Student Navigator IMPACT!

Impact Youth Re-engagement is an Open Doors program that supports 16–21-year-old students in pursuing their education at Bellingham Technical College (BTC). At Impact, students work towards earning a GED, rather than a high school diploma. Once completed, Impact students can pursue college courses tuition-free at BTC with an opportunity to earn an associate’s degree for free! To be eligible, students must be deemed “credit deficient” where they have either dropped out of high school or are significantly behind on credit completion and will not earn a high school diploma with their cohort. Students attend Impact from across Whatcom County, so the population is diverse from rural to urban living with diverse lived experiences, varied academic backgrounds, and individual familiarity and comfort within higher education systems, all within one classroom. 

As an Impact Student Navigator, you will collaborate with a team of dedicated staff to empower 16–21-year-olds to navigate college pathways by providing personalized advising, long-term education planning, and hands-on support through admissions, registration, and resource navigation specific to the Impact Youth Re-engagement Program. In this position, you’ll build strong relationships, collaborate across campus, represent the program in the community, and help shape student success by coordinating activities, tracking outcomes, and supporting program operations.

Salary: $5528 per month


About Bellingham Technical College
 
BTC is a premier higher education institution working to provide student-centered, high quality professional technical education throughout Whatcom County and is the only technical college serving northwest Washington State. The College is uniquely positioned to offer exceptional training and educational opportunities to area residents and employers. Founded in 1957 as Bellingham Vocational Institute, it has continued to offer high-quality education in a supportive, student-first environment. BTC has been serving its region with workforce education degrees and certificates to approximately 6,000 students per year. The college provides professional technical programs and courses, adult basic education, English Language Acquisition programs, academic courses, community education, a few direct transfer degree opportunities, and two Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS) degrees. BTC works closely with regional employers and other partners to develop programs and train students to fill regional workforce demands and support economic development.
  
 BTC is committed to creating and maintaining a welcoming campus that supports diversity, promotes a sense of community, provides an effective work and learning environment, and encourages respect for individuals. As an Equal Opportunity employer, BTC values diversity and aims to recruit employees that reflect the diverse backgrounds of our community, including ethnicity, national origin, religion, race, gender, gender identity, age, status as a veteran or disabled veteran, disability, political status, and sexual orientation. The successful candidate will be expected to contribute to a successful and supportive learning environment for a diverse student and employee population with a wide range of backgrounds and experiences.

Under general direction, this position primarily supports students with tasks such as enrollment and assessment, academic navigation for both GED and college degree attainment, light-touch case management and resource advising, and development of strong relationships with youth, many of whom have had negative experiences in school previously. Of primary importance is empowering young people to explore academic pursuits through compassion and patience with an understanding of growth mindsets and motivational resilience. This position is contingent upon signed approval of the inter-local agreement between Bellingham Technical College and local School Districts every three fiscal years.  

• Manage a case load of 16-21-year-old students from diverse learning backgrounds and lived experiences 
• Independently advise participants in courses and pathways, connect students to applicable local and college resources, and serve as primary contact for enrolled students in most matters of their education
• Establish strong relationships and rapport with students to help foster positive relationships with learning and school environments
• Develop understanding of the GED, testing center policies/ procedures, and the college’s professional technical degrees and general education coursework to best advise current and prospective students 
• Develop working knowledge of Washington State high school graduation requirements; the BECCA bill, FERPA, House Bill (HB) 1418, and college/community resources 
• Assess student applications and calculate credit deficiency, eligibility, and overall “program fit” in collaboration with the program director 
• Schedule and facilitate registration appointments with incoming students following structured processes for both Impact and BTC requirements
• Provide comprehensive education planning on a long-term as well as quarterly basis with both GED and college student populations 
• Coordinate student progress conferences to identify and address barriers to student success
• Manage GED class capacity tracking for an open enrollment program with a constant rotation of current students in collaboration with other program staff and faculty
• Provide coverage of GED classes, college case management classes, and the program front desk in the case of staff absences 
• Assist program director with contractual compliance of ongoing student eligibility, and withdrawal, through the tracking of attendance and Indicators of Academic Progress (IAPs)
• Independently advise prospective students, staff, and the public regarding program content, requirements and eligibility through weekly Info Session presentations and occasional front-desk coverage
• Assist with monthly attendance and quarterly outcome tracking using spreadsheets, internal databases, and websites like GED Manager and ctcLink
• Attend and participate in community and college meetings as a program representative
• Maintain excellent working relationships with faculty, staff, students, school district contacts, and program partners
• Perform duties as assigned.

