Admissions Specialist

Admissions Specialist

Location: Remote; Philadelphia preferred 

Application Deadline: January 31, 2025

About Us

Our country's education and workforce systems are inequitable, failing to meet the needs of our most marginalized citizens. Historically, workforce education has led to low-wage jobs disconnected from ongoing higher education, which has created significant barriers for career advancement. At the same time, traditional higher education has increasingly become unaffordable for Americans from lower-income backgrounds while also lacking direct connection to the labor market. The consequences of these systemic failures are dire. 

At Propel America, we believe a better system should and can exist. We believe high school graduates shouldn't have to choose between forestalling income and accruing significant debt while pursuing a traditional college degree or forestalling education and mobility for low-wage, entry-level work with few opportunities for advancement. Propel is building that better system - a Jobs-First Higher Education - that allows young adults from low-income backgrounds to access an affordable and efficient pathway to a good job that serves as a springboard to a choice-filled life. 

By working backward from the needs of established employer partners, Propel America:

• Partners with employers to assess talent needs, create relevant training programs, and hire diverse, local talent for their in-demand roles.
• Recruits, guides, and supports young adults (18-26 years old), particularly those from low-income backgrounds, through a blended, technology-enabled career accelerator inclusive of a suite of products and supports (including career exploration, cohort learning, one-on-one coaching, etc) to ensure fellows have what they need to be successful in their job interview, persist in the workforce, and a plan for ongoing education and career advancement.
• Partners with training and higher education organizations to offer in-demand credentials that allow young adults to earn college credits

To learn more about Propel America, please visit  

The Opportunity

As an Admissions Specialist, you will be responsible for enrolling Fellows in our career accelerator program and supporting them through the pre-fellowship experience. Fellows are 18-26 years old, without a college degree, living in our regions. You will engage with prospective Fellows, assess their career and life goals, and guide them through the admissions process. Ultimately, you will ensure applicants understand opportunities offered by Propel, so that, together, you determine a “fit.”. As the first point of contact, you will be an expert on Propel's pathways and programs, with a deep understanding of the applicant profile and what it takes to succeed, confidently communicating this to prospective Fellows.

Your primary responsibilities include: (1) engaging applicants in initial interviews, (2) nurturing and keeping applicants warm through the admissions and pre-fellowship program offerings, and (3) effectively transitioning applicants from the pre-fellowship component of our model to the “fellowship” stage where Fellows begin the official program. Your success is measured by: (1) meeting your enrollment targets, and (2) ensuring that Fellows have an overall positive experience with Propel, rooted in a high-level of commitment to responsiveness and customer service.

Essential duties and responsibilities of the Admissions Specialist include, but are not limited to the following:

Manage applications and effectively engage prospective Fellows (70%)

• Deliver high-quality customer service to prospective Fellows, rooted in consistent, transparent, clear and timely communication
  • Communicate energetically and warmly with a high number of prospective Fellows over the phone, chat, text, video calls, and email.
  • Conduct interviews via Zoom/phone calls with prospective fellows.
  • Respond to inbound applicant inquiries in real-time over email, text, and phone.
  • Track all activities in Salesforce and maintain accurate data of the interactions and progress of each applicant.
  • Advise applicants on fellowship admission potential, guide them through the admissions process, refer to training partners for FAFSA assistance, and support the completion of other fellowship and hiring requirements.
  • Regularly engage with training partners to understand program components, address applicant issues, and provide updates on the applicant pool as needed.

• Deeply understand Propel program model pathways, ensuring that applicants are matched to the best option, and collaborating across various teams to support applicants through the process 
  • Leverage a deep understanding of our programming, pathways, applicant profile, and fellowship expectations to ensure applicants understand the fellowship, the admissions process, and what success in the fellowship will require.
  • Support applicants through the pre-fellowship process and collaborate with higher education partner(s) to ensure all requirements are completed and there is a smooth transition from application, enrollment and program registration.
  • Work closely with the sourcing team to align on fellow profiles, ensuring timely recruitment to support the admissions process
• Leverage data/analytics to improve applicant/Fellow experience
  • Regularly monitor application data and the admissions process to meet or exceed organizational enrollment targets
  • Provide feedback on processes through evaluation of current tactics, implementation of creative technology solutions, and consideration of the prospective fellow experience.
  • Update weekly Key Results, ensuring that team is aware of glows and grows relevant to your work-stream

Pre-fellowship support of accepted applicants (20%)

• Lead the planning, logistics, and execution of the in-person welcome event for your assigned region, in collaboration with the SD, Pre-Fellowship, program, and sourcing teams
• Provide accepted Fellows with guidance and support from acceptance through pre-fellowship programming, including in-person welcome events and jumpstart sessions
• Track and monitor attendance and engagement for all pre-fellowship programming
• Collaborate with the coaching team for admissions/program start hand off

Leverage Technology for Impact (10%)

• Capture, track, and input fellow data daily toward priority Key Results in order to provide the most accurate picture of applicants and their needs.
• Collaborate with the Propel team to share feedback and ideas for improving the pre-fellowship process, ensuring more applicants are prepared to start and complete the fellowship for securing employment.
• Continuously reflect on data/analytics to increase impact, with an eye toward positive fellow experience, outcomes, and scalability. 
• Contribute ideas and innovations to enhance technology use, improving team efficiency and driving scalability.

Preferred Qualifications

• 2+ years of experience working with adolescents/young adults with customer service lens (experience in sales and/or admissions a plus)
• Patient, personable, and compassionate communication with adolescents/young adults
• Comfort with ambiguity and operating in a startup environment
• Highly organized and can manage time effectively. You know how to create a schedule and how to adapt when things deviate from the schedule and manage high-volume activity
• Experience and adherence to best practices using CRMs and databases
• A quick thinker who can switch contexts easily
• Experience with meeting targeted goals
• Can work effectively and independently in a remote environment 
• Strong mission and values alignment including an equity orientation to advancing a job-first higher education approach for our fellows
• Ability to work flexible hours as necessary
• Ability to travel 5-10% 

Compensation

The salary for this position is between $47,000-$55,000 annually. This role is classified as non-exempt and employees are eligible for overtime pay in accordance with federal, state, and local laws. We consider candidate experience and location when determining where a candidate may fall within that range. Propel America offers a competitive total rewards package including coverage of 90% of health insurance premiums, unlimited PTO, and a flexible work environment. 

Interested in applying?

To apply, please submit your resume and a cover letter sharing your interest in the position. The application deadline to apply for this position is January 31, 2025. After this date we do not guarantee review of submissions.

Propel America is an equal-opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. 

We encourage candidates from historically underrepresented backgrounds to apply.