Position Summary:

The Externship Advocate supports students through the externship placement and completion process once they’ve met program prerequisites. This role involves maintaining and monitoring the externship CRM, building and maintaining a network of externship sites, collecting required documentation, and mentoring students throughout their clinical experience.

Coordinators also serve in an instructional capacity, assisting with appointments and other academic duties as needed. Success in this role requires a strong commitment to student outcomes, the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, metric-driven environment, and a proactive, student-centered approach to externship support.

Essential Job Functions:

• Ensure timely placement of eligible students into qualified externship sites.

• Manage communication with both students and externship sites to facilitate a frictionless placement process.

• Maintain and expand a nationwide network of externship partners.

• Guide students through externship policies, procedures, and expectations.

• Provide personalized, professional support to students throughout the externship experience & serve as first point of contact for externship-related questions or concerns

• Respond promptly to student inquiries and maintain consistent communication until externship completion.

• Collect, review, and document all required externship materials and performance evaluations.

• Track and analyze student and externship partner feedback to improve the externship experience; provide feedback to leadership to guide improvements

• Accurately record student data in the placement CRM and other systems.

• Collaborate with other team members and departments to ensure seamless externship experiences, specifically academics, learner success, instructors, product, and technology

• Meet key performance indicators (KPIs) in placement rates, communication metrics, and student satisfaction.

• Contribute to team initiatives and support broader organizational goals.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

Education: Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent professional experience preferred.

Experience:

• Experience in a healthcare education ecosystem and knowledge of supporting a Learning Management System (LMS)
• Possess a background in Allied healthcare job and externship placement programs
• Action oriented with an ability to multi-task and work efficiently to meet deadlines
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Acute active listening skills
• Demonstrates empathy, respect, and awareness of the needs of our Learners
• When working from home, access to consistent, adequate internet connectivity is required

About Us:

At Penn Foster Group, we are transforming online learning to help learners by uniting Penn Foster, CareerStep, Ashworth College, James Madison High School, the New York Institute of Photography, the New York Institute of Art and Design, and other education platforms. Together, we create an accelerated path to greater economic mobility through real-world skills and knowledge that enable them to achieve long-term success in the workplaces of the future. Our history dates back to 1890 when our founder, Thomas Foster, pioneered distance education by offering training by mail for coal miners to get the necessary skills for safer jobs. Today, with the partners who use our education and training programs, we continue that mission of providing accessible training and education for in-demand skills and are building a workforce that’s prepared for the future job market.

Equal Employment Opportunity:

We strive toward Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Penn Foster Group by intentionally building teams that are diverse – in identities, lived experiences, and ideas to create a culture where people feel connected to each other and have a sense of belonging. We value diversity, equity, and inclusion because it is the foundation that enables us to achieve what we set out to do as an organization – from maximizing the number of learners who can reach their goals while giving them the kinds of experiences we want them to have, to becoming the type of company we want to work in.

What We Offer:

We offer a robust benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, flexible spending, generous paid time off, sponsored volunteer opportunities, a 401K with a company match, plus free access to all of our online programs.