GEAR UP College & Career Success Advisor

GEAR UP College & Career Success Advisor

Sep 15, 2026

$73,000 - $75,000/year

The candidates selected for these five (5) positions will be integral members of the Counseling and College Persistence Team. The GEAR UP College and Career Success Advisors are responsible for the coordination of programming, data and communication aspects of the U.S. Department of Education as part of the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) grant. This role provides college access services to students beginning in sixth and seventh grades, following them through their first year of college.

The position will require travel between Green Dot’s central office and our various school sites.

This is an in-person, grant-funded position ending on June 30, 2032, but will be evaluated annually as the position is contingent on the Department of Education’s annual approval to continue funding.

• Develop positive relationships with GEAR UP students and families and provide individual support to students to ensure access to college and career information and planning tools.
• Provide comprehensive college access and success services and programs for middle and high school students, including academic planning and preparation, career exploration, tutoring, mentoring, college visits, financial planning, summer enrichment activities, annual orientation events, and college application completion.
• Implement an after‑school college and career lab program that includes peer tutoring and workshops.
• Collaborate with various Green Dot Departments, school site teams, and external partners to align and revise project activities, budget, and metrics
• Collect, enter, track, and analyze data related to GEAR UP activities for required U.S. Department of Education annual progress reports, as well as general project operation.
• Create and maintain GEAR UP communications, including writing and design for print, website, newsletter, social media; and manage GEAR UP best practice documents
• Manage all contracts and payments with GEAR UP schools, partners, and contractors.
• Track partner cost share, including completion of cost share forms and monitoring.
• Participate in professional development at the local, regional, and/or state level; attend GEAR UP meetings and trainings when needed
• Assess students’ needs, set academic goals, and formulate a comprehensive plan for assistance in collaboration with each student, parent, teachers, counselors, other agencies and community partners.
• Help support students in the classroom by providing a curriculum and navigating the CCGI platform milestones that include goal setting, academic monitoring, career and college research, and life plans.
• Communicate regularly with parents and/or guardians of students on roster to discuss academic progress, obstacles and needed efforts by students and parents; should include person or virtual face‑to‑face contact, phone, e‑mail and other as‑needed communication opportunities
• Help increase family knowledge of career and college opportunities through workshops
• Strategically coordinate college persistence efforts at schools
• Support students to access dual enrollment opportunities
• Create best practices for engaging students and their families in applying to best‑fit colleges, understanding/maintaining/improving college financial aid packages, preventing summer melt, and creating survival plans for the first year of college
• Examine how College affordability, Financial Literacy, social‑emotional coping strategies, and preparing for the rigor of college courses play a role in increasing persistence
• Manage the development of technical college persistence platforms to inform key metrics leading towards increasing college…