GEAR UP Program Director

college eligibility, preparation, and enrollment within the established cohort, largely functioning with autonomy to establish program goals, budgets, and personnel; and 2) for grant oversight, compliance, and meeting of grant deliverables within the established narrative, including hiring, supervision, training, and support to direct service staff. The position will also represent the program internally and externally - leading communication with United States Department of Education (USDOE) - and will work with administration to reach both programming and unit goals/strategic plans. *This position is grant funded; the anticipated grant period is seven years, 9/1/2024 – 8/31/2031, contingent upon annual renewals.*

This position is benefits eligible.For more information on Victoria College's excellent benefits package, click the benefits tab.

Duties & Responsibilities

Program Management, Supervision, and Evaluation

1. Provides administrative leadership for Victoria Colleges Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) programs with the goal of increasing college access and preparation for low-income, first generation, underrepresented students.
2. Fosters college-going and completion cultures at partner district/schools in partnership with postsecondary institutions, community partners and program staff. Including identifying barriers to college preparation and access and working collaboratively with key partners to create systemic change to address them.
3. Ensures all GEAR UP program deliverables are met; developing and implementing programming and policy decisions that are in compliance with federal and state grant guidelines and college policies, procedures, and regulations, and are in alignment with established program outcomes.
4. Collects, reviews and analyzes participant and program data. Including developing measurable ways to evaluate the effectiveness of the programs; ensuring accountability to stakeholders; completing all reporting requirements; and monitoring progress towards meeting program grant deliverables within state and federal guidelines.
5. Provides direct oversight and leadership to all assign staff members, including the hiring, supervision, training, and mentoring needed in support of their success. This involves the determination of performance goals and expectations for subordinates, assessing training needs, and meeting regularly with staff to review programs' and staff's activities and progress towards achieving goals and outcomes.

Budget Management

1. Provide leadership and guidance in the development, implementation and maintenance of GEAR UP programs' spending plans. Ensure alignment with federal, state and college regulations, as well as with program grant deliverables.
2. Manage and maintain budgets documentation, approve expenditures, ensure they are allowable and applicable to program outcomes.
3. Perform regular, on-going analysis of expenditures to advise partners and staff on budget, priorities, and re-allocation of new funds and resources as applicable and appropriate.

Collaboration, Communication, and Community Building

1. Build, coordinate, and sustain flexible intersegmental partnerships (e.g., K-12, postsecondary institutions, community organizations, policy makers) and campus faculty and staff, and VC Office of the Vice President of Student Services personnel that support student college preparation, access and success. Represent program and college at stakeholder, partnership, and collaboration meetings.
2. Increase public awareness and engage stakeholders (e.g., educators, students, parents, community, business, campus faculty and staff) around program goals, needs, and issues.
3. Serve on department, organization, and external committees, workgroups, and coordinating bodies. This includes the facilitation of meetings and creation of agendas.

Qualifications

REQUIRED

• Masters degree in Education, Business Administration, Applied Statistics, Accounting, or related area, and/or equivalent experience/training.
• Knowledge of community college application, admission, and financial aid processes.
• Demonstrated experience working within projects or missions to assist underserved populations or make measurable improvements in identified educational issues.
• Five years progressively responsible administrative, management, counseling, or advisement experience in education, with demonstrated fiscal management skills; experience supervising professional and support staff, including developing performance objectives; and managing and rewarding performance to meet grant deliverables.
• Demonstrated experience collecting and analyzing data and evaluating outcomes for a project, program, or initiative.
• Excellent writing experience sufficient to produce correspondence, annual performance reports, and related publications.
• Experience working collaboratively with K-12 key constituents (e.g. students, parents, teachers, counselors, and/or administrators), postsecondary institutions, and community organizations.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills sufficient to: develop effective relationships across all spectrums of the campus community and P-20 partners in the program service area.
• Experience in, developing, managing, and monitoring budgets and aligning expenditures to outcomes.
• Demonstrated experience building, working with, and/or growing partnerships with external organizations to implement and evaluate educational initiatives.
• Knowledge of pedagogical issues underlying student academic development strategies for increasing achievement and supporting low-income, first-generation students on their postsecondary opportunities and careers
• Ability to bring and/or incorporate diverse perspectives into the work approach, including through experience with rural, ethnic minority, low-income, first-generation, or other underserved populations.
• Computer literacy.

PREFERRED

• Five years' work experience in college access and preparation programs that improve enrollment of low-income and first-generation students in rigorous academic programs of study, secondary school persistence and graduation, and postsecondary enrollment and attainment.
• Experience designing, managing, implementing and evaluating K-12 college preparation and access programs for underrepresented and/or low-income students/families using culturally-appropriate strategies necessary to reach this community.
• Documented experience in implementing or coordinating projects involving multiple partners, preferably a grant-funded program and/or the GEAR UP program.
• Experience managing the delivery of in-person and virtual services to successfully engage students and families using various social media and web-based platforms and their evaluation components.
• Experience working with traditionally underrepresented groups.
• Demonstrated knowledge of relevant federal / state regulations and accountability / reporting requirements.
• Knowledge of the Talent Strong Texas Pathways Initiative, public school systems, AVID program, major local industries, and workforce systems.
• Bilingual (English and Spanish).

Physical Demands

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to use hands and fingers to handle controls, key pads, etc. Will be required to sit and reach with hands and arms as well as, sit, stand and walk. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 15 pounds while loading office supplies and paper. Specific vision abilities required include close vision, some color vision, and the ability to adjust focus from documents to computer screen. Hearing of light to moderate sound is required by this job. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.