Overview

  • Do you have a background in counseling, college counseling, or career coaching that you would like to apply in a new and innovative way?
  • Are you deeply invested in ensuring students succeed beyond high school?
  • Are you committed to helping historically under-served students access greater professional opportunity and at the same time, diversify the talent pipeline for industries throughout the city?
  • Do you believe that every young person deserves a career that is financially sustainable and personally meaningful?
  • Do you seek to be in a diverse and inclusive environment dedicated to equity and anti-racist practices in and outside of the classroom?

If your answer is YES to all of the above, MESA Charter High School might be the right place for you!

Math, Engineering, and Science Academy (MESA) Charter High School is a community high school in Bushwick, Brooklyn. We opened our doors in August 2013 and we now have 496 students in grades 9-12. We have graduated six classes, every year over 90%. Our students come from more than fifty different middle schools, including traditional public, parochial, and public charter schools. Some are advanced students coming from magnet schools; others are beginning English Language Learners. What they all have in common is a desire to succeed. 

Some key aspects of MESA’s school model are:

  • Intentional Teaching—MESA uses a standards-based grading system, which makes data understandable and accessible. This enables teachers to create targeted, focused instruction, and helps students understand and track their own progress. MESA teachers love data or at the very least, aren’t afraid of it!
  • Intentional Support—MESA teachers have a minimum of rote administrative duties in order to better focus on planning, instruction, and assessment. Teachers receive ongoing coaching and feedback.  MESA is committed to collaboratively developing and growing its teachers. Dedicated time for co-teaching, department and grade team planning is built into the school schedule.
  • Intentional PD—MESA has a comprehensive professional development calendar that includes sessions on instructional practices, school culture as well as diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Teachers are also encouraged to seek out PD opportunities outside of the school building.
  • Intentional Culture—MESA’s advisory model connects small groups of entering freshmen with a teacher-advisor for all 4 years of high school. Advisors provide guidance on academic progress and are mentors, facilitators and positive influencers. Students are recognized by their teachers regularly for academic achievement and effort and are incentivized to meet school expectations around attendance, punctuality and preparedness. MESA uses the Love and Logic model to address disciplinary concerns.
  • Intentional Relationships—MESA knows that all caregivers want their children to succeed. MESA enlists families as partners in their childrens’ education through regular communication, meetings, workshops, and access to student attendance information and grades. More than 85% of MESA caregivers attend the initial parent-teacher conference of the school year.
  • Intentional Persistence—MESA supports its students after they graduate from high school. MESA’s robust post-secondary team and innovative Alumni Lab Workshops provide an additional layer of support and coaching to ensure every graduate gets as many chances as possible to succeed.
  • Intentional Scheduling— MESA’s school day starts later than most DOE schools, as research indicates that a late start helps high-school students succeed. Our Block Schedule allows teachers to delve deeper into content and help develop critical thinking skills. The calendar and earlier start allows for “Intersession,” during Spring Break where students receive enrichment, skill remediation, or Regents preparation.

The Alumni Career Development Specialist reports to and works closely with the Director of Career-Connected Learning to support MESA alumni in pursuit of a financially sustainable, personally meaningful career.

Specific Responsibilities

  • Run MESA’s “Alumni Lab” workshop series, leading multiple workshop series for cohorts of approximately 15 alumni (from MESA and from partner schools) over the course of the school year.
  • Provide post-workshop support and follow up for Alumni Lab graduates, ensuring that they are successful in their post-workshop placement.
  • Develop and support high-quality summer internships for alumni who are currently enrolled in college.
  • Develop and run career workshops for alumni who are in college on topics such as resume writing, networking, interview preparation.
  • Provide drop in and/or office-hours based career support for alumni
  • Build database of professionals who will network with alumni and coaching alumni in accessing it.
  • Work closely with Data and Analytics Manager, Director of External Affairs and Communications, and Director of Development to ensure accurate recording of alumni data and facilitate external marketing and fundraising efforts.
  • Collaborate with external alumni career support programs such Co-Op Careers and America Needs You to create more opportunity for alumni
  • Coordinating any additional career-based support for alumni
  • Organize alumni events both for social purposes and for purposes of developing network of MESA alumni that current MESA students can tap into. Leverage alumni network to further support upcoming MESA graduates.
  • Other duties as assigned by Director of Career-Connected Learning

Qualifications

  • At least three years experience working with high school seniors or recent graduates in a counseling setting. Prior experience as a teacher and/or guidance counselor is a strong plus.
  • Experience providing career support, such as resume writing and interview skills. Prior teaching
  • Experience working with population of first-generation college-going students from urban setting.
  • Outstanding writing and oral communication skills. Must be an excellent technical writer, knowing how to help alumni craft communications. Strong networking skills are crucial.
  • Ability to quickly build meaningful and authentic relationships with young people.
  • Demonstrated ability to manage multiple workstreams and multitask in a fast-paced environment.
  • Excellent professional judgement and instincts.
  • Ability to communicate with a variety of different stakeholders clearly and effectively.
  • Minimum Bachelor’s Degree
  • Spanish-speaker a plus

Salary: $75,000 – $90,000 depending on experience

To apply: Please email your resume and cover letter explaining specifically why you would be a good fit for MESA to Arthur Samuels, Executive Director, at info@mesacharter.org with the subject heading “Alumni Career Development Specialist.” APPLY BY EMAIL ONLY. Due to the nature of the position and the volume of applications received, MESA will not be able to reply to all submissions. MESA will contact candidates with next steps.