Associate, Scholarship Operations

Company Description

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.

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.

Job Description

Position Overview  

The Associate, Scholarship Operations will support Scholars by managing the scholarship application review process and ensuring timely disbursement of funds. Reporting to the Senior Manager, Systems, this role involves reviewing applications for eligibility, serving as a point of contact for students, and improving operational efficiency. The Associate will also coordinate information between Scholars and the organization to facilitate payments to colleges and universities.

Primary Responsibilities  

Scholarship Application Processing  

• Serve as the main point of contact for high school seniors and returning college students regarding the status of their Achieve Atlanta Scholarship applications after submission
• Process initial and renewal scholarship applications to determine eligibility for scholarship funds
• Review scholarship applications, evaluating required documents, and confirming student-entered data match documents
• Verify eligibility through appropriate documents and apply eligibility policies accordingly
• Evaluate re-submitted application documents and manage student communication regarding the validity of these documents
• Maintain a thorough understanding of scholarship policies and processes in order to effectively manage scholarship application intake, review, and communications.

Customer Service and Communication  

• Provide high-quality customer service, ensuring professional, courteous, and timely responses to all inquiries
• Respond to incoming Scholar eligibility, application, and payment status inquiries through all program communication channels (i.e., Salesforce database, email, text, phone)
• Manage direct communication with students to help them navigate Achieve Atlanta Scholarship processes and services
• Lead outreach efforts to identify scholarship applicants and Achieve Atlanta Scholars to assist with troubleshooting various issues
• Collaborate with program partners to obtain information needed for Scholar inquiries and payment statuses.

Documentation and Data Management  

• Enter data from application documents into Salesforce and maintain database accuracy
• Accurately document all communication with students in the Salesforce database
• Contribute to the documentation of job processes and procedures
• Assist in identifying opportunities to improve processes and enhance the Scholar experience.

Operational Support

• Attend cross-functional meetings with programming teams throughout the application cycle to develop new strategies and outreach efforts to support Achieve Atlanta Scholars
• Collaborate with team members to ensure efficient and accurate scholarship administration processes
• Coordinate information between Scholars and Achieve Atlanta as needed for application processing and payment management
• Support other scholarship operational tasks as assigned by the Systems & Operations team.

Growth and Development Opportunities

Automation and Process Improvement  

• After mastering the manual data entry and scholarship application processes, identify areas for process improvement and automation.
• Collaborate with the Systems & Operations team to develop and implement automation solutions using tools such as Excel macros, Salesforce automation features, or other relevant technologies.
• Participate in training and development programs to build technical skills and knowledge in systems and automation.

Qualifications

The Profile

This position offers an opportunity to make a significant impact on the lives of students by ensuring they can access vital scholarship resources. If you are passionate about education, detail-oriented, and dedicated to providing excellent service, we encourage you to apply.

The ideal candidate will bring energy, innovation, and professional maturity to this role. They will have the utmost integrity and a reputation for doing things the right way. The successful applicant will be a self-sufficient professional with strong problem-solving and organizational skills, the ability to prioritize workload to focus on the most critical tasks, and a commitment to follow-up and follow-through.

Education, Experience & Knowledge 

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field
• 1-4 years of work experience related to the responsibilities of this role
• Experience with customer service and data management
• Understanding of data management principles and familiarity with database systems
• Knowledge of and experience with college access, K-12 preparation, or college guidance efforts with under-represented youth (preferred)
• Knowledge of higher education financial aid (preferred). 

Skills & Abilities

Organization and Prioritization:

• Demonstrates exceptional attention to detail and strong organizational skills
• Maintains accuracy and precision in all tasks while efficiently managing and prioritizing multiple responsibilities
• Manages and prioritizes multiple tasks, acting with a sense of urgency when needed

Relationship Management and Communication  

• Exhibits excellent communication skills, both verbal and written
• Demonstrates a natural ability to maintain a customer service mindset and advocate for students
• Demonstrates an empathic nature, acknowledging and honoring all people’s humanity
• Approaches working and learning with humility

Technical:

• Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite, particularly Excel
• Familiar with Salesforce
• Experience with or a willingness to learn automation tools (e.g., Excel macros, scripting languages, Salesforce Flows)
• Willingness and interest to learn and implement new technical systems and tools

Innovation and Process Improvement:

• Demonstrates a proactive approach to identifying inefficiencies and suggesting improvements
• Experience or interest in process automation and optimization
• Ability to think creatively and propose innovative solutions to streamline operations

Additional information

Organizational Competencies  

• Mission and Values Driven: Understands how the 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, 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 values-driven organization and we ground our work in the following core values:   

• 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  

This is a full-time position with an expected salary range of $50,000 to $60,000, commensurate with experience. Achieve Atlanta provides flexible PTO, a wellness reimbursement program, professional development opportunities, and competitive health and retirement benefits.

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.

To Apply:  Please submit your resume and cover letter.

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.