Vice President, Programs & Evaluation

We link high-potential Black students in Chicago to the path to, through, and beyond college. For Black students to become tomorrow’s leaders they must have access to educational resources and tools today.

LINK’s goal is to mitigate the effect of systemic and structural forces impeding Black students by improving and increasing educational opportunities and access. By equipping our Scholars with the knowledge, skills, resources, and social equity that further college completion and career placement, LINK is increasing the economic mobility and stability of Black students and cultivating a diverse leadership pipeline for our city.

Since 1966, we have successfully supported over 2,500 low- to moderate-income students. In the 2024-2025 academic year, we will serve over 300 middle and high schoolers. Our Scholars represent more than 60 Chicagoland neighborhoods, with a focus on supporting ten South and West Side communities: Auburn Gresham, Austin, Bronzeville, Englewood, Garfield Park, Greater Grand Crossing, North Lawndale, Roseland, South Shore, and Washington Park.

Looking to make a difference by linking students to opportunities so they can take a new path—one that leads to their full potential and our city’s vibrant future? Then join our team!

Position Summary

The VP, Programs & Evaluation will design and implement a comprehensive, innovative and research-based program focused on equipping our Scholars with the knowledge, skills, resources, and social equity needed to achieve college completion, career placement, and future roles of leadership. The VP oversees all aspects of programming that is provided to our Scholars, Parents/Families, and Mentors, which includes program development and implementation, evaluation and data management, budgeting, and external partnership management (schools and community-based organizations).

Program Vision and Design

• Key member of the organization’s leadership team.
• Design, enhance, and implement the vision for programs based on the organizational strategic plan and the LINK Unlimited Scholars four programmatic pillars: Academic Enrichment, College Access, Leadership Development, and Career Exposure.
• Evaluate programs and continually improve the design based on aggressive growth plans; develop and improve curriculum.
• Research best practices in college access, college success, and leadership development, locally and nationally to ensure programmatic alignment.
• Present and publish the learnings, best practices and outcomes of programs to be recognized as a leader in College Access, Success, and Leadership Development space.

Leadership

• Oversee four Teams (Growing team of 11 with 4-6 Direct Reports): Scholar Recruitment, Scholar Support, Educational Programs, and Mentoring to effectively execute the organizational strategic plan.
• In collaboration with the Program Team, Develop and monitor Team & Individual Goals to support achievement of annual organizational goals.
• Attract, develop, coach, and retain high-performance team members, empowering them to elevate their level of responsibility, span of control, and performance.
• Define staffing plans to achieve program goals and objectives and lead hiring decisions for new program staff.
• Work with the Director, Scholar Support to ensure efficient and impactful delivery of resource navigation and financial assistance.
• Work with the Director, Educational Programs to create a clear roadmap for improving programs based on culturally responsive pedagogy and leadership development.
• Work with programs team to create, enhance, and evaluate programming progress monitoring systems to better support the facilitation, collection, and sharing of knowledge generated by the programs.
• Participate in the budget development process and maintain a high level of fiscal responsibility.

Program Execution

• Identify critical success indicators for our programs and ensure data collection and reporting procedures are followed (via Salesforce, surveys, etc.).
• Understand change management best practices; ability to coach and develop others successfully through growth and change.
• Deliver a College Access program that guides students and families to their best match/fit universities with the least amount of debt.
• Host monthly to bi-monthly (every other month) Saturday Academies and an intensive four-six week Summer Learning program, both focused on the four programmatic pillars.
• Prepare Scholars to be Leaders and enter careers by providing career education, readiness, and exposure.
• Oversee and manage the LINK Scholarship Award process and dissemination (scholarships average $1500-$3000 annually per Scholar).

Collaboration and Partnerships

• Collaborate with CPS, Private and Parochial schools, and community-based organizations to recruit academically ambitious students into the program.
• Build relationships with Community Based Partner Organizations to support programmatic best practices and collaborative opportunities to support our Scholars.
• Work closely with the development team to engage Programs in our fundraising strategy.
• Participate in donor meetings, including presenting on our program model.
• Work closely with the Finance Department to budget and monitor programmatic operations to ensure sound fiscal and system management.
• Collaborate with development and marketing teams to support alignment regarding messaging about program purpose, goals, components, and outcomes.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required. Master’s or higher preferred.
• 8+ years of relevant Programmatic work experience in college access or success or other related educational areas.
  • Program Event management experience required.
  • Experience with curriculum design highly desirable.
  • Previous experience in working or leading mentor programming a plus.
  • Experience with case-management techniques preferred.
• A track record of effectively leading a performance and outcome-based program team.
  • A minimum of five (5) years:
    • Supervisory experience that has included full-time direct reports.
    • Budget development and monitoring experience.
• Strong experience using data to drive and achieve programmatic outcomes, programmatic improvement, and demonstrate impact, including survey design and analysis.
• Demonstrated ability to lead teams through the problem-solving and creative-thinking processes leading to the development and implementation of new approaches, systems, structures, and practices.
• Catholic, Urban Public School, and/or Charter School experience is a plus.
• Unwavering commitment to quality programs and excellence in organizational and project management with the ability to achieve strategic objectives, and manage a budget.
• Demonstrated experience working with electronic databases
  • Salesforce Experience preferred.
  • Experience using Project Management platforms to manage goal progress (preferably Basecamp).
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Ability to speak in public and engage all stakeholders (Scholars, Parents, Mentors, Volunteers, etc.)
• Excellent time management skills with proven ability to meet deadlines.
• Ability to function well in a high-paced and at times stressful environment.
• Ability to effectively manage multiple projects and teams simultaneously.
• Ability to work independently as well as on a team.
• Strong relationship and partnership cultivation skills to build rapport with existing and potential stakeholders.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite, Google Workspace, or similar software with the ability to learn new or updated software.

Characteristics

• Mission Driven: Exemplifies the LINK Unlimited Scholars’ mission, vision, and values and acts in accordance with all policies and procedures of the organization.
• Cheerful and welcoming demeanor.
• Strong work ethic.
• A self-starter, creative, and forward thinker.
• Must have the utmost integrity and an ability to process, protect and exercise discretion in handling confidential information and materials.
• Exercises good judgment with an ability to manage situations with tact and discretion.

Work Schedule

Full-Time, Monday through Friday, 9:00am-5:00pm, but often requires upwards of 50 hours per week. Hybrid schedule: remotely twice a week (Mondays & Fridays) and in-office Tuesday through Thursday. Programmatic work requires hours that support the schedule of our Scholars & Parents, which includes some evenings and weekends. So, candidates must also have flexibility to meet these scheduling needs.

Compensation

Salary range $125k-140k; to be determined based on experience and skills. Full-time employees are eligible for health, dental, and vision insurance, Retirement, PTO days, 8 Holidays, and a holiday shut down from Christmas Eve through New-Year’s day.

To Apply

Submit a cover letter, resume, and salary requirements to Dr. Toinette Gunn, President & CEO. Cover letters without salary requirements will not be considered.

LINK Unlimited Scholars is an equal opportunity employer.