LINK Unlimited Scholars (LINK) is where hard work meets heart work. The work is demanding and fast-paced, but deeply rewarding. We push ourselves because our Scholars deserve nothing less. If that doesnt scare you AND youre adaptable, driven, and ready to invest in changing the trajectory of our Scholars lives and our citys future, then we invite you to join our team!

We LINK students who have been historically underrepresented in higher education, especially Black students, with the resources and support needed for success as they advance to, through, and beyond college.

Chicagos educational system amplifies persistent inequities, creating a significant college completion gap for historically underrepresented students, particularly Black students. LINKs goal is to mitigate the effect of these systemic and structural forces by improving and increasing access to educational opportunities and college completion for students who have been historically underrepresented in higher education, especially Black youth in Chicago. By equipping our Scholars with the knowledge, skills, resources, and social equity that further college completion and career placement, LINK is increasing the economic mobility and stability of historically underrepresented students and cultivating a diverse leadership pipeline for our city.

Since 1966, we have successfully supported over 2,500 low- to moderate-income students. In the 2025-2026 academic year, we will serve 300+ Scholars (Jr. LINK, High School & Collegiate Scholars). Our Scholars represent more than 60 Chicagoland neighborhoods, with a focus on ten South and West Side communities: Auburn Gresham, Austin, Bronzeville, Englewood, Garfield Park, Greater Grand Crossing, North Lawndale, Roseland, South Shore, and Washington Park.

Position Summary

The Director, Outreach & Enrollment leads the strategy, planning, and execution of LINKs outreach, recruitment, admissions, and onboarding process. This role ensures organizational sustainability by recruiting and enrolling mission- and value-aligned Scholars and families. The Director manages recruitment pipelines, application and admissions processes, Scholar/family onboarding, and community partnerships to meet annual enrollment goals.

Outreach & Enrollment Strategy

• Lead the strategy, planning and execution of LINKs student outreach, recruitment and enrollment process that yields 75-100+ new mission aligned Scholars annually (Jr. LINK & High School Fellowships).
  • Develop and maintain school partnerships to support our Scholars and programming (including recruitment efforts, high school options for our middle school Scholars, partnership MOUs, etc.).
    • Manage the strategy for onboarding, offboarding, and deepening school partnerships, including the MOU/Partnership Agreement and process.
  • Collaborate with CPS, Private and Parochial schools, and community-based organizations to recruit academically ambitious students into the program.
  • Facilitate events and programming to garner interest for new applicants.
• Ensure our Scholars reflect the communities we serve by ensuring student applications and enrollment from each of our 10 focused neighborhoods.
• In alignment with organizational annual goals, establish annual team goals and strategies to achieve them.
• Stay apprised of best practices in the fields of recruitment and admissions.

Data Analysis & Strategic Direction

• Maintain and analyze recruitment and enrollment data to track progress toward goals.
• Develop reports to monitor application trends, yield rates, and enrollment outcomes.
• Use data to refine recruitment strategies and ensure equitable access.
• Maintain accurate data in Salesforce and other systems to monitor recruitment & enrollment progress.
• Use data to inform program improvements, report outcomes, and guide strategic decision-making.
• Design feedback strategies to gather stakeholder feedback to inform recruitment and engagement efforts.
• Manage the collection and organization of data to evaluate and measure outcomes.
  • Maintain data relating to school demographics, point of contact, academic successes, etc. for all attended high school fairs and partners.
  • Identify and recommend key recruitment and engagement indicators and outcomes.
  • Track and report regularly on outcomes of recruitment & engagement efforts.
  • Utilize and interpret data for program and process evaluation and decision making so as to make recommendations for continuous improvements.
  • Maintain student/family and partner information in Salesforce.
• Translate findings from outcomes, survey data, and stakeholder feedback into actionable insights.

Stakeholder Engagement & Partnerships

• Develop and maintain a communications plan and cadence for check-ins with schools, families, and community partners.
• Build and steward long-term school and community relationships to strengthen pipelines.
• Collaborate with civic and community partners to increase organizational visibility and expand Scholar recruitment networks.

Leadership & Supervision

• Collaborate with 23 Program Coordinators in a project-based manner, providing clear direction, coaching, and day-to-day oversight to ensure project plans are executed with excellence, on time, and aligned to LINKs goals, while also fostering Coordinators professional growth.
• Collaborate with peer Directors and co-lead initiatives to ensure Scholars experience holistic, seamless support across programs (e.g. Scholar Orientations, Kick-Off, Scholar Celebration).
• Create detailed project plans, timelines, and budgets, ensuring projects are completed on time and within scope.
• Work collaboratively with departments to ensure project success.
• Clearly communicate organizational priorities and translate them into actionable tasks in guiding team collaboration and Scholar outcomes.
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