Success Coach

About AdvanceEDU

AdvanceEDU is a Colorado nonprofit that offers an innovative higher education model aimed at improving economic mobility rates for the state. AdvanceEDU students earn an online degree from a high-quality, nonprofit, and accredited university collaborator. We prioritize degree programs that are flexible and career-relevant. AdvanceEDU provides students with intensive personalized success coaching (academic and career), career connections, holistic wrap-around support, funding opportunities for college, and access to our warm and thriving co-learning community (in-person and online).

As we continue to grow, we’re looking for an equity-minded, collaborative Success Coach to join our team and support up to 50 students as they navigate college, career, and life - and help launch our partnership with Pikes Peak State College. All of our Success Coaches are a critical component of our students’ success, with the primary responsibility of ensuring that every AdvanceEDU student is on track to reaching their higher ed goals. This Success Coach will additionally support the initial student recruitment and community partnership development in Colorado Springs. If you are passionate about making a difference, like the pace and fluid nature of a startup, enjoy working one-on-one with students, and like building partnerships - and are willing and able to work from Colorado Springs one day a week - we encourage you to apply.

We serve a beautifully diverse learner community: ~85% first-gen college students, ~80% students of color, ~35% parent learners. We value team members who are proximate to our learners given their professional and personal backgrounds.

Responsibilities

• Coach and support up to 50 students toward their college and career goals.
• Build genuine, supportive student relationships, maintain high expectations, and hold students accountable to making regular progress toward college and career goals.
• Communicate with students via in-person and virtual meetings, calls, emails, and texts.
• Collaborate with our Career Pathways team to provide career exploration and development.
• Support students to build skills to navigate online coursework, continually develop as self-directed learners, leverage resources, and thrive in their career and professional life.
• Effectively wear multiple hats, including problem-solver, coach, confidante, cheerleader, consultant, motivational speaker, data analyzer, and accountabilibuddy.
• Gain a strong knowledge of all aspects of AdvanceEDU’s programs, resources, and career exploration curriculum.
• Track student progress and follow team processes to ensure consistency of data entry.
• Constantly leverage quantitative/qualitative data to coach and advise students toward college completion, continuously improve in your role, and adjust as needed.
• Contribute to Student Success and Programs teams projects and events, leveraging expertise and resources to enhance student engagement, retention, and overall academic achievement. This includes collaborating with colleagues, students, and stakeholders to develop innovative initiatives tailored to student needs, particularly within a light caseload environment, to ensure personalized support and impactful outcomes.
• Embrace and Implement Appreciative Advising and Student Development principles in student interactions, continuously improving through professional development and training. Success Coaches focus utilizing this framework to guide interactions with students' strengths and goals to empower their academic and personal growth at AdvanceEDU.
• Help our AdvanceEDU team create a welcoming and caring environment for all students.
• Collaborate with the AdvanceEDU Outreach team to develop and execute a plan for building relationships and recruiting students to launch our Pikes Peak State College partnership.

Key Competencies

Organization-Wide Competencies:

• Equity and Anti-racism: We approach our work with a lens of equity and inclusion and embody our Commitment to Anti-racism (found in the AdvanceEDU Operations Guide) in everything we do.
• Student Service Orientation: We put our students and our community at the center of every decision we make and every action we take. We believe our students are capable of meeting the highest standards, and we are here to help them do so.
• Collaboration and Team Support: We invest in relationships, and we’re mindful of how our interactions with others helps to move the work forward. We elevate each other’s achievements, support each other through the setbacks. We act in a manner that demonstrates our belief that every relationship matters, and we offer support when things are going wrong.
• Continuous Improvement: We prioritize getting it right, not being right. We admit when we are struggling and take action to fix it. We put the toughest issues on the table and do the right thing, even if it isn’t the easy thing. As the world changes and we continue to get feedback from the students we serve, we’ll be constantly building and rebuilding our organization for as long as we exist.
• Giving and Receiving Feedback: We provide proactive, candid feedback with positive intent, even when it is hard. Team members actively seek and incorporate feedback from peers and leaders. We work hard to value feedback, even when people tell us things that might be tough to hear. We believe that those courageous enough to tell us what we need to hear should be rewarded, not punished.
• Willingness to Help Draw the Roadmap: At AdvanceEDU, we are still shaping the roadmap for much of our work. Success in this environment requires a willingness to seek out answers, propose thoughtful solutions when challenges arise, and actively contribute to identifying and prioritizing the most critical shifts needed for progress.

Position-Specific Competencies:

• Setting the Bar: Accomplishes specific tasks and responsibilities within their expertise.
• Thriving in Ambiguity: Effectively copes with change and shifts gears comfortably, with a willingness and openness to change.
• Problem-Solving and Sense Making: Demonstrates the ability to solve challenges within their area of expertise.
• Strategic Planning: Contributes to team and organizational planning, drawing from lived and professional experience and centering the student experience.
• Making Sound Decisions: Considers the student experience and organizational goals when making decisions within their purview.
• Improving Systems: Improves systems where directed. Provides suggestions for systems improvements.
• Developing Team Members: Works to develop self toward strong growth.

Role-Specific Competencies:

• Relational Coaching and Advising: Builds strong connections with students to effectively guide them through their college and career pathways and coach them to success.
• Creative Problem Solving: Optimistically helps students navigate obstacles and challenges through collaborative brainstorming and problem solving and helps students develop a growth mindset.
• Holding Students Accountable: With care and compassion, holds students accountable for course completion, grade performance, and persistence.
• Proactive Outreach and Communication: Uses an organized system of communication to proactively reach out to students to check in and ensure they are on track to complete assignments and courses as well as discover any challenges or obstacles.
• Managing Data and Reports to Achieve Results: Inputs student notes and progress updates in CRM and utilizes data and reports to assess student progress and performance and develop an outreach strategy to engage students and reach KPIs.
• Developing Resources to Equip Students for Success: Thinks strategically about opportunities to create resources and tools that will increase students’ engagement and equip them for success.
• Identifying Career Development Opportunities: Provides feedback to career coaches on opportunities for career development and coaching for each student to improve career readiness and job placement opportunities.
• Community Outreach: Especially in the early stages of our Pikes Peak State College partnership, builds and maintains relationships with community partners and prospective students to strengthen recruitment pipelines and program visibility.

Qualifications

• 2+ years professional experience in a related field such as advising, teaching, or coaching in an academic setting
• Understanding of academic, financial, social, and logistical factors impacting college persistence
• Experience engaging/supporting diverse and low income communities
• Aptitude for problem-solving and learning new skills quickly and independently
• Ability to work some nights and weekends
• Bachelor's degree required, preferably in education, counseling, or a related field

Salary and Benefits

The salary range for this position is $60,000-$67,500 with full benefits including:

• Company-sponsored health, vision, dental, and life insurance plans
• Company-sponsored 401k with 4% match
• Hybrid work arrangement
• Robust PTO and sick leave, plus an extensive holiday schedule

Location

All AdvanceEDU roles have hybrid work arrangements, allowing for some at-home work and some work in the office. Candidates should be comfortable working from Colorado Springs one day a week for this role, and can be based in Denver, Colorado Springs, or Pueblo.

How to Apply

• To be considered for this position, apply here: https://bit.ly/SuccessCoachAdvanceEDU
• Please apply by September 21, 2025 for full consideration.
• AdvanceEDU will continue to fill multiple Success Coach roles as we continue enrolling students. This particular Success Coach role has a target start date of October 27, 2025.

AdvanceEDU is an equal employment opportunity employer. All applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, sex, color, religion, national origin, disability, military status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, citizenship or any other status protected by applicable federal, state or local law.