The Context

Atlanta leads the nation in income inequality and has one of the lowest rates of social mobility in the entire country. In fact, recent research suggests that a child living in poverty in Atlanta has about a four percent chance of moving out of poverty and into a higher income bracket in his or her lifetime.

Despite these odds, Atlanta’s students have dreams for their futures and their families. In 2015, Achieve Atlanta (AATL) was launched by a group of local leaders determined to support these dreams. Coming together initially with the goal of dramatically increasing the number of Atlanta Public School (APS) students who earn a degree. Achieve Atlanta today, inspired by the power of strategic, coordinated action, and using data as the spark for change, has expanded its vision for the future to include eliminating the degree attainment gap in the city, and making Atlanta a place where race and income no longer predict postsecondary success or upward mobility. A new Strategic Plan deepens and augments the organization's programming and support and expands its geographic footprint in the Atlanta Metro area. The Achieve Atlanta team is now growing to lead this exciting next phase of work, and to help us scale organizationally. 

The Work

In pursuit of its vision, Achieve Atlanta’s mission is to help APS students access, afford, and earn postsecondary credentials. To do this, Achieve Atlanta:

• partners with college advising providers with proven results to serve APS students while they are in high school;
• establishes strategic formal relationships with postsecondary institutions that can successfully serve APS graduates, especially those who are first generation or come from underrepresented populations;
• is progressing along a plan to mobilize broad community support by leveraging data to accelerate collaborations that further college access, persistence, and completion in Atlanta; and
• provides Achieve Atlanta Scholarships to students to reduce financial barriers to college enrollment and completion.

The Results

It’s clear that Achieve Atlanta’s endeavors are yielding significant gains; driving an increase in college enrollment and persistence, creating greater access to financial aid and scholarships, securing meaningful commitments from partners, identifying and removing barriers to college completion, and supporting APS to institutionalize a culture that raises awareness of and encourages the pursuit of postsecondary education, thereby enhancing individual students’ ability to realize their own potential.

The Opportunity 

Achieve Atlanta is seeking an enthusiastic Manager, College Access to advance the organization's mission of increasing college access for students within an undisclosed metro Atlanta school district. This key role entails supporting the organization’s goal of ensuring students in an undisclosed metro Atlanta school district have the resources, guidance, and support needed to access and succeed in higher education. Through direct engagement with school-level personnel and collaboration with various stakeholders, the Program Manager will support change management and help drive key initiatives, such as summer melt prevention and district-wide trainings, aligning with the organization's overall mission. Reporting to the Senior Director, College Access, the Manager will closely collaborate with internal and external partners to provide program management and coordination, school-level technical support, and use data to track progress and recommend improvements.  

Primary Responsibilities  

Program Management and Coordination: 

• Assist the Senior Director, College Access in overseeing the management of college access programming in an undisclosed metro Atlanta school district. 
• Coordinate and manage logistics, training, and facilitation, ensuring standard operating procedures (SOPs) are followed. 
• Work across internal departments and external partners to effectively coordinate programming and services. 
• Lead and support change management efforts by developing and executing strategies that ensure smooth adoption of new processes, tools, and programmatic shifts across internal teams and school-based partners. 

School-Level Engagement and Support: 

• Serve as AATL school-level liaison, building relationships with and providing strategic guidance to high school counselors, assistant principals, building leaders, and community partners collaborating to support students to successfully matriculate to college. 
• Help school teams implement college-going priorities, use data to track progress, collaborate across roles, and provide data-driven programming suggestions. 
• Develop and deliver school-level presentations and training, as needed. 
• Host school-level events to support milestone completion and Achieve Atlanta brand recognition. 
• Coordinate and provide on-site and off-site college access experiences. 

Data and Resource Management: 

• Manage college access tools, content training, and support materials. 
• Utilize data to inform program strategies and improvements, ensuring that college access initiatives are data-driven and effectively targeting student needs. 
• Track and analyze key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor the effectiveness of college access programs and make recommendations for adjustments and enhancements. 
• Ensure accurate and timely data collection, reporting, and analysis to support continuous improvement and accountability within the college access programs. 
• Leverage data-driven insights to guide and influence stakeholder decision-making, fostering alignment and support for program goals.  

The Profile  

The ideal candidate for the Manager, College Access role will be a positive, energetic, proactive team player who embodies exceptional influence and relationship management, program management, critical thinking, data analytics, and logistics management and will be thoroughly committed to Achieve Atlanta’s vision and mission. Additionally, they will be a self-sufficient professional with excellent written communication and collaboration skills. 

