NACE JobWire

The Organization

At Thrive Scholars, our goal is to see talented low-income students of color develop inter-generational wealth 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 graduating from any college, and graduating from a top college with the grades, degree, skills, and network needed to thrive in the career of their choice. Over our six-year program, Scholars benefit from intensive academic and admissions preparation before college and a comprehensive set of academic, personal, social-emotional, financial, and career supports throughout college. Within our career development curriculum, Scholars participate in early exposure and discernment programming, two years of intensive personalized career coaching focusing on hard and soft skills, access to our professional network, and corporate partnerships for internships and jobs, ensuring that they are competitive entrants into any career they aspire to, and that they are positioned to grow and lead within their industry. 

Thrive Scholars is growing the number of students we serve and deepening our career development programming. Through our brand new industry-specific pathways, we are ensuring that Scholars have the tailored preparation they need to enter and grow within competitive career fields, including Law.

The Position

Thrive Scholars is looking to recruit an experienced and effective Program Director, who will lead the development and implementation of our Law Career Pathway. In this inaugural role, the Director will ensure that interested Scholars are equipped to excel in the legal field, within Big Law and other settings.

At the onset, the Program Director will have the opportunity to shape the design of the career development curriculum that will be embedded within the holistic six-year Thrive Scholars program. The goal of this program is to ensure that Scholars gain the relevant experiences, knowledge, and skills to support their career success in the legal field.

In this role, you will be able to bring together your knowledge of law career pathways, your skills in program and project design and implementation, and your rapport-building and coaching abilities, to create and deliver a transformative career development experience for our Scholars, including industry exploration curriculum, LSAT preparation, and law school admissions support. Additionally, you will leverage internal and external partnerships to help Scholars gain an understanding of, and a network in, the legal field and to prepare Scholars for successful careers across the industry.

The Program Director, Law Career Pathway, can be a remote role and will report to the Managing Director of Career Development. When it is safe to do so, this role will include occasional academic-year travel and potentially up to 1 week of work at our on-site Summer Academy, typically held in-person at USC in LA and at Amherst College.

Key Responsibilities:

Program Design and Leadership (60%)

GOAL:  Ensure the successful planning and implementation of an effective Law Career Pathway.

• Design and implement a Law-focused curriculum that spans the entire six-year Scholar experience and ensures students have the preparation to enroll and succeed at top law schools, and to enter and grow within Big Law and other legal settings. In designing the Law Career Pathway, the Program Director will build on our existing generalist career development curriculum and will work with each of our program teams to integrate career development programming within our Summer Academy, College Access, College Success and Mentorship programs.
• Create resources, design online courses, and facilitate virtual and in-person workshops and panels on topics that support students in navigating their post college law school and legal career path.
• Plan and lead student engagement events including law school information sessions, company presentations, industry panels, industry TREKS or company visits.
• Develop and leverage external partners, including law schools and nonprofit organizations, to support Law Pathway programming.

Individual Scholar Coaching and Support (30%)

GOAL: Ensure Law Scholars are equipped with the knowledge, skills, experience, and network to secure acceptance into top law schools and to thrive in careers in the legal industry

• Provide individual coaching and support to Law Scholars, focusing on career exploration; career roadmapping, and skills development; applying for internships, jobs and law school, and fellowship opportunities; and being equipped to succeed in law school and in the legal field. Coaching most often will take place through in-depth video, phone, and email exchanges.
• Provide support to volunteer mentors who are also working with students on your caseload.
• As the primary relationship manager for students on the caseload, assess and triage holistic needs that Scholars may have, including academic and socioemotional.
• Work with Thrive Scholar industry partners to maximize internship and full-time recruitment pipeline and on-the-job success. This will include consulting on recruiting strategy, understanding hiring profiles for targeted roles, identifying candidates based on successful profile, interview preparation, and coaching support before and during internship/job
• Maintain records of all appointments, presentations, and services to students.

Department and Organizational Collaboration (10%)

GOAL: Partner with departments across the organization to ensure successful program and partner activation

• Partner with the Director of Corporate Partnerships to maximize collaboration with law firms. This will include participating in pitch meetings and ideating on partner program integrations.
• Collaborate with Corporate Partnerships and Development teams on law firm partner activations, including workshops, webinars, conferences, recruiting events, and mentorship programs.
• Research law school admissions and employment trends, industry insights, and coaching best practices; curate and share this information with Career Coaches and Program teams.
• Provide ongoing data analysis and outcomes measurement. Analyze data and prepare statistical reports as needed.
• In collaboration with others on the Career team, support the implementation of career programming across industries, including events, workshops, webinars, conferences, and the production of integrated resources.

Compensation & 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.

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 show proof of vaccination status, in advance of your hire date. Individuals are considered fully vaccinated 14 days after receiving their second dose in a two-dose vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna) or one dose of a single-dose vaccine (Johnson & Johnson). 

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, and 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 the hire date.

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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

The Ideal Candidate 

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 of 7 years of professional experience, including at least 4 years in the legal industry or in a law school setting
• Minimum 2 years’ relevant experience in advising, coaching, talent recruitment, talent development, or people management role
• Entrepreneurial attitude towards problem solving and demonstrated track record of building and implementing programs or initiatives
• Strong knowledge of law school admissions, law career paths, and employment landscape
• Deep understanding of the college to career journey for underrepresented students
• Expertise in and passion for diversity, equity and inclusion in a professional setting
• Clear strategic thinker combined with a practical approach and close attention to detail
• Results-driven with an ability to adapt your approach to achieve stated results
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Excellent analytical, and organizational skills
• Capacity to balance multiple and varied tasks, meet deadlines, and use well-developed time management and organizational skills
• Experience using a database for documentation and reporting
• Experience with Canvas or other LMS preferred

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.
• Strategic Collaboration: Understands how and when to work with others to drive strong results. Able to balance attention to both results and relationships.
• Learning Agility: Effectively adapts own approach in response to new information and/or situational changes.
• Fostering Thrive Community: Contributes to a work environment that embraces organizational values and works effectively across identities.
• Building: Creates new and better ways for the organization to be successful, shaping theory and/or practice in the field.