented high school students
• Goal-oriented, motivated by impact and results
• An entrepreneurial attitude and focus on continuous improvement and innovation

Competencies:

Along with the specific qualifications and experiences noted above, the ideal candidate for this position will be expected to demonstrate the following competencies:

• Commitment to Results: Takes action to produce high-quality work with measurable results in service of Thrive’s mission and Scholars.

• Learning Agility: Effectively adapts own approach in response to new information and/or situational changes.

• Project Management: Effectively and consistently manages tasks and processes to on-time completion of clear and predetermined outcomes. 
• Setting Strategy: Creates clear, effective strategies that inform the team’s work and build towards the larger vision
• Fostering Thrive Community: Contributes to a work environment that embraces organizational values and works effectively across identities.
  
  

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

Thrive Scholars offers a robust compensation and benefits package including high-quality health and dental insurance, three weeks of paid vacation, generous professional development funding, and access to an employer-matched retirement plan. This is a full-time exempt position.

Salary Range: $80,000 - $90,000

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 its 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