1:1 Mentorship Program Lead

Job description

About Indigo Indigo Research is dedicated to transforming the education landscape by pairing high school students with research mentors to complete and publish research projects. Whether in-person or online, we aim to deliver transformative educational experiences and cultivate the next generation of scholars. Role Overview The 1:1 Program Lead is a key member of the Operations Team responsible for the end-to-end planning, execution, and student success across our 1:1 Online Research Mentorship programs (Explorer, Researcher, and Innovator). Operating in a 100% virtual environment, the PL manages bespoke, long-term student journeys ranging from 12 weeks to 50+ weeks. This role focuses on mentor matching, tracking multi-milestone research deliverables, maintaining parent/family communications, facilitating academic credits, and supporting publication/competition submissions. The 1:1 PL must be highly organized, proactive, and comfortable working across different stakeholders and in ambiguous, fast-paced environments. They will directly oversee Operations staff, ensuring that team KPIs are met and that students continue to succeed as Indigo expands. Key Responsibilities Team Leadership & Operations Oversight Oversee Mentor Operations Lead, supervising the execution of the end-to-end Mentor Lifecycle. Ensure accountability for mentor KPI tracking systems, mentor performance reviews, recertification efforts (IRB & Publication Support), capacity forecasting, and reduction of mentor-related escalations. Oversee Junior Operations Coordinator, providing direction on mentor allocations, ensuring target turnarounds, administrative support SOPs, database accuracy, and student progress follow-ups. Align mentor management systems and allocation pipelines with 1:1 program outcomes to eliminate bottlenecks and operational friction for workflow optimization. Project & Student Journey Management Ensure a stellar program experience across all three 1:1 tiers (Explorer: 10 hrs / 12 wks; Researcher: 20 hrs / 23 wks; Innovator: 45 hrs / 50 wks). Implement a 5-star outcome plan, increasing student success rates and achieving higher levels of student outcomes while maintaining current student outcome rates. Act as the primary escalation contact to handle and resolve student, family, or mentor conflicts, maintaining high satisfaction and delivering practical solutions. Oversee escalation ops, including devising systems to support tracking, analyzing performance, interventions, and ways to lower or eliminate escalations entirely. Mentor & Stakeholder Management Review mentor KPIs and PRs to discuss performance, share best practices, and drive continuous improvement. Provide operational support, guidelines, and Checkpoint System tracking. Identify scalable systems for improved mentor management, eliminating manual operations and giving mentors more high-touch opportunities for feedback and support. Work with Indigo staff to convene Academic and Scientific Review Committees, identifying areas of improvement and achieving progress against priorities (e.g. AI policies, academic integrity). Operations & Continuous Improvement Work with Operations Lead to monitor student progress via tracking dashboards, coordinating with Student Success and Indigo Ops teams to strategically intervene as needed. Implement a new escalation prediction system, monitoring hotspots and eliminating escalations and other challenges before they occur. With the Indigo SSM, analyze operational data and Net Promoter Scores (NPS) to identify service gaps and implement scalable, automated workflows. Maintain seamless integration with Student Success Teams and Crimson Education stakeholders. Qualifications & Skills Qualifications Experience: 3–5 years of experience in education, mentoring, academic coaching, or youth development organizations. People Management: At least 2 years of experience directly overseeing teams. Education & Research Knowledge: Familiarity with high school research, academic writing, citation standards, and the journal publication process. System Knowledge: Knowledge of international education systems and US/UK college admissions (e.g., Common App, STEM supplements). Technical Skills: Proficiency in Google Workspace, Microsoft Office Suite, and learning systems/CRM tools Skills & Competencies People Management: Ability to mentor, guide, and hold operational staff (Mentor Ops Lead, Jr. Ops Coordinator) accountable to performance metrics. Project Management: Highly organized with exceptional ability to manage asynchronous workflows across diverse time zones. Customer Service & Communication: Advanced English proficiency with a high-empathy, client-centric mindset for interacting with high-achieving students and families. Problem-Solving & De-escalation: Grace under pressure, adept at resolving cross-cultural and communication challenges. Analytical Thinking: Capability to identify needed KPIs and track track them, spot engagement drop-offs, and execute timely interventions. What Success Looks Like 1. Team Leadership & Operations Performance Mentor Ops Lead Accountability: Successful rollout of mentor training programs and policies, maintaining active mentor performance/KPI tracking and ensuring they are met. Jr. Ops Coordinator Efficiency: Mentor–student allocation turnaround time consistently maintained at ≤2 business days with zero allocation bottlenecks or talent shortages. Team Synergy: Smooth operational execution across the team with clear SOP adoption, minimal administrative backlogs, and accurate database records. 2. Student Outcomes & Program Delivery 5-Star Outcome Delivery: Successful execution of the 5-star outcome plan, increasing advanced student outcomes (e.g., publication, conference presentation, ISEF progress) while maintaining overall program completion rates. Milestone Progress Tracking: High completion rates of target deliverables within projected program timelines. 3. Escalation Management & Retention Escalation Reduction & Elimination: Lower overall monthly student/parent/mentor escalations to De-escalation Speed & Resolution: Rapid resolution of escalations with structured follow-ups, maintaining high family and mentor trust. 4. Scalability & Operational Excellence System Automation & Efficiency: Creating scalable, automated workflows with the Operations team to reduce manual intervention and streamline cross-team communications with Crimson & Student Success Teams. Data-Driven Improvements: Utilizing performance dashboards and KPI analytics to systematically identify and resolve service gaps before they impact student experience.