Career Connected Pathway Specialist, ECCE

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is a district on the rise, serving over 325,000 students in 500+ schools and employing over 45,000 people, most of them teachers. CPS has set ambitious goals to ensure that every student, in every school and every neighborhood, has access to a world-class learning experience that prepares each for success in college, career, and civic life. Aligned with our transformed philosophy, we are steadfastly focused on ensuring that the District provides resources equitably to support every student, every school, and every community. Six core values guide the work we do every day for our students – student-centered, whole child, equity, academic excellence, community partnership, and continuous learning. Each role in the district supports our vision that every student deserves a rigorous, joyful, and equitable learning experience.

The Office of Early College & Career Education (ECCE) provides access to and support for rigorous, career-focused courses and experiences that align to create meaningful career pathways, beginning in elementary school into postsecondary. The programs in ECCE advance students' postsecondary success through earned college credit, professional credentials, and soft skills needed to succeed in college, civic life, and the 21st-century labor market. This includes leading the district's efforts in Career and Technical Education (CTE), early college, including dual credit, dual enrollment, and STEM programming at CPS's Early College STEM and STEAM Schools (ECSS), and work-based learning. The Career Connected Pathway Specialist role will report to the Manager of Career Connected Pathways. The Department of Early College and Career Education (ECCE) is housed within the Office of Career and College Success (OCCS). 

Job Summary: 

Reporting to the Manager of Career Connected Pathways, the Career Connected Pathway Specialist is responsible for implementing targeted strategies that prepare students to access and thrive in postsecondary career options. The primary responsibility is to provide direct services to high schools in order to advance a coherent and universal understanding of career readiness by tactically preparing and supporting students, teachers, counselors, and school leaders.  This includes procuring and coordinating work-based learning opportunities for students, ensuring students have access to advanced coursework and certification in CTE fields, and building operational capacity at the school to implement high-quality CTE and other career-connected learning. The Career Connected Pathway Specialist is based within schools and acts as a member of the school's leadership teams. This is a full-time, exempt position that will be paid for time worked on a salary basis.

The Career Connected Pathways Specialist will be held accountable for the following responsibilities:

• Represent ECCE as the school point-person for CTE programs and other career-connected learning school-based staff to the central office, area teams,  and  community (parents, external partners, etc.)

• Develop and implement the school-specific strategy for marketing and student recruiting, leveraging central office resources and team members, and working with school-based staff as needed.

• Collaborate with ECCE, OCCS, and school staff to provide direct student support for the implementation, improvement, and evaluation of OCCS activities, including Work-based Learning, Career and Technical Education programs, and Early College coursework. 

• Support the design and execution of capstones, college & career fairs, and other career pathway events at their school.

• Support program performance and improvement through strategic operational support that aligns with the indicators of high-quality CTE and other ECECE programming, CPS vision, including the collection and analysis of data and student outcomes. 

• Support annual budgeting and expenditure efforts, working with school-based staff(e.g., school business operations administrators) to monitor purchase orders and ensure funds are used in a timely and appropriate manner to support the delivery of CTE instruction and other ECCE programs.

• Identify and coordinate with the central office to address teacher needs (e.g., propose professional development topics for the central office to facilitate, support CTE and Early College teacher recruitment efforts, disseminate CPS policies and procedures, etc.)

• Other Duties as assigned.

In order to be successful and achieve the above responsibilities, the Career Pathway Specialist must possess the following qualifications: 
 

Education Required: 

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university

• Master’s degree preferred
   

 Experience Required: 

• Minimum of three (3) years of related youth development and/or career programming experience, including facilitating collaboration within and among businesses, post-secondary institutions, schools, and community-based organizations, required

• Minimum of two (2) years of experience in college and career-related work, outreach, recruitment, and engagement, and experience in a supervisory role is preferred

• Experience with program evaluation and improvement, working in school environments, and/or leading and executing large-scale projects and programs is preferred 

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: 

• Understanding the dynamics and challenges of collaborating with different entities, including businesses, post-secondary institutions, schools, and community-based organizations.

• Familiarity with organizational structures and hierarchies to effectively navigate and engage stakeholders.

• Ability to work directly with students to support them in accessing and completing early college, work-based learning, and career coursework.

• Ability to identify opportunities for collaboration and foster mutual benefit among different organizations.

• Knowledge of college and career pathways, including educational requirements, career options, and industry trends.

• Understanding of effective outreach, recruitment, and engagement strategies to connect with diverse populations, including students, principals, counselors, parents, and community members.

• Ability to develop and implement plans to promote college and career-related opportunities.

• Knowledge of available resources and programs for college and career planning and development.

• Ability to build partnerships and collaborate with educational institutions, employers, and community organizations to enhance college and career opportunities.

• Knowledge of basic program evaluation methodologies, data collection techniques, and data analysis.

• Ability to assess program effectiveness, identify improvement areas, and develop enhancement strategies.

• Analytical skills to inform decision-making and program improvement efforts.

Conditions of Employment

As a condition of employment with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), employees are required to:

• Establish/Maintain Chicago Residency - Employees are required to live within the geographic boundaries of the City of Chicago within six months of their CPS hire date and maintain residency throughout their employment with the district. The Chicago residency requirement does not apply to temporary/part-time positions; however, all CPS employees must be residents of Illinois.