Required Skills/Abilities: 

• Demonstrated ability to build relationships with young people aged 16-21 year olds to aid them in educational attainment and personal development
• Effectively collaborate with colleagues to scaffold student success
• Ability to complete required student tracking of attendance, progress attainment, communication attempts, and relevant case management updates using collaborative tools in a timely manner
• Demonstrated digital literacy including Microsoft Office applications such as Outlook, Teams, excel tracking systems, and client focused databases 
• Exercise independent judgment in interpreting and applying policies and procedures
• Ability to adapt in a fast-paced and dynamic academic environment 
• Ability to work under pressure, handle multiple tasks and prioritize competing demands
• Possess strong analytic and problem-solving capabilities
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail

Minimum Qualifications: 

• Background Check: Prior to final hire, a pre-employment background, including criminal history, will be conducted.  Information from the background check will not necessarily preclude employment but will be considered in determining the applicant’s suitability and competence to perform in the position. Fingerprinting or other conditions required by the local school district(s), OSPI and satisfaction with the college are required for final hire
• Bachelor's degree in psychology, education, or related social sciences
• Two years' recent experience providing case management, counseling, or academic advising to at-risk individuals or sixteen- to twenty-one-year-old youth

OR

• Combination of education, experience, and training and minimum three years’ experience with applicable client/student population

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Four years of professional experience in either youth-facing organizations, high schools, or college systems working with teen or young adult learners providing specialized advising or case management
• Masters in social work, counseling, education, or a related field
• Experience working with out-of-school youth or adults returning to school without a high school diploma or equivalent
• Conversationally bilingual in Spanish, Ukrainian or Russian
• Knowledge and/or professional experience with Open Doors programs

Physical Work Environment: 

The duties of this position are performed in an open office setting in an educational institution. Every day varies with some days predominantly working face to face with students and others consisting of prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer independently. 

Compensation:  Salary $5,528 per month, $66,336 per year 
Work schedule: Generally, the schedule is Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Candidate must be willing to work on-site for all of their schedule. Benefits:

Leave benefits:

• 8 hours per month of sick leave 
• 16 starting at hours per month of vacation leave
• 24 hours of personal leave per calendar year
• 12 paid state/college holidays per calendar year

Benefits also include a Washington State insurance package including selecting one of:

• 6 medical options
• 3 dental plan options
• 3 vision plan options 

Include: 

• life insurance
• long-term disability

Retirement benefits package including one of: 

• TIAA Stare Board Retirement Plan (SBRP)
• Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) Plan 3 

Two voluntary investment (not matched) programs

• TIAA (403b)
• State Deferred Compensation (457) plan

Additional optional benefits include ability to participate in:

• Medical Flexible Spending plan
• Limited Purpose Flexible Spending plan
• Health Savings Account
• Dependent Care Assistance
• Discounts for automobile and homeowner insurance
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Up to 21 days of military leave
• Up to 5 days of paid bereavement leave
• Paid civil/jury duty
• Bereavement leave
• Ability to participate in a shared leave program

Application Procedures and Deadline:

Required application materials must be completed and submitted online at www.btc.edu/jobs and received by 5 p.m. on January 2, 2026, for priority consideration.  Application materials received after this date and time may be considered until the position is filled.  More information about Bellingham Technical College is at www.btc.edu or contact the Human Resources Office at (360) 752-8354. At this time, BTC is not sponsoring H-1B Visas.

Required Online Application Materials: (Attachments in Word or PDF file only) 

• Completed BTC Online Employment Application 
• Supplemental Questions 

Interviews are tentatively scheduled for January 14-16, 2026

Salary : $66,336