The Organization: Merit America The American economy is broken. Today, 53 million working adults–nearly half of the U.S. workforce–do not earn a living wage. These talented workers have few options to advance: college is too long and expensive, full-time boot camp programs don’t offer enough flexibility, and online courses don’t have the structure or support to translate learning into a new career. The result? Talented workers, disproportionately people of color and women, get stuck in low-wage roles with no way to build a better life for themselves and their families. Merit America is a national nonprofit that creates pathways to family-sustaining careers for Americans stuck in low-wage work. Our fast, flexible solutions are built for working adults: We start by analyzing tens of millions of job postings to identify in-demand, high-paying tech careers and then work with industry-recognized partners to train for these roles with part-time programs that combine flexible online learning with best-in-class coaching. Finally, we support our learners in their job search, helping them connect with a broad constellation of local and national employers such as JPMorgan Chase and Infosys to land higher-earning, family-sustaining jobs. Merit America is on a mission to build a scalable pathway for workers to join the middle class through merit, not money. Since our founding in 2018, we’ve generated a projected $1 billion in near-term wage gains for our learners. About the Role: At Merit America, the Admissions Team is responsible for helping to identify and prepare applicants for life-changing careers. We are seeking an Admissions Advisor who will be integral to our ability to serve twice as many learners in 2025. The primary mission of the Admissions Advisor is to support an exceptional learner experience from initial application through program acceptance, driving operational excellence through the effective use and creation of tools and processes. This role is indispensable in selecting thousands of learners from across the country to participate in our rigorous training program, which offers life-changing career opportunities. The Advisor role has three main functional areas: Applicant Communication, Applicant Operations, and Event Execution. These functional areas directly contribute to the applicant conversion rate and ensure a phenomenal applicant experience. The Admissions Advisor will play a key role in supporting Merit America's scale, directly ensuring the organization’s ability to serve 10,000 learners annually. This is an ideal role for those seeking to make a meaningful direct impact on the lives of individuals facing systemic barriers and to help build a fast-growing nonprofit startup. The Admissions Advisor is non-exempt and will report directly to the Lead Admissions Advisor and works primarily with the program team across Merit America. What You’ll be Doing: The functional areas and responsibilities of the Admissions Advisor will include, but are not limited to, the following: Applicant Communication 40%: Our Admissions Advisors are the first point of contact for prospective learners, setting the tone for their entire journey with Merit America. Through prompt and accurate responses to inquiries about eligibility, program details, assessment processes, and more, advisors ensure that applicants have all the information they need to make informed decisions. By maintaining timely, clear, and actionable communication via email and phone, they help build trust and confidence in our program. Effective applicant communication directly impacts our conversion rates, and informed and engaged applicants are more likely to complete the application process and join our programs. Responsibilities - - Responding to Inquiries: - Answer all inquiries regarding eligibility, general program questions, application status, and Device Grants. This involves providing applicants with timely, thorough, and actionable communications, ensuring they have all the information needed to proceed through the admissions process. - Email and Call Management: - Serve as the primary point of contact for applicant inquiries via inbound and outbound calls through Talkdesk, as well as email communication via Intercom. This includes owning responses, maintaining applicant inquiries, looping in other relevant parties as needed, and ensuring that all communications are handled efficiently and professionally. - Overall Communication Quality: - Ensure that Merit America applicants experience top-notch communication and service as they enter our admission funnel. This involves providing applicants with consistent, high-quality interactions at every touchpoint. Applicant Operations 40%: Admissions Advisors also play a crucial role in the operational aspects of the admissions process. This includes facilitating track switch requests, reactivating applications, and maintaining accurate data in Salesforce. By managing these tasks efficiently, advisors ensure that the admissions process runs smoothly and that all applicants receive the support they need to progress through each stage. Their attention to detail and commitment to maintaining up-to-date records are vital in keeping our operations streamlined and effective. This operational excellence is essential for internal efficiency and providing a seamless experience for applicants, further enhancing our conversion rates. Responsibilities - - Application Management: - Facilitate application reactivations, ensuring applicants can re-engage with their application process smoothly and effectively. - Handle track switch requests both pre-acceptance and post-acceptance, ensuring applicants are placed in the tracks that best suit their needs and qualifications. - Data Management: - Maintain accurate and up-to-date data in Salesforce, including the admissions status for all learners in the funnel. This involves tracking applicants' progress from the initial application through all phases of the admissions process until they are enrolled in the program. - Comprehensive Support: - Manage the transition of applicants through the entire admissions process, ensuring they receive the support and information needed to move from application to enrollment. Event execution 20%: Hosting and facilitating events such as weekly open house webinars and monthly program prep events are integral to our engagement strategy. These events provide prospective and admitted learners with valuable insights into our programs and allow them to interact directly with our team. Admissions Advisors are responsible for successfully executing these events, ensuring they run smoothly and effectively address attendees' questions and concerns. By delivering high-quality events, advisors help increase applicant interest and commitment, thereby boosting our conversion rates and enhancing the overall applicant experience. Responsibilities - - Webinars and Events: - Host weekly open house webinars to provide prospective applicants with detailed information about the program. This includes preparing materials, presenting information, and addressing any questions from attendees. - Host monthly Program Prep Events to help new enrollees prepare for the program. This involves organizing the event, presenting key information, and answering any final questions before the program begins. What Makes a Successful Candidate: We recognize that some individuals from underrepresented backgrounds may hesitate to apply if they don’t meet 100% of the listed qualifications. Please don’t let that discourage you from applying! We value the unique skills, experiences, and perspectives that each applicant brings, and we encourage you to apply if you believe your background demonstrates the required skills and competencies: Must Haves for all roles at Merit America: - Committed to Merit America’s mission to pave pathways to family-sustaining careers, break the poverty cycle, and create upward mobility for low-wage workers - Demonstrated history of embodying our values, which inform our work and drive our organization's culture - Shared sense of responsibility and ownership for our collective work in making a positive impact on the community we support, true to our value of Win & Lose Together - Committed to continuous learning and growth in advancing inclusive excellence and closing gaps across lines of difference - Passionate about fostering a workplace culture that embraces and values individual differences, aligned with our core value of inclusivity Must Haves for this role: - Operational Excellence: Ability to manage your own schedule and balance multiple demands, with demonstrated success working in fast-paced environments, solving problems creatively, and delivering measurable results - Conduct & Communication: Exceptional interpersonal skills and a collaborative approach; ability to communicate effectively and confidently, both verbally and in writing, are essential. - Entrepreneurial Drive: Resourcefulness, agility, and comfort working in ambiguous, quickly changing environments, including eagerness to wear multiple hats as needed and to help shape our start-up’s future - Relationship-Building: Strong interpersonal and communication skills and ability to form trust-based relationships with applicants and other stakeholders - Lifelong learning: Commitment to lifelong learning and ongoing personal and professional development; openness to feedback and relentless pursuit of improvement - Social-Impact Mindset: Desire to work directly with underserved populations and meaningfully improve their lives, and experience driving a “double bottom line” in terms of producing business and mission impact - Experience with Salesforce or other CRM platforms - Proficient with Google workspace (Google sheets, docs, etc) - Experience leading/presenting to large groups of people in a virtual setting - Commitment to lifelong learning and ongoing personal and professional development - Prior experience in workforce development, edTech, or equivalent training programs Other Logistics - This position is full-time: 4-day work week (Fridays are an operating day if there is a holiday closure during the week) - Location: Remote - Salary : $65,410 Our goal is to have competitive and equitable compensation. We have a market-based compensation approach, which means we benchmark each role from reputable data sources. We compare our benchmarks against similarly sized non-profit organizations with comparable annual budgets and geographical areas. We pay the same rate for the same roles and adjust to comply with statutory mandates. We take care of our employees by providing the following perks and benefits (please note that some of the benefits do not apply to temporary employees): - Medical, Dental and Vision insurance (100% Paid Employee Only Coverage) - Flexible Spending Account and Health Savings Account - Dependent care Flexible Spending Account - Health Reimbursement Account fully funded by Merit - Education & personal development reimbursement - Catalog of courses for professional learning and development - Short and long-term disability - Unlimited vacation (after a 90-day introductory period) - Paid Parental Leave and Adoption benefits (after 1 year of employment) - 11 federally recognized holidays - 2 week holiday office closure in December/January - 401(k) retirement plan with automatic Merit contribution - Wellness Benefits/Wellness Resources - Discount perks at work program - Phone/technology stipend - Home office setup stipend - Affinity groups and community building via virtual, in-person, and/or regional meetups *Eligibility for some benefits may vary based on employment status, full-time or part-time. Eligibility will be outlined during the hiring process. Remote Work & Sponsorship Candidates must reside within the 50 states or District of Columbia and have full authorization to work in the 50 U.S. states & the District of Columbia (international work abroad, including the U.S. territories (Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, and other islands are excluded). In addition, Merit America doesn't offer employment visa sponsorship. Equal Opportunity Statement Building an inclusive, high-performing team that is diverse across lines of personal identity is integral to our success and we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. This means we do not discriminate against any job applicant or employee because of their race, ethnicity, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This applies to all terms and conditions of employment. We actively strive and evolve to develop and maintain workspaces that are fully inclusive. We encourage candidates from underrepresented groups to apply. Still excited about our work? You can learn more about our work in this video we made with our founding partner, Google. Fair Chance Ordinance Applicants who have arrest or conviction records and are in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County will be considered in accordance with the state’s fair chance ordinance law. Employment under the ordinance includes part-time work, seasonal work, contract work, contingent work, work on commission, and work through the services of a temporary or employment agency. E-Verify Statement This employer participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S. If E-Verify cannot confirm that you are authorized to work, this employer is required to give you written instructions and an opportunity to contact Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or Social Security Administration (SSA) so you can begin to resolve the issue before the employer can take any action against you, including terminating your employment. Employers can only use E-Verify once you have accepted a job offer and completed the I-9 Form.