Project Associate

Project Associate

Organizational Overview

The barriers to college completion are complex and intertwined. No one educator, department, institution, or state can solve them. Without a simultaneous and intersectional approach, those barriers will continue to rob all of us—educators, advocates, and students alike—of the life-changing benefits of a complete college journey.

Complete College America (CCA) builds movements for scaled change and transforms institutions. Since its founding in 2009, CCA has paired bold, innovative thinking with practical actions that colleges and policymakers can implement across every level of higher education. CCA’s work centers on researching and testing education reforms, providing coaching and support, and advocating for change. Across these areas, CCA uses data to identify barriers and design successful strategies; aligns policy, perspective, and practice so complex systems operate effectively; connects experts to amplify their insights; and builds shared accountability. The organization is at the center of the broad CCA Alliance, which is driving change that works for every leader, every campus, and every system.

Complete College America’s headquarters is in Indianapolis, Indiana. The selected candidate will work remotely, with frequent travel required.  This position is a remote position requiring approximately 20% travel. A successful candidate must be able and willing to work flexible hours, including evenings and weekends.  Travel time may vary depending on assigned projects and organizational needs.  Although a remote position, relocation requires approval from the Vice President for Organizational Development and Operations due to implications associated with benefits and compensation.

Location: Complete College America’s headquarters is in Indianapolis, Indiana. This position is a remote position requiring approximately 20% travel. A successful candidate must be able and willing to work flexible hours, including evenings and weekends.  Travel time may vary depending on assigned projects and organizational needs.  Although a remote position, relocation requires approval from the Vice President for Organizational Development and Operations due to implications associated with benefits and compensation.

Overview

Reporting to the Vice President for Institutional Transformation and Scaling and providing support across the entire organization, the Project Associate executes critical work supporting CCA institutional transformation and alliance engagement efforts. In collaboration with CCA staff, the Project Associate will support student success initiatives through the promotion of CCA’s pillars and strategies through projects with Alliance members across all programmatic functions, as well as support research for affiliated projects. The Project Associate will serve as virtual operations support for workshops, webinars, and technical assistance activities. Through strategy implementation, research, documentation, presentation, and support work, this position will contribute to the advancement of CCA’s institutional transformation and alliance engagement priorities.

As a member of the Institutional Transformation Team, the Project Associate will support the creation of presentation materials and resources to facilitate implementation of CCA’s strategies at institutions.  The Project Associate should be capable of presenting on CCA strategies and facilitating meetings with partners.  Additionally, a successful candidate will be a member of a team who directly engages with institutions on campus visits to actualize efforts to support the implementation of institutional transformation strategies.

The Project Associate will provide support for content development and management of CCA’s learning management system, CCA University.  The Project Associate will respond to CCA University participant requests, manage related discussion boards, identify and upload relevant resources, and conduct training for users and staff.  The Project Associate will assist in managing resources available on the website, the CCA staff, and Alliance members.

Responsibilities

The selected candidate will be responsible for the following:

• Support the programmatic functions of the Strategy Team, including assisting in managing events, process documentation and related activities
• Facilitate meetings and workshops, as well as conduct presentations on CCA strategy work and research
• Support the development and implementation of virtual and in-person Complete College America regional and national convenings and summits that facilitate networking activities and student success best practice syndication across our Alliance.
• Support facilitation and progress reporting on specific student success projects, which may involve Alliance members, cohorts of colleges and universities, and postsecondary partners
• Document best practices for research, advocacy, and policy, especially for decision support purposes among student success leadership
• Conduct research that supports CCA strategies and pillars, as well as information for specific projects
• Collaborate with CCA staff on reports and publications that elucidate national trends informing student success and college completion efforts
• Assist in generating project reports for funders, senior organizational leadership, and the CCA Board of Directors
• Other duties as assigned

Job Qualifications

An ideal candidate will possess the following skills and experience:

• Master’s Degree and/or minimum of one-three years of work experience in higher education or a related field
• Excellent interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills with careful attention to grammar, and organizational voice and tone
• Proven experience in presenting, programming, and student success
• Ability to articulate complex higher education issues in a manner that can be clearly understood by a variety of audiences
• Excellent organizational and time management skills, with keen attention to detail
• Prior research experience in the post-secondary sector

• Extensive understanding of office software including Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, and Outlook

• A firm commitment to equity in the workplace and to the achievement of equitable outcomes in student success and college credential attainment
• Clear understanding and commitment to the CCA mission, values, goals, and theory of change
• Interpersonal skills with ability to establish and maintain effective relationships
• Ability to travel frequently
• Willingness to work flexible hours, including evenings and weekends

Preferred Qualifications:

• Professional experience on a college or university campus
• Passionate about education policy, advocacy, and professional development
• Ability to work in a collaborative, mission-driven environment
• Comfortable navigating ambiguity and building programs from the ground up
• Experience in presenting complex and technical content in varied environments
• Engagement with and scaled implementation of CCA student success pillars and strategies

Salary 

The salary range is $50-70k. The final salary is commensurate with relevant educational background, previous work experience and professional expertise. In addition to the salary, CCA also offers a competitive benefits compensation package. 

Physical Demands:

The position requires very little physical effort. However, during an event, the employee may have to lift boxes with meeting supplies and documents for distribution. Periodic out-of-state travel is required.

Application Process:

• Submit resume and cover letter via Bamboo Link:  https://completecollegeadmin.bamboohr.com/careers/33?source=aWQ9OQ== 
• Applications will be reviewed, as they are received, until an ideal candidate is identified. For questions, please contact jobs@completecollege.org
• Complete College America is committed to providing a safe and secure environment for employees, students, visitors, and stakeholders. As part of this effort, a criminal records check is a condition of employment at Complete College America.
• Applications will be accepted until February 7, 2025

Complete College America is an equal employment opportunity/affirmative action employer.

Salary : $50,000 - $70,000