Career and Placement Coach, Law

Location: Remote 

Employment Type: Full Time, Exempt 

Salary Range: $80,700 - $88,770

Benefits: High-quality health and dental insurance, paid vacation, employer-matched retirement plan

The Organization

At Thrive Scholars, we provide high-achieving students from under-resourced communities the opportunities they need to thrive at top colleges and in meaningful careers.

Our comprehensive and data-driven program model focuses on the key inflection points that can be the difference between graduating from any college and graduating from a top college with the grades, degree, career skills, and network needed to thrive in any career. Thrive Scholars originated in Los Angeles as South Central Scholars (“SCS”) twenty years ago. Over this time, the organization has refined its program model and, in the last five years, has focused on expanding nationally; reaching more high-achieving students from under-resourced communities, growing the number of Scholars we serve; and deepening our program impact. Thrive Scholars has begun to grow its footprint with new summer program offerings in three additional cities. The organization has approximately 65 year-round employees and close to 150 summer employees.

The Career Development Team

At Thrive Scholars, we offer a transformative three-year career development program featuring personalized coaching, access to a vast professional network, and exclusive opportunities with corporate partners. Our specialized industry pathway model ensures tailored preparation around skills, knowledge, networking, and identity in Life Sciences & Healthcare, Engineering & Technology, Law, Consulting, and Finance. Scholars pursuing other fields benefit from our Core Pathway, providing career support in the scholar's chosen field of study.

Led by Pathway Directors and supported by expert staff, our teams deliver targeted coaching, cultivate partnerships, and host impactful events, empowering Scholars to build the skills and networks needed for long-term success. Together, they empower Scholars to build a strong foundation for economic mobility.

The Opportunity 

Thrive Scholars is looking to recruit a student-centered and results-driven Career Coach who will partner with the Career Pathway Director and Community Engagement Team to ensure Scholar exposure to career options, help them land excellent internships and jobs, and develop the knowledge and skills they need to be successful law school and/or graduate school applicants. In this role, you will provide high-quality, tailored individual career support to a caseload of scholars interested in pursuing Law School or other Professional Graduate Programs by leveraging your skills in rapport-building and coaching, developing effective and impactful relationships, and facilitating group programming. You will also tap into your knowledge of legal career paths and the skills and competencies required to be successful and thrive in the legal industry.

The Career Coach will report to the Career Pathway Director and work closely with other members of the Pathways team and the broader Career Development, Community Engagement, and program teams. This role will include up to two weeks of work at our Summer Academy sites and possible academic-year travel for campus or company visits.

To succeed in this role, candidates need a strong understanding of the college and internship experience for students pursuing careers in law, demonstrate knowledge of corporate talent requirements, have high emotional intelligence and motivational skills, and build rapport with students, corporate partners, and Thrive Scholar staff.

Key Responsibilities 

Case Management, Individual Scholar Coaching, and Support (60%):

GOAL: Ensure students are effectively exposed to opportunities within the legal industry, that they obtain excellent internships and jobs, and that they have the preparation to enter law school.

• Provide individual coaching and support to Law Pathway students, focusing on career exploration, career road mapping, skills development, applying for internships and jobs, application guidance for Law School and/or professional graduate programs, and developing the skills to succeed once employed. Given that our students are nationwide, coaching most often occurs virtually through in-depth video, phone, and email exchanges.
• As the primary relationship manager for students on the caseload, assess and triage the holistic needs of Scholars, including academic and socio-emotional success needs.
• Maintain records of all appointments, presentations, and services to students.

Internship and Job Recruitment (25%):

GOAL: Ensure Scholars successfully obtain internships and jobs that align with their Law career goals and position them for economic mobility.

• Partnering with the Career Pathway Director, corporate account managers, and the Employment Placement team, develop a keen understanding of the success profile sought by top law schools and legal employers, and effectively support the recruitment and preparation of Scholars for these opportunities.
• Provide coaching on resume and cover letter preparation, interview skills, and application guidance for Law School/Graduate school admissions, prepare Scholars for on-the-job success before and during internships/jobs.
• Provide individualized outreach to students using our Salesforce database.
• Strive towards department-identified metrics and goals for Scholar placement. 

Career Program Development, Implementation, and Support (15%):

GOAL: Partner within and beyond the Career Development team to ensure a successful and cohesive Scholar experience.

• Through events and panels, ensure that Scholars across all other pathways are exposed to and explore opportunities within the legal industry.
• In collaboration with others on the Career team, the Career Coach will have the opportunity to develop, implement, and support the core Thrive Scholars Career Development curriculum and programming, including Law programming, events, workshops, webinars, and produce lasting resources.
• Deliver relevant career development programming utilizing a Learning Management System as our curriculum hub and in-person at Summer Academy (approximately two weeks of total travel per summer).
• Partner with the Community Engagement team to ensure Scholars participate and benefit from high-impact relationships with industry mentors.

Qualifications and Experience
There are innumerable ways to learn, grow and excel professionally. We respect this when we review applications and take a broad look at the experience of each applicant. The qualifications and experiences listed below are intended as a guide; we do not expect candidates to check every box.  If you believe you can meet the expectations and responsibilities of this position, we want to get to know you and the unique strengths you will bring to the work.

Other job duties within the general scope of the role may be assigned.

• A Juris Doctor (JD) from an ABA-accredited law school, or equivalent experience coaching students through the law school and graduate school admissions process, including a deep understanding of application requirements
• Minimum one year of professional experience
• Results-driven with an ability to adapt your approach to achieve stated results
• Ability to build strong and trusting rapport with a diverse group of college students
• Strong knowledge of legal career paths and the employment landscape
• Deep understanding of the college-to-career journey for first-generation and students from economically disadvantaged communities
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Excellent analytical and organizational skills
• Capacity to balance multiple and varied tasks, meet deadlines, and use well-developed time management and organizational skills
• Experience with Canvas or other LMS
• Experience using a database for documentation and reporting (Salesforce preferred)

Equal Employment Opportunities:

Thrive Scholars provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment based on race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, national origin, sexual orientation, age, disability, or veteran status. We strongly encourage people of all backgrounds to apply.

For more information, please visit thrivescholars.org