We are seeking a highly motivated and dynamic High Potential Program Coordinator to join our team. This position is designed for a dedicated individual who is passionate about fostering connections, supporting students from diverse backgrounds, and contributing to the growth and success of the High Potential (HP) Program. The ideal candidate will be a proactive team player with excellent organizational, communication, and soft skills; committed to enhancing the experiences of students, alumni, faculty, and staff. The candidate will be able to work in a fast paced environment while working efficiently and paying close attention to detail.
Reporting to the Director of High Potential, the HP Program Coordinator oversees the administrative functions including, but not limited to: maintaining HP's digital media, electronic and interpersonal communication to students and alumni, organizing events, and assisting with special projects.
Key Responsibilities:
Administrative and Office Management:
Digital Organization: manage and organize folders and files within Google Workspace.
Manage the High Potential office suite and student lounge in Filippi Academic Hall, including work orders, IT and other internal office tickets, service contracts, supply orders, and communications (phone, voicemail, post office).
Maintain confidential student information and sensitively address issues with students, family members, visitors, faculty and staff.
Oversee office and event supplies; order technology, printing, and office supplies
Communication and Networking:
Communicate effectively with diverse groups, including students, staff, faculty, and external partners.
Serve as an approachable and enthusiastic representative of the program.
Actively participate in campus committees to build rapport and strengthen cross-departmental collaborations.
Process updates and edits to the website, college events calendar, and news communications.
Create and send a monthly electronic newsletter to HP students and alumni.
Send regular communications to HP students regarding scholarships, events on and off campus, and job opportunities.
Monitor and respond to the HP email.
Strengthen relationships with HP alumni through networking initiatives and events.
Maintain a current database of HP alumni and their relationships to the program.
Event Facilitation:
Plan and execute events for students, faculty, and alumni, including coordinating vendors, creating agendas, and managing logistics.
Ensure timely setup and smooth execution of events, at times outside regular business hours or on weekends.
Coordinate HP representation at college-wide events (orientation, commencement, weekend of welcome, etc.).
Organize, facilitate, and be the point of contact for the Summer Bridge Program SAILS.
Assist with organizing workshops for first-generation students with campus and off-campus partners.
Recruitment and Outreach:
Assist with recruitment efforts targeting first-generation, low-income, and students with disabilities to join the HP program.
Represent the program at recruitment events and collaborate with other campus departments in outreach to prospective and new students, and their families.
Collaborate with admissions, HP staff, and students to organize workshops and events to recruit students for the HP program.
Budget and Data Management:
Organize and maintain the departmental budget, ensuring accurate and efficient use of resources and timely coordination with the Business Office.
Track and maintain timely and accurate records of data and expenditures related to the TRIO-SSS grant and reporting requirements.
Input, update, and analyze program data across various systems.
Coordinate the distribution of HP textbook and course material funds with students, and in partnership with external departments and resources (SMC bookstore, online ordering sites, etc.).
Professional Development
Stay current on best practices for student success and working with diverse college students.
Develop professional knowledge and skills related to first-generation college student experience, best practices in pursuing equity and access in higher education, and student developmental success.
Pursue personal and professional growth by increasing knowledge, training, certifications, and experience in academic and personal support services specific to underrepresented students.
Other Duties as Assigned:
Support the HP Director with various tasks and projects as needed and requested.
