Summary

optiMize is the University of Michigan College of LSA’s social innovation and entrepreneurship department, responsible for running the country’s largest student-led social innovation project incubator as well as UM’s fastest-growing community college transfer program.

Our mission is to cultivate a community that helps everyone ask themselves, ‘Why not me?’ This applies just as much to helping prospective transfer students feel a sense of belonging at UM as it does to helping students from all backgrounds believe in their ability to create projects that change the world. Please visit our website optimizemi.org to learn more about our programs, the projects we’ve supported, and our guiding principles.

With more than 1200 students engaged annually from UM and partner community colleges, optiMize is one of UM’s most diverse communities—63% of participants identify as people of color, 52% as women or nonbinary, 33% as community college transfer students, and a signifcant number as student athletes. Every leader in our organization is committed to supporting a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive campus.

The Community Partnerships Manager is one of optiMize’s most critical leaders. This role is responsible for scaling optiMize’s community college transfer programs, which are already the largest in the College of LSA and aspire to scale 10x larger in the next five years. In three years of piloting, our student-led transfer initiatives have helped increase transfer rates from partner schools by an average of ~150%. We believe the potential for further growth is even larger. Our ambition is to build an industry-leading community college transfer program that in five years will be emulated by peers nationwide—all by supporting a student-led community that co-creates the solutions we need.

A successful leader in this role:

• believes in students’ ability to create change, and is willing to collaborate with student leaders as equal partners in all endeavors.
• is deeply passionate about student development, equitable access to education, and relationship building.
• knows how to build for scale, move fast, and iterate.
• shares our ambition to build a best-in-class community college transfer program and is willing to do the work necessary to achieve it.
• has a track record of managing 6-figure annual budgets, developing high impact programs, and supporting fundraising efforts.
• can manage and mentor a large team of student staff who share equal decision making authority with full-time staff.
• can consistently serve as one of UM’s most prominent spokespeople to senior administrators, program leads, and students at community colleges.
• builds trusting relationships and generates buy-in from all stakeholders to create sustainable impact.
• recognizes, appreciates, and builds around others’ assets and achievements.

This position reports to the Director for Social Innovation for the College of LSA, which manages the optiMize department and all social innovation programs for the College.

Please include a cover letter that begins by explaining your personal motivation for doing this work with optiMize. We’ll also be interested in why your skills and experiences make you the right person for the job. Cover letters may be addressed to Director for Social Innovation and optiMize.

Thank you for your interest in this work — we look forward to reading your application!

Responsibilities*

Leadership of optiMize Community Partnerships Division (30%)

• With Director, develop strategic plan and budget for all optiMize Community Partnerships and Programs
• Lead the implementation of optiMize’s strategic plan for scaling Community Partnerships and Programs to serve 1000+ students annually from all 28 community colleges in Michigan
• Lead the Community Partnerships team in designing, developing, and implementing all optiMize Community Partnerships and Programs, including optiMize moMentum, aMplify, Transfer Bridge Fellowship, Bold Futures Camp, Campus Innovators Fellowship, and the Comprehensive Studies Living/Learning Social Innovation Challenge.
• Assess existing programs and develop new partnerships and programs as opportunities and necessities arise. Develop and create annual reports for foundations and donors on behalf of optiMize community partnerships. Prepare fundraising collateral materials and participate in donor engagement for optiMize Community Partnerships initiatives.
• Represent optiMize and the University in engagements with community partners and funders. Manage relationships and collaborations with community colleges and other 4-year institutions, including ongoing collaborations with Washtenaw Community College, Henry Ford College, Grand Rapids Community College, Schoolcraft College, Eastern Michigan University, and Wayne State University.
• Lead entrepreneurship programming for high schoolers in the Southeast Michigan area on behalf of the College of LSA including the Bold Futures summer program, Heroic Futures, and Campus Innovators Program.
• Share oversight and responsibility, with the Director, for all administrative, operational, and financial matters for the project and liaise with campus and community partners across all colleges and universities - including external university’s campus chapters and program support at community colleges.
• Creating and develop, with other optiMize staff, an anti-racism curriculum and educational opportunities for student leaders and fellows to support the growth, adjustment, and advocacy for our diverse student population and to foster an inclusive community
• Steward financial resources and partnerships
• Develop a model for using student co-curricular communities as a way to encourage and support the College’s goal of sparking an increase in transfer students from community colleges as well as recruiting a diverse student population interested in the liberal arts
• Create and manage systems for collecting, organizing, and safekeeping participant data

Supervision and Oversight of Program Staff and Volunteers (25%)

• Hire, train, and supervise all temporary staff in the Community Partnerships division
• Develop on-boarding and training processes for new and continuing staff

Program communications and engagement (15%)

• Maintain collaborative relationships and provide day-to-day support for colleges and universities across the state of Michigan participating in optiMize programming
• Assist in the recruitment of community college and university fellows across the collaborative campuses
• Develop strategic messaging campaigns around access, equity, justice, inclusion, and community partnerships
• Hold workshops and events for a range of stakeholders, both at U-M and out in various partner communities

Direct Mentorship of optiMize Student Participants (15%)

• Provide mentorship to students involved in optiMize community partnerships programs
• Provide mentorship and support to community college students interested in transferring to U-M
• Advise and support caseload of diverse undergraduate students in optiMize
• Orient students to academic programs and university services
• Mentor student staff working with partner programs at Wayne State, Eastern Michigan and Michigan State as well as any additional interested colleges or universities

Liaison to University Units (10%)

• Establish effective working relationships with partnering transfer student programming units throughout the university
• Develop communication plan to share information among optiMize and other units
• Serve on committees in LSA when requested
• Represent optiMize locally, state-wide, and nationally
• Manage optiMize contributions to the Transfer Bridges to the Humanities @ Michigan initiative

Professional Development 5%

• Attend workshops, trainings, institutes, and conferences related to access and equity in higher education, community colleges, transfer bridges, the profession, and optiMize mission
• Stay current on research, scholarship, and best practices related to the liberal arts and sciences, higher education, and position specific requirements

Required Qualifications*

• Bachelor’s degree
• 3-5 years of work experience in higher education
• Experience working with programs that serve transfer students or community college students
• Experience with strategic direction for a unit or program
• Experience working with external partners
• Experience managing projects that include a wide range of highly engaged stakeholders and participants
• Experience managing a budget for a project or program
• Willingness to regularly work nights and weekends, adopt a flexible working schedule, and travel around the state of Michigan to visit community college partners, comprising 10-25% of monthly working time depending on the needs of the unit.

Desired Qualifications*

• 5+ years of relevant experience
• Experience working in a social enterprise, nonprofit, or other social impact-focused organization
• Experience growing and scaling a program

Additional Information

As one of the world’s great liberal arts colleges, LSA pushes the boundaries of what is understood about the human experience and the natural world, and we foster the next generation of rigorous and empathetic thinkers, creators, and contributors to the state of Michigan, the nation, and the world.

To learn more about diversity, equity, and inclusion in LSA, please visit lsa.umich.edu/lsa/dei.

To learn more about LSA’s Mission, Vision and Values, please visit lsa.umich.edu/strategicvision.

U-M EEO/AA Statement

The University of Michigan is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.