Upward Bound Advisor (Updated 9/3/25)

Position Title: Upward Bound Advisor (Updated 9/3/25)

Department: Ctr Student Success and Retention

Advertised Pay: Upper $40,000's

Campus Location: Washburn University

Application Deadline: Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Interviews will begin immediately for qualified candidates, and the search will conclude once a successful candidate is selected.

Position Summary: Washburn University’s Upward Bound Program is directly sponsored by the Vice-President for Academic Affairs. The Upward Bound Advisor reports to the Upward Bound Program Director and is responsible for providing individual guidance to 60 low-income, first-generation, or at-risk students at Topeka High School, representing youth in under-served communities, as they navigate graduation requirements and postsecondary entry and completion. This is a grant-funded position, contingent upon the continued availability of grant funding.

Washburn University is a teaching-focused, student-centered, public institution located in the metropolitan setting of Topeka that has earned national recognition for its high-impact programs for first-generation students. Washburn has a student body of over 5,500 undergraduate, graduate, and law students, a significant and growing number of whom are first-generation and Pell-Grant eligible. The University has created educational pathways for all students to be successful and achieve their educational goals.

Washburn is dedicated to recruiting and retaining a dynamic faculty, staff, and student body and cultivating a robust learning and working environment and curriculum. We employ more than one thousand faculty and staff on our campuses throughout Topeka and strive to offer competitive wages, an excellent benefits program, and a supportive culture and a healthy work/life balance. Washburn seeks to create an environment that reflects our core values for creating positive IMPACT: inclusion, modernization, partnership, achievement, community and transformation. In 2024, Washburn was recognized as one of the best colleges in the nation to work for, according to Great Colleges to Work For® program.

Essential Functions:
• Provide individual guidance to approximately 60 low-income, first-generation or at-risk students as they navigate high school graduation, postsecondary education entry and completion

• Recruit eligible participants, design, and maintain Individual Success Plans

• Continually monitor and document participants’ academic progress

• Plan, implement and attend after-school tutoring; Saturday Academy, Summer Academy, and other key Washburn Upward Bound events and opportunities

• Advise students in course selection to ensure their on-time high school graduation and completion of a college prep pathway

• Plan and implement workshops and activities that support skills development, motivation, and College, Career and Life Readiness

• Meet regularly with Topeka High School/USD501 counselors, teachers, social workers, and other staff to support student academic progress and project objectives

• Meet regularly with parents/guardians; design/present at parent/guardian workshops; and assist with community referrals for parents as needed

• The advisor regularly works with parents and participants who do not speak English fluently, and many are Spanish speakers, translation skills may be necessary.

• Develop and maintain relationships with community partners for referrals

• Establish and maintain required data records of project and participant activities, including student eligibility, progress, and academic performance; student, parent, and community partner engagement and referrals; and other project management record-keeping

• Ensure documentation is collected at the time of service and enter records for participants

• Perform additional job-related duties as assigned or as appropriate.

Required Qualifications:
• Bachelor’s degree in liberal arts, education, behavioral/social sciences, social work or a related field
• Minimum of two years of experience advising, mentoring or delivering academic support services to low-income, first-generation students
• Knowledge of high school graduation requirements
• Knowledge of college entrance requirements and processes
• Ability to display sensitivity to the educational and psychological issues affecting low-income, first-generation students
• Ability to foster and maintain positive and collaborative relationships with internal and external partners, particularly parents/guardians
• Proven effective interpersonal skills with the ability to interact professionally with the public and coworkers
• Effective organizational, communication, documentation, Microsoft Office and attention to detail skills
• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously

Physical Requirements:
• Some early mornings, evenings and weekend work is required
• Position is primarily stationed at Topeka High School
• Some travel is required, which may include overnight stays during the program, dependent on funding availability

Preferred Qualifications:
• Master’s Degree
• Experience working in a TRIO program
• Bilingual, Spanish
• Professional and/or personal experience in overcoming barriers similar to those of Project participants

Exempt, Full time, Background Check Required