Requirements
Minimum Qualifications:
Bachelor's degree in a relevant field or equivalent experience
Comfortable speaking, networking, and engaging with diverse audiences
Comfortable and willing to expand proficiency in Google Workspace, Canva, and website content management
Strong organizational and data management skills
Ability to work autonomously and take initiative
Availability to work evenings, weekends, and flexible hours as needed
Commitment to maintaining confidentiality and professionalism
Positive attitude and openness to feedback
Preferred Skills:
Ability to communicate in Spanish at a conversational level
Experience supporting a diverse student population at the collegiate level
Familiarity with complex budget and data management
Knowledge of TRIO SSS and grant requirements
Experience in event planning, program coordination, or student services
Proven ability to build and maintain relationships across various stakeholders
The foundation for everything we do at Saint Mary's is our mission: To probe deeply the mystery of existence by cultivating the ways of knowing and the arts of thinking. Recognizing that the paths to knowledge are many, Saint Mary's College of California offers a diverse curriculum that includes the humanities, arts, sciences, social sciences, education, business administration and nursing, serving traditional students and adult learners in both undergraduate and graduate programs. As an institution where the liberal arts inform and enrich all areas of learning, it places special importance on fostering the intellectual skills and habits of mind, which liberate persons to probe deeply the mystery of existence and live authentically in response to the truths they discover. This liberation is achieved as faculty and students, led by wonder about the nature of reality, look twice, ask why, seek not merely facts but fundamental principles, strive for an integration of all knowledge and express themselves precisely and eloquently. To affirm and foster the Christian understanding of the human person which animates the educational mission of the Catholic Church. Saint Mary's College holds... that the mystery which inspires wonder about the nature of existence is revealed in the person of Jesus Christ giving a transcendent meaning to creation and human existence. Nourished by its Christian faith, the College understands the intellectual and spiritual journeys of the human person to be inextricably connected. It promotes the dialogue of faith and reason: it builds community among its members through the celebration of the church's sacramental life; it defends the goodness, dignity and freedom of each person, and fosters sensitivity to social and ethical concerns. Recognizing that all those who sincerely quest for truth contribute to and enhance its stature as a Catholic institution of higher learning, Saint Mary's welcomes members from its own and other traditions, inviting them to collaborate in fulfilling the spiritual mission of the College. To create a student-centered educational community whose members support one another with mutual understanding and respect. As a Lasallian college, Saint Mary's holds that students are given to its care by God and that teachers grow spiritually and personally when their work is motivated by faith and zeal. The College seeks students, faculty, administrators and staff from different social, economic and cultural backgrounds who come together to grow in knowledge, wisdom and love. A distinctive mark of a Lasallian school is its awareness of the consequences of economic and social injustice and its commitment to the poor. Its members learn to live "their responsibility to share their goods and their service with those who are in need, a responsibility based on the union of all men and women in the world today and on a clear understanding of the meaning of Christianity." (From: The Brothers of the Christian Schools in the World Today: A Declaration).The foundation for everything we do at Saint Mary's is our mission: To probe deeply the mystery of existence by cultivating the ways of knowing and the arts of thinking. Recognizing that the paths to knowledge are many, Saint Mary's College of California offers a diverse curriculum that includes the humanities, arts, sciences, social sciences, education, business administration and nursing, serving traditional students and adult learners in both undergraduate and graduate programs. As an institution where the liberal arts inform and enrich all areas of learning, it places special importance on fostering the intellectual skills and habits of mind, which liberate persons to probe deeply the mystery of existence and live authentically in response to the truths they discover. This liberation is achieved as faculty and students, led by wonder about the nature of reality, look twice, ask why, seek not merely facts but fundamental principles, strive for an integration of all knowledge and express themselves precisely and eloquently. To affirm and foster the Christian understanding of the human person which animates the educational mission of the Catholic Church. Saint Mary's College holds that the mystery which inspires wonder about the nature of existence is revealed in the person of Jesus Christ giving a transcendent meaning to creation and human existence. Nourished by its Christian faith, the College understands the intellectual and spiritual journeys of the human person to be inextricably connected. It promotes the dialogue of faith and reason: it builds community among its members through the celebration of the church's sacramental life; it defends the goodness, dignity and freedom of each person, and fosters sensitivity to social and ethical concerns. Recognizing that all those who sincerely quest for truth contribute to and enhance its stature as a Catholic institution of higher learning, Saint Mary's welcomes members from its own and other traditions, inviting them to collaborate in fulfilling the spiritual mission of the College. To create a student-centered educational community whose members support one another with mutual understanding and respect. As a Lasallian college, Saint Mary's holds that students are given to its care by God and that teachers grow spiritually and personally when their work is motivated by faith and zeal. The College seeks students, faculty, administrators and staff from different social, economic and cultural backgrounds who come together to grow in knowledge, wisdom and love. A distinctive mark of a Lasallian school is its awareness of the consequences of economic and social injustice and its commitment to the poor. Its members learn to live "their responsibility to share their goods and their service with those who are in need, a responsibility based on the union of all men and women in the world today and on a clear understanding of the meaning of Christianity." (From: The Brothers of the Christian Schools in the World Today: A Declaration).