CAREERS
LINK’s goal is to mitigate the effect of systemic and structural forces impeding Black students by improving and increasing educational opportunities and access. By equipping our Scholars with the knowledge, skills, resources, and social equity that furthers college completion and career placement, LINK is increasing the economic mobility and stability of Black students and cultivating a diverse leadership pipeline for our city.
Open Positions
Position Descriptions:
We link high-potential Black students in Chicago to the path to, through, and beyond college. For Black students to become tomorrow’s leaders they must have access to educational resources and tools today. LINK’s goal is to mitigate the effect of systemic and structural forces impeding Black students by improving and increasing educational opportunities and access. By equipping our Scholars with the knowledge, skills, resources, and social equity that further college completion and career placement,
LINK is increasing the economic mobility and stability of Black students and cultivating a diverse leadership pipeline for our city.
Since 1966, we have successfully supported over 2,500 low- to moderate-income students. In the 2024-2025 academic year, we will serve over 300 middle and high schoolers. Our Scholars represent more than 60 Chicagoland neighborhoods, with a focus on supporting ten South and West Side
communities: Auburn Gresham, Austin, Bronzeville, Englewood, Garfield Park, Greater Grand Crossing, North Lawndale, Roseland, South Shore, and Washington Park.
Looking to make a difference by linking students to opportunities so they can take a new path—one that leads to their full potential and our city’s vibrant future? Then join our team!
Position Summary
The VP, Programs & Evaluation will design and implement a comprehensive, innovative and research-based program focused on equipping our Scholars with the knowledge, skills, resources, and social equity needed to achieve college completion, career placement, and future roles of leadership. The VP oversees all aspects of programming that is provided to our Scholars, Parents/Families, and Mentors, which includes program development and implementation, evaluation and data management, budgeting, and external partnership management (schools and community-based organizations).
Program Vision and Design
- Key member of the organization’s leadership team.
- Design, enhance, and implement the vision for programs based on the organizational strategic plan and the LINK Unlimited Scholars four programmatic pillars: Academic Enrichment, College Access, Leadership Development, and Career Exposure.
- Evaluate programs and continually improve the design based on aggressive growth plans; develop and improve curriculum.
- Research best practices in college access, college success, and leadership development, locally and nationally to ensure programmatic alignment.
- Present and publish the learnings, best practices and outcomes of programs to be recognized as a leader in College Access, Success, and Leadership Development space.
Leadership
- Oversee four Teams (Growing team of 11 with 4-6 Direct Reports): Scholar Recruitment, Scholar Support, Educational Programs, and Mentoring to effectively execute the organizational strategic plan.
- In collaboration with the Program Team, Develop and monitor Team & Individual Goals to support achievement of annual organizational goals.
- Attract, develop, coach, and retain high-performance team members, empowering them to elevate their level of responsibility, span of control, and performance.
- Define staffing plans to achieve program goals and objectives and lead hiring decisions for new program staff.
- Work with the Director, Scholar Support to ensure efficient and impactful delivery of resource navigation and financial assistance.
- Work with the Director, Educational Programs to create a clear roadmap for improving programs based on culturally responsive pedagogy and leadership development.
- Work with programs team to create, enhance, and evaluate programming progress monitoring systems to better support the facilitation, collection, and sharing of knowledge generated by the programs.
- Participate in the budget development process and maintain a high level of fiscal responsibility.
Program Execution
- Identify critical success indicators for our programs and ensure data collection and reporting procedures are followed (via Salesforce, surveys, etc.).
- Understand change management best practices; ability to coach and development others
successfully through growth and change. - Deliver a College Access program that guides students and families to their best match/fit universities with the least amount of debt.
- Host monthly to bi-monthly (every other month) Saturday Academies and an intensive four-six week Summer Learning program, both focused on the four programmatic pillars.
- Prepare Scholars to be Leaders and enter careers by providing career education, readiness, and exposure.
- Oversee and manage the LINK Scholarship Award process and dissemination (scholarships average $1500-$3000 annually per Scholar).
Collaboration and Partnerships
- Collaborate with CPS, Private and Parochial schools, and community-based organizations to recruit academically ambitious students into the program.
- Build relationships with Community Based Partner Organizations to support programmatic best practices and collaborative opportunities to support our Scholars.
- Work closely with the development team to engage Programs in our fundraising strategy.
- Participate in donor meetings, including presenting on our program model.
- Work closely with the Finance Department to budget and monitor programmatic operations to ensure sound fiscal and system management.
- Collaborate with development and marketing teams to support alignment regarding messaging about program purpose, goals, components, and outcomes.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree required. Master’s or higher preferred.
- 8+ years of relevant Programmatic work experience in college access or success or other related educational areas.
- Program Event management experience required.
- Experience with curriculum design highly desirable.
- Previous experience in working or leading mentor programming a plus.
- Experience with case-management techniques preferred.
- A track record of effectively leading a performance and outcome-based program team.
- A minimum of five (5) years:
- Supervisory experience that has included full-time direct reports.
- Budget development and monitoring experience.