Education, Experience and Knowledge 

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field 
• A minimum of three years of professional experience in nonprofit or school settings is required, with four years preferred—particularly if the experience spans both public and private sectors or a variety of educational environments. 
• Knowledge or experience with K-12, higher education, and/or college access strategies to support under-represented youth 

Skills and Abilities 

Project/Process Management and Execution: 

• Demonstrates proficient time management skills with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously 
• Proactively recognizes important trends that can impact processes and program work 
• Results-oriented with an ability to manage priorities to meet goals  

Customer Focus and Relationship Management: 

• Displays exceptional relationship management skills for effective management of diverse stakeholders, including partner organizations and internal teams 
• Demonstrates cultural competence, critical consciousness, and the ability to collaborate across diverse perspectives 
• Demonstrates a natural ability to maintain a customer service mindset and advocate for students  
• Exhibits the ability to inspire and guide school-based teams to enhance college access initiatives 

Communication: 

• Possesses exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to summarize findings, provide critical feedback, and tailor communication based on the situation and audience 
• Exhibits excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, with the ability to effectively convey complex information to various stakeholders 
• Approaches working and learning with humility 
• Ability to collaborate with internal and external stakeholders 

Adaptability and Autonomy: 

• Demonstrates a proven track record in executing initiatives and navigating change effectively 
• Shows comfort with ambiguity and the ability to complete tasks with minimal oversight 

Analytical and Problem-Solving: 

• Exhibits exceptional critical thinking and problem-solving skills to navigate challenges and identify effective solutions 
• Displays exceptional attention to detail, ensuring accuracy and reliability in data analysis and reporting 
• Exhibits strong technical aptitude and problem-solving skills for troubleshooting user issues and ensuring data integrity 

Technical: 

• Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite 
• Familiarity with Tableau is a plus

Organizational Competencies 

• Mission and Values Driven: Understands how job contributes to the greater mission of AATL; operates within the core values; supports and performs responsibilities with Mission and Vision in mind. 

• Emotional Intelligence: Demonstrates awareness of one’s own and others’ emotions, attitudes, biases, belief systems, strengths, and limitations to adjust behavior and thus manage interactions successfully and create a psychologically safe workplace.  

• Strategic Approach: Understands and processes complex information for use in long-term planning and execution. 

• Partnership: Works collaboratively across internal and external boundaries to build relationships and achieve common goals.  

• Growth and Development: Actively seeks to improve skills and knowledge to meet the organization’s vision and commitments, to fulfill current job responsibilities and prepare for future career goals and opportunities.

• Leading: Takes personal accountability for the organization’s success. 

Organizational Culture 

Achieve Atlanta is a value-driven organization, grounded in principles that guide everything we do.

• Unwavering Belief: A steadfast confidence in our students is the inspiration and fuel for everything we do.  Their dreams are the foundation for our work.
• Champion for Students: We back our belief in students by acknowledging historical inequities, breaking down systemic barriers, earning students’ trust, and building their agency to become their own champions.
• Expectation of Excellence: We foster a culture of excellence through consistent effort, tenacity, and integrity, resulting in work we can stand behind. It is the standard we set for ourselves and the example we model for our students and community.
• Intentional Collaboration: We cannot achieve our vision alone. We deliberately work together internally and build strategic partnerships externally to identify and accomplish shared goals in changing environments.
• Continuous Improvement: We are constantly learning, remaining curious, and reflecting on our systems, processes, and outcomes to meet our mission.  We encourage critical analysis of our work to make thoughtful adjustments, innovate, and take risks to create solutions.

Salary and Benefits

• To be determined based upon experience and qualifications within the anticipated salary range of $60,000 - $74,000.
• This position is exempt and eligible for the Achieve Atlanta’s competitive health and benefits package, including:
  • Flexible Paid Time Off:
    • Take the time you need, when you need it—our trust-based PTO policy empowers you to balance work and life without strict accrual limits.
  • Benefits:
    • Benefits effective on your first day—no waiting period
    • 100% employer-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance for employee-only plans
    • 100% employer-paid life insurance and AD&D
    • 100% employer-paid short-term disability and long-term disability
    • Wellness and Work from Home Reimbursement programs
    • Access to affordable plans for legal insurance, critical illness, supplemental life, and more
    • Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
  • Retirement:
    • Immediate eligibility to contribute to a 403(b)-retirement plan
    • After one year of employment, Achieve Atlanta provides an employer-paid contribution to your 403(b), regardless of team member contributions
  • Professional Development: 
    • Individual Development Plans (IDPs) tailored to each team member, including access to trainings, resources, and growth opportunities
    • Annual stipends for conferences and individual professional development

Location 

• Achieve Atlanta currently operates a hybrid model for all staff. Team members work in the office at our downtown Atlanta location for at least two days each week to allow for collaboration and in-person connections. Team members have the flexibility to work the remaining three days from the office, home, or another location. 

Achieve Atlanta is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions on the basis of qualifications. Achieve Atlanta policy prohibits unlawful discrimination in any employment decision based on pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, race, religious creed, color, national origin or ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, marital status, age, sexual orientation or any other basis protected by federal, state or local law or ordinance or regulation.