Company Overview:
Professional Linguistic Upper Studies (PLUS) operates English as a Foreign Language (EFL) programs across the world. PLUS U.S. Corporation, headquartered in New York City, runs summer English language study and travel programs for international high school students in across North America. The programs allow students the opportunity to take English classes and explore the surrounding regions while staying at U.S. colleges and universities.
Position Overview:
The Academic Manager position is a seasonal position with PLUS U.S. Corp at its main office in Hoboken, New Jersey. PLUS U.S. Corp offers summer study travel programs to international high school students at college campuses in New Jersey, New York, Florida, California, and Ontario, Canada. The Academic Manager works up to 30 hours per week during the spring, updating PLUS curricula and assisting with the recruitment and hiring of summer instructors. During the summer, the Academic Manager works full-time to provide support to on-site academic staff and manage the logistics of the PLUS academic program for all North American locations. Saturday morning work will be required mid-June to mid-August. During this time, some domestic travel, night, and weekend work may be necessary to ensure the safety and satisfaction of all participants. The Academic Manager works under the direct supervision of the Program Manager.
Dates of Employment:
March 2020 - August 2020
Springtime hours can be flexible within normal business hours, Monday through Friday. Some remote work may be possible, especially on Saturdays. Start and end date may be flexible for the right candidate.
Duties and Responsibilities:
The following is expected of the Academic Manager:
Standard Expectations
- Be familiar with, adhere to, and enforce all PLUS U.S. policies and procedures
- Together with the PLUS staff, ensure the safety of all participants
- Interact with groups of international high school students and their group leaders in a professional, enthusiastic, and customer service-oriented manner
- Maintain frequent and professional communication with PLUS staff
- Responsible for appropriate use and documentation of Company credit card and rental car, if applicable
- Be on call to assist with emergency situations, as needed
- Assist in duties other than the aforementioned and the following, as assigned and as they arise
Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment
- Review, revise, and update all EFL and specialty course curricula; create new curricula and/or lesson plans as needed
- Be adequately familiar with contents and objectives of curricula and lesson plans to be able to discuss them with academic staff, clients, and partner offices
- Ensure the activation of all PLUS academic worksheet and video links and update them as needed
- Create a worksheet printing schedule to provide to Academic Supervisors
- Review, revise, and update EFL and specialty course assessments and end-of-course certificates; create new certificates as needed
- Create, conduct, and analyze the responses to end-of-program surveys and exit interviews for academic staff
Program Coordination
- Manage all logistics of PLUS academic programs in North America
- Download and review all online placement test scores per session; sort students into EFL levels and classes based on test scores and assign them instructors and classrooms
- Place students into specialty courses based on enrollment and assign them instructors and classrooms
- Create classroom rosters and attendance sheets for each session and class, updating as needed as students switch levels, courses, or instructors
- Adjust classroom rosters and attendance sheets during overlapping sessions
- Liaise with host campuses to book and cancel classrooms in a timely manner, ensuring all classroom needs are met
- Communicate with the host campuses regarding classroom needs and technology issues, as needed
- Coordinate the printing and pick-up of end-of-course certificates
- Order instructional supplies and distribute to PLUS campuses
- Liaise with overseas partner offices, as needed
Supervision & Training
- Assist in instructor and academic supervisor recruitment and hiring
- Directly supervise Academic Supervisor at each campus; oversee all instructors
- Motivate academic team throughout the duration of the program
- Update the PLUS Instructor Manual
- Update PLUS instructor and academic supervisor trainings
- Train all instructors and Academic Supervisors
- Schedule all academic staff and clearly communicate schedule to instructors and Academic Supervisors
- Hold staff meetings as needed to ensure that all program and position needs are met
- Fill in as substitute teacher and/or substitute academic supervisor as needed (at regional locations)
- Collaborate with the instructors and PLUS Head Office regarding instructional methods and the PLUS curriculum
Qualifications and Desired Skills:
- Authorization to work in the U.S. required
- Must be 18 years or older
- Bachelor's degree required; TESOL certificate and/or Master's degree preferred
- Prior teaching experience required; prior EFL/ESL teaching experience strongly preferred
- Curriculum design and lesson planning experience required
- Command of Google Drive (especially Google Sheets and Google Slides) and the Microsoft suite of products (Excel, Word, and Powerpoint) required.
- Strong organizational skills and attention to detail required
- Excellent time management skills required
- Prior supervisory experience required
- Prior management and coordination experience required
- Prior customer service experience strongly preferred
Successful candidates will be self-motivated, professional, and adaptable, with strong interpersonal, communication, and problem-solving skills, and be able to work independently.