- A minimum of five (5) years:
- Strong experience using data to drive and achieve programmatic outcomes, programmatic improvement, and demonstrate impact, including survey design and analysis.
- Demonstrated ability to lead teams through the problem-solving and creative-thinking processes leading to the development and implementation of new approaches, systems, structures, and practices.
- Catholic, Urban Public School, and/or Charter School experience is a plus.
- Unwavering commitment to quality programs and excellence in organizational and project
management with the ability to achieve strategic objectives, and manage a budget - Demonstrated experience working with electronic databases
- Salesforce Experience preferred.
- Experience using Project Management platforms to manage goal progress (preferably Basecamp).
- Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Ability to speak in public and engage all stakeholders (Scholars, Parents, Mentors, Volunteers, etc.)
- Excellent time management skills with proven ability to meet deadlines.
- Ability to function well in a high-paced and at times stressful environment.
- Ability to effectively manage multiple projects and teams simultaneously.
- Ability to work independently as well as on a team.
- Strong relationship and partnership cultivation skills to build rapport with existing and potential stakeholders.
- Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite, Google Workspace, or similar software with the ability to learn new or updated software.
Characteristics
- Mission Driven: Exemplifies the LINK Unlimited Scholars’ mission, vision, and values and acts in accordance with all policies and procedures of the organization.
- Cheerful and welcoming demeanor.
- Strong work ethic.
- A self-starter, creative, and forward thinker.
- Must have the utmost integrity and an ability to process, protect and exercise discretion in handling confidential information and materials.
- Exercises good judgment with an ability to manage situations with tact and discretion.
Work Schedule
Full-Time, Monday through Friday, 9:00am-5:00pm, but often requires upwards of 50 hours per week. Hybrid schedule: remotely twice a week (Mondays & Fridays) and in-office Tuesday through Thursday. Programmatic work requires hours that support the schedule of our Scholars & Parents, which includes some evenings and weekends. So, candidates must also have flexibility to meet these scheduling needs.
Compensation
Salary range $125k-140k; to be determined based on experience and skills. Full-time employees are eligible for health, dental, and vision insurance, Retirement, PTO days, 8 Holidays, and a holiday shut down from Christmas Eve through New-Year’s day.
To Apply
Submit a cover letter, resume, and salary requirements to Dr. Toinette Gunn, President & CEO at https://recruiting.paylocity.com/recruiting/jobs/All/9f42f360-fe7d-4557-a988-51234a605b20/LINK-Unlimited-Scholars. Cover letters without salary requirements will not be considered.
LINK Unlimited Scholars is an equal opportunity employer.
We link high-potential Black students in Chicago to the path to, through, and beyond college. For Black students to become tomorrow’s leaders they must have access to educational resources and tools today.
LINK’s goal is to mitigate the effect of systemic and structural forces impeding Black students by improving and increasing educational opportunities and access. By equipping our Scholars with the knowledge, skills, resources, and social equity that further college completion and career placement, LINK is increasing the economic mobility and stability of Black students and cultivating a diverse leadership pipeline for our city.
Since 1966, we have successfully supported over 2,500 low- to moderate-income students. In the 2024-2025 academic year, we will serve 350 Scholars (Jr. LINK, High School Fellowship, & Collegiate Scholars). Our Scholars represent more than 60 Chicagoland neighborhoods, with a focus on supporting ten South and West Side communities: Auburn Gresham, Austin, Bronzeville, Englewood, Garfield Park, Greater Grand Crossing, North Lawndale, Roseland, South Shore, and Washington Park.
Looking to make a difference by linking students to opportunities so they can take a new path—one that leads to their full potential and our city’s vibrant future? Then join our team!
Position Summary
The Director, Recruitment & Engagement is a key member of the Program Team who leads all Scholar and Volunteer/Mentor recruitment initiatives and builds organizational presence and awareness across Chicagoland communities ensuring the enrollment of 65-100 new students and mentors annually.
Additionally, the Director, Recruitment & Engagement will lead all work in the coordination and facilitation of our Jr. LINK middle school fellowship (7th-8th grade) supporting a cohort of 30-50+ Scholars annually to ensure successful matriculation into our high school fellowship. The Director, Recruitment & Engagement will report to the VP, Programs & Evaluation and manage two (2) Coordinators of Recruitment and Engagement.
Recruitment
- Create and implement a recruitment strategy for Scholars as well as Mentors and volunteers for the organization.
- Oversee the application process for Scholars and Mentors as well as oversee strategy for Mentor engagement.
- Facilitate 4-6 Mentor/Scholar events/programs a year.
- Facilitate events and programming to garner interest for new applicants (students, mentors, and volunteers).
- Build relationships with middle and high schools for the purpose of recruitment and targeted programming.
- Develop school partnerships to support recruitment efforts as well as high school options for our middle school Scholars.
- Collaborate with corporate partners to recruit and establish mentor cohorts.
- Maintain data relating to school demographics, point of contact, academic successes, etc. for all attended high school fairs and partners.
- Chaperone Scholar experiences (retreats, field trips, etc.).
- Work with the Executive Leadership Team to develop strategies to position LINK as thought leader in the areas of High school Success and middle school academic development.
