Position:
Location:
Project Associate
Brooklyn, New York
Overview
Graduate NYC (GNYC) is a collaborative effort of the New York City Department of Education
(DOE), the City University of New York (CUNY), and various community-based organizations to
improve high school and college outcomes for all New York City students. GNYC was founded
in 2010 with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and its work is based on the
premise that only coordinated, citywide efforts targeted to increase college completion will
enable a significant shift in local college readiness and completion rates. During its initial
planning period, GNYC worked with these city agencies and organizations to develop an
ambitious set of shared goals to double the number of college-ready high school graduates and
college graduates from CUNY by 2020.
GNYC convenes and engages the local college success community while leading projects that
are intended to catalyze and support efforts within and across institutions to increase college
degree completion. The work of GNYC is built upon the belief that a college degree can be a
driver of social mobility and financial stability, particularly for low-income young people, and
ensuring more young people complete them is critical to the long-term health of this city. GNYC
focuses its efforts within four primary impact areas, which include:




Identifying, Promoting & Scaling Best Practices with Colleges, Schools & CBOs
Data Sharing, Research & Policy
College Planning, Advisement & Success (NYC College Line)
Academic Readiness
Position Description
It is an exciting time to join the growing team at Graduate NYC. The GNYC Project Associate
(PA) will have the opportunity to support multiple projects to spur increases in local rates of
college readiness and completion and to raise the profile of our work in New York City. S/he will
provide support to a number of GNYC projects and initiatives, while gaining a deeper
understanding of local and national organizations and efforts aimed at increasing college
readiness and degree completion, as well as their impact on students. The PA will also manage
GNYC’s organizational communications via the website, blog, social media, and email.
Additionally, the PA will learn more about the development process and related fundraising
activities. This is an excellent position for a highly motivated individual to learn and grow.
Primary Responsibilities
Specifically, the PA will split his/her time supporting, managing, and/or coordinating the
following projects and activities:
1. Project & Team Support: The PA’s support is critical to the successful operations of
GNYC’s multiple projects and initiatives. The PA will support projects in different ways
based on needs, including but not limited to scheduling meetings, communicating with
partners, coordinating hiring, conducting research and analyses, identifying new
opportunities, planning and execution of events, managing correspondence,
documentation, ordering and expense management, and support of the GNYC executive
Director. Through this work, the PA will become very familiar with many of the projects
within the GNYC portfolio.
2. GNYC Communications: The PA will manage the redesign and launch of the new
GNYC website, including the new GNYC blog, working closely with all GNYC team
members on content. S/he will be responsible for managing all GNYC email/mailing lists,
email blasts, communication received via the website, as well as GNYC’s Twitter
account.
3. Fundraising: The PA will be responsible for supporting GNYC’s fundraising efforts with
the executive director. This will include drafting and editing proposals, sending
acknowledgement letters, and preparing materials for funder meetings and follow-up.
Through these efforts, the PA will become familiar with the development process and
fundraising practices.
Reporting to the GNYC executive director and working closely with the entire GNYC team, the
PA will be responsible for leading the development, launch, and implementation of the projects
as described above to deliver on established goals for all work within his/her portfolio.
Qualifications & Core Competencies
Required
 A commitment to supporting college readiness & success for all students and addressing
achievement gaps; dedication to the mission of Graduate NYC
 Excellent interpersonal, organizational, and written and verbal communication skills
 Strong analytical ability and highly detail-oriented
 Ability to communicate and interact appropriately and easily with multiple individuals,
organizations, and across sectors
 Demonstrated ability to multi-task and produce deliverables within given deadlines;
results orientation
 Proven capacity to work with diverse constituencies to achieve a common agenda
 Ability to thrive in a small team environment as part of a much larger system
 Ability to take direction and work as part of a team, as well as to take initiative and work
independently
 Bachelor’s degree
 A minimum of two years of related experience within an education organization
 Computer skills should include MS Office suite (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint)
Desired
 Knowledge of the organization of CUNY and the NYC DOE
 Comprehensive knowledge of achievement gaps and educational equity issues
 Awareness of and experience with the fundraising/development process
 Professional experience with social media
Additional Information
Salary: Commensurate with experience; full benefits package.
Term: We are looking to fill this position as quickly as possible with the best candidate for the
role. This position is dependent upon grant funding.
To Apply: Please submit a resume and thoughtful, targeted cover letter, outlining how your
skills, experience, and interests meet the qualifications of the position described here to the
attention of Lisa Castillo Richmond, Executive Director, Graduate NYC at
GNYCemployment@gmail.com. Please use the subject line “GNYC Project Associate” and
within the body of the email state how you learned of this job opportunity. This position will
remain open until filled with the best candidate.
Graduate NYC and the Research Foundation of the City University of New York are committed
to equal opportunity and affirmative action, and strive to attract and nurture a talented and
diverse
staff.
CUNY’s
Diversity
Vision
Statement
can
be
found
here:
http://www.cuny.edu/about/administration/offices/ohrm/diversity/DiversityActionPlan/DiversityVis
ionStatement.html