Student Success Manager

Overview

Indigo Research is dedicated to transforming the education landscape by pairing high school students with research mentors to complete and publish research projects. We aim to deliver transformative educational experiences and cultivate the next generation of scholars.

The Student Success Manager (SSM) is an essential, high-impact role responsible for guiding students through their research journey and ensuring their successful program completion, with a strategic eye on their research completion, publication and college admissions goals.

SSM Role

The SSM serves as the primary relationship owner for our students and their families, ensuring a seamless, high-touch, and goal-oriented experience. This role is ideal for a highly organized professional with a background in student counseling, advising, or academic success who can navigate complex educational roadmaps and manage high-value client relationships.

The SSM will be the project management expert overseeing the student's entire research timeline, translating high-level program goals into actionable roadmaps, collaborating closely with research mentors, and ensuring the student's progress aligns with their personal and academic objectives, especially with an eye to university admissions.

Key Responsibilities

Student Success

  • Program Roadmap Management: Guide students and families through their customized research program, ensuring all milestones (from topic selection to publication) are completed on schedule to meet the student’s goals within their chosen timeframe.

  • Relationship Excellence: Serve as the trusted, primary point of contact for students and parents, proactively communicating progress, managing expectations, and resolving concerns to ensure stellar client satisfaction (including for VIP and partnership-referred clients).

  • Strategic Intervention: Continuously monitor student progress, identify potential roadblocks, and implement timely, strategic interventions to get off-track students back on course.

  • Conflict & De-escalation: Skillfully engage in conflict resolution and high-stakes de-escalation scenarios, demonstrating professionalism, empathy, and patience in all communications.

Internal Program Coordination

  • Mentor Alignment: Work closely with research mentors/tutors to ensure the mentoring relationship is productive, positive, and aligned with the student’s program goals and pace.

  • Client Advocacy: Represent the client's voice internally, sharing critical student/family feedback with the wider team to drive service improvements and preemptively align on issue resolution strategies.

  • Reporting & Handoffs: Utilize CRM tools to track and report on student progress, ensuring a smooth and successful transfer of the client relationship from the sales team.

Operational Improvement & Business Growth

  • Client Retention & Upsell: Contribute to company growth by proactively building client loyalty, facilitating retention, and identifying opportunities for additional service purchases or referrals.

  • Process Enhancement: Identify, highlight, and assist in the implementation of service and operational improvements to ensure Indigo Research continues to meet the evolving needs of high-achieving students and families.

Qualifications & Skills

Qualifications

  • Required: 2–4 years of demonstrated success in student admissions counseling, academic advising, mentoring, or program management within a high-achieving educational context.

  • Strong Asset: Direct experience with the US college admissions process and/or international education systems (e.g., advising on Common Application, essays, extracurricular profiles).

  • Technical Proficiency: Advanced proficiency in CRM tools (e.g., Salesforce), Microsoft Office Suite