- Develop a communications plan and set cadence for check-ins with mentors as well as school and community partners.
- Co-lead execution of programming and related events as a member of the Programs department.
- Other duties as assigned.
Jr. LINK (Middle School Fellowship)
- Oversee and Manage the Coordinator, Outreach and Scholar Support with coordination of Jr. LINK Scholar recruitment, application process, and program implementation.
- In preparation for Summer Orientation & Summer Learning, implement the strategy, systems development, and execution of new student registration and enrollment.
- In collaboration with the Program Team, implement the strategy and systems development for Summer Orientation, Summer Learning, and Fall Kickoff.
- Lead and manage all Jr. LINK recruitment and engagement activities (e.g. principal and counselor breakfast, community events, etc.).
- Coordinate a robust high school college fair, workshop(s), and other activities to ensure Jr. LINK Scholars and parents are prepared and guided through the high school selection process.
- Develop a communications plan and set cadence for check-ins with Jr. LINK schools and community partners.
- In collaboration with the Program Team, support Scholar educational and support programs to ensure Jr. LINK participation and engagement.
- Other duties as assigned.
Data Analysis & Strategic Direction
- Works with the VP, Programs & Evaluation to design feedback strategies to gather stakeholder feedback to inform recruitment and engagement efforts.
- Manage the collection and organization of data to evaluate and measure outcomes.
- Identify and recommend key recruitment and engagement indicators and outcomes.
- Track and report regularly on outcomes of recruitment & engagement efforts.
- Utilize and interpret data for program and process evaluation and decision making so as to make recommendations for continuous improvements.
- Maintain student/family and partner information in Salesforce.
- Translate findings from outcomes, survey data, and stakeholder feedback into actionable insights.
- Other duties as assigned.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree REQUIRED.
- A minimum of 10 years of professional work experience.
- A minimum of five (5) years of previous recruitment experience or responsibilities similar to this role (e.g. sales or other recruitment related experiences) is REQUIRED.
- Experience working with students and families in the nonprofit or education sector, preferably with Black students, highly desired.
- Catholic, Urban Public School, and/or Charter School experience is a plus.
- A minimum of five (5) years Supervisory experience that has included full or part-time direct reports is REQUIRED.
- Strong experience in managing customer/client/stakeholder experiences.
- Previous roles and experience where ensuring a positive customer/client/stakeholder experience was central and most important. Customer/client/stakeholder driven.
- Experience developing and managing partnerships with either community-based organizations, corporations, institutions of higher learning, civic leaders, etc.
- Strong experience using data to drive and achieve programmatic outcomes, programmatic improvement, and demonstrate impact, including survey design and analysis.
- Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Ability to speak in public, engage, and build relationships with diverse stakeholders (Scholars, Parents, Mentors, Volunteers, etc.).
- Strong presentation skills, both in-person & virtual.
- Problem Solving and Critical Thinking: Ability to break down tasks into manageable sections in order to make informed decisions to tackle a larger problem.
- Demonstrated ability to work at a rigorous pace, prioritize multiple projects/assignments, communicate about challenges, plan, and most importantly, follow through to meet deadlines and objectives.
- Experience using Project Management platforms to manage goal progress (preferably Basecamp).
- Ability to remain flexible and adapt to changing needs and priorities.
- Ability to perceive and resolve a gap between a present situation and a desired goal.
- Demonstrated experience working with electronic databases.
- Salesforce Experience preferred.
- Advanced skills with Microsoft Office Suite, Google Workspace, or similar software with the ability to learn new or updated software.
Characteristics
- Exemplifies the LINK Unlimited Scholars’ mission, vision, and values and acts in accordance with all policies and procedures of the organization.
- Cheerful and welcoming demeanor.
- Strong work ethic.
- A self-starter, creative, and forward thinker.
- Must have the utmost integrity and an ability to process, protect and exercise discretion in handling confidential information and materials.
- Exercises good judgment with an ability to manage situations with tact and discretion.
- Versatility, flexibility, and a willingness to work enthusiastically with changing priorities or response to emergency situations.
Work Schedule
Full-Time, Monday through Friday, 9:00am-5:00pm, but requires 40-50 hours per week. Hybrid schedule: remotely twice a week (Mondays & Fridays) and in-office Tuesday through Thursday. Must also have flexibility to on occasion work Saturdays and evenings to support recruitment, trainings, Mentor-Scholar programming, and other organizational events.
Compensation
Salary range $75k-$85k; to be determined based on experience and skills. Full-time employees are eligible for health, dental, and vision insurance, Retirement, accrued PTO days, 8 Holidays, and a holiday shutdown from Christmas Eve through New-Year’s day.
To Apply
Submit a cover letter, resume, and salary requirements. To apply: https://recruiting.paylocity.com/recruiting/jobs/All/9f42f360-fe7d-4557-a988-51234a605b20/LINK-Unlimited-Scholars
Cover letters without salary requirements will not be considered.
LINK Unlimited Scholars is an equal opportunity employer.
LINK Unlimited Scholars, 2221 South State Street, Chicago, IL 60616-3894 • 312-225-5465 • info@linkunlimited.org