Public affairs specialist Jobs in College Station, TX

Postsecondary Success Specialist

Agency: Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service

Department: 4-H Youth Development

Proposed Minimum Salary: Commensurate

Job Location: College Station, Texas

Job Type: Staff

Job Description:

Texas 4-H is the largest youth development organization in the state, welcoming young people ages 8 to 18 and serving over 500,000 members each year. With roots dating back to 1908, Texas 4-H empowers youth through a wide range of hands-on learning experiences, leadership opportunities, and community involvement. Whether in urban centers or rural communities, Texas 4-H provides projects and programs designed to match every interestincluding agriculture and livestock, STEM, healthy living, leadership, and natural resources.

From robotics to food science, fashion to photography, Texas 4-H helps kids and teens explore new passions, develop practical life skills, and connect with caring mentors. Supported by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and dedicated volunteers, Texas 4-H encourages youth to become confident, capable leaders who give back to their communities. With a proud history and a commitment to innovation, Texas 4-H continues to inspire and nurture generations of Texans.

Position Information

The Postsecondary Success Specialist is a grant-funded position designed to support the Rural Student Success Initiative's postsecondary completion and workforce readiness goals. The Postsecondary Success Specialist designs and implements regional strategic workplans for ensuring rural students' successful transition from high school to college, postsecondary degree/credential completion, and workforce readiness. The specialist also seeks community, state, and higher education partnerships to leverage existing regional assets and other statewide education initiatives.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Designs and implements regional workplans leading to improved postsecondary transition, retention and completion for rural students.
• Leverages postsecondary institutional partnerships to develop sustainable comprehensive postsecondary success strategies for rural students.
• Collaborates with project team members to develop measurable project goals and objectives and monitor progress toward achievement.
• Designs and delivers student workshops and programming events for rural incoming and current college students.
• Creates retention campaigns to reach rural students across multiple postsecondary institutions spanning statewide.
• Designs and delivers programming to connect students with internships, campus advisors, and career events to ensure students reach their long-term career goals.
• Coaches students to successfully navigate postsecondary campus resources including the financial aid office, academic advising, mental health services, and tutoring support services.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in a related field.
• Five years of related experience.
• Ability to leverage technology and social media tools to reach target audience.
• Ability to multitask and work cooperatively with others.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, presentation, analytical, interpersonal and organizational skills.
• Knowledge of word processing, presentation and spreadsheet applications.

Preferred Experience:

• Six or more years of relevant professional experience.
• Masters in higher education.
• Experience in postsecondary education settings.
• Familiarity in working with rural communities and under-served rural student populations.

Other Requirements:

• Must be able to travel statewide. This role is based in College Station, TX, with service locations across the state. The position requires regular travel to multiple service areas. Candidates residing outside of College Station may be considered for employment through an alternate work location agreement.

What You Need to Know

Position Funding: Salary for this position is competitive and commensurate with the selected candidate's qualifications and experience.

Flexible Work Arrangements: Flexible work schedules and remote work options may be available for this position, depending on the nature of the role and employee eligibility, in accordance with AgriLife Alternate Work Location Procedures.

Why Work at Texas A&M AgriLife?

When you choose to work for Texas A&M AgriLife, you become part of an organization that is an established leader in agriculture and life sciences with a wide range of capabilities to meet the needs of our statewide, national, and international constituents.

In addition, Texas A&M AgriLife offers a comprehensive benefit package including the following:

• Health, dental, vision, life and long-term disability insurance with Texas A&M AgriLife contributing to employee health and basic life premiums
• 12-15 days of annual paid holidays
• Up to eight hours of paid sick leave and at least eight hours of paid vacation each month
• Automatic enrollment in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas
• Employee Wellness Initiative for Texas A&M AgriLife

Applicant Instructions

Applications received by Texas A&M AgriLife must either have all job application data entered or a resume attached. Failure to provide all job application data or a complete resume could result in an invalid submission and a rejected application. We encourage all applicants to upload a resume or use a LinkedIn profile to prepopulate the online application.

All positions are security-sensitive. Applicants are subject to a criminal history investigation, and employment is contingent upon the institution's verification of credentials and/or other information required by the institution's procedures, including the completion of the criminal history check.

Equal Opportunity/Veterans/Disability Employer.