Professional Expert - Program Assistant - Educational Opportunities Help Desk

Program Assistant

The Program Assistant at the Mexican Consulate in San Bernardino represents the San Bernardino Community College District and supports the Educational Opportunities Help Desk ("Ventanilla de Orientacion Educativa"). The Program Assistant provides accurate information primarily in Spanish via phone, email, in-person and online presentations, and walk-ups to individuals seeking K-12, job training, and college resources in the Inland Empire and Mexico. The role involves fostering partnerships with educational institutions, government agencies, and community organizations, and recruiting volunteers and student interns. While it is expected that the incumbent keeps active and open communication with members of the Consulate's senior leadership team, this position reports to the San Bernardino Community College District Associate Vice Chancellor of Government Relations and Strategic Communications.

Representative Duties

• Assist constituents with information on the United States educational system, focusing on Riverside and San Bernardino counties, covering K-12, California Community Colleges, California State University, University of California, GED, adult education, English courses, job training, scholarships, and financial aid opportunities.
• Promote educational opportunities offered by the Mexican government for Mexican citizens living in the United States, such as the Institute for Mexicans Abroad scholarship fund ("IME Becas"), free academic textbooks, and long-distance learning.
• Educate students and families on Mexico-U.S. study abroad opportunities sponsored by the Mexican government and U.S. public institutions.
• Deliver culturally competent, Spanish-language workshops and audio-visual presentations to inspire individuals of all ages to pursue higher education and job training opportunities.
• Act as a liaison for the San Bernardino Community College District, promoting student enrollment, academic programs, and support services for Crafton Hills College, San Bernardino Valley College, Economic Development & Corporate Training, and KVCR public media.
• Provide information about the Mexican educational system to students and families relocating from the United States to Mexico, including the higher education admission process and academic transfer procedures.
• Offer guidance on obtaining academic diplomas, degrees, professional certificates, and revalidating studies in both the United States and Mexico, including duplicates of academic documents and transcripts.
• Cultivate and maintain communication with educational institutions, government agencies, and community organizations to advance the goals of the Educational Opportunities Help Desk.
• Support the development and implementation of an annual calendar of activities, workshops, and community events to promote the Educational Opportunities Help Desk.
• Establish a reporting mechanism to monitor and collect qualitative and quantitative records of constituent interactions, tracking the progress of the Educational Opportunities Help Desk on a daily, weekly, monthly, and year-round basis.
• Support the development of written progress reports in collaboration with the Mexican Consulate in San Bernardino and San Bernardino Community College District, to be completed periodically throughout the year.
• Create compelling and informative content in English and Spanish for the Educational Opportunities Help Desk's social media accounts, pamphlets like the "Educational Resources Guide," and press releases about available educational resources.
• Coordinate volunteers and student interns from local higher education institutions to assist during the Help Desk's hours of operation.
• Handle administrative tasks, including composing correspondence, ordering materials and supplies, responding to calls and emails, and running errands to support daily operations.
• Provide logistical support for event planning and communications for campus meetings and major community events.
• Stay updated on local, state, and federal news and public policies affecting undocumented students, including the California Dream Act, AB 540, California DREAM Loan Program, DACA, and SB 1159, allowing qualified individuals in California to obtain professional licenses, regardless of immigration status.
• Some travel may be required.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

The following generally describes the knowledge and ability required to enter the job and/or learn within a short period of time in order to complete the tasks and duties successfully. Knowledge of:

• The cultural, linguistic, and socio-economic diversity of the greater San Bernardino area
• Common college practices and cycles as it relates to the program such as financial aid or course registration.
• Typing, word processing, flyer and other document creation, emails, newsletters, and other methods of communication
• Proper phone etiquette as well as professional verbal communication including presentations and acting as a representative of the program.
• Basic event planning and management skills including facility or venue reservation, contracts, equipment setup, traffic, parking and maps, accessibility, and event feedback.
• Basic data collection practices, analysis, compilation and research
• Proficient skill in the Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.)
• Principles of physical and digital filing and retrieval

Ability to:

• Respond to inquiries from the public, current students, faculty, staff and administrators, and community partner organizations in a tactful and timely in a tactful and timely manner.
• Demonstrate sensitivity and understanding of members of diverse racial, ethnic, ability levels, and other groups in an inclusive and intentional way.
• Multi-task and manage competing and overlapping projects using time efficiently.
• Work self-sufficiently with minimal supervision, reserved for unusual or escalated situations.
• Interpret and apply training, basic knowledge, local and federal laws and district policies to everyday work.

Experience:

• Fluency in both English and Spanish, with exceptional written and verbal communication skills in both languages.
• Experience providing customer service or assistance in an educational or community setting.
• Basic knowledge of the United States educational system, including K-12 schools, community colleges, and universities.
• Familiarity with the educational resources available in Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
• Proficiency in using common office software (e.g., word processing, email, spreadsheets, video conferencing).

Desired Qualifications:

• Strong organizational skills and the ability to handle multiple tasks and deadlines effectively.
• Experience in creating and delivering educational workshops or presentations.
• Ability to work as a team and independently.
• Attention to detail.

Physical Demands and Working Environment

Physical Demands and Working Environment:

• Some work is performed in a typical office environment.
• Some work is performed outdoors, offsite at community venues, with some exposure to weather, heat or cold outside of room temperature, noise and other elements
• Event support will involve a significant amount of standing, kneeling, lifting boxes and equipment, stooping, bending, pushing, and repetitive hand movements for things like usage of a keyboard/standard desktop computer, with or without accommodation.

The conditions herein are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential job functions.

Environment: Work is performed primarily in a standard office setting. Physical: Primary functions require sufficient physical ability and mobility to work in an office setting; to stand or sit for prolonged periods of time; to occasionally stoop, bend, kneel, crouch, reach, and twist; to occasionally lift, carry, push, and/or pull light to moderate amounts of weight up to 25 pounds; to operate office equipment requiring repetitive hand movement and fine coordination including use of a computer keyboard; and to verbally communicate to exchange information. Vision: See in the normal visual range with or without correction; vision sufficient to read computer screens and printed documents; and to operate assigned equipment. Hearing: Hear in the normal audio range with or without correction.

Employment Requirements

• Live scan is required, and TB required.
• The person selected for hire will be required to complete the following pre-employment requirements:
  • Submit to and successfully pass DOJ live scan/fingerprinting. Cost of live-scan services to be borne by candidate.
  • Sealed official transcript(s) in envelope from institution or electronic copies emailed directly from institution (for positions with higher education requirement)
  • Tuberculosis (TB) risk assessment
  • Other pre-employment requirements may be required depending on the position (i.e. certifications or licenses; see job posting qualifications section for details).
• Successful completion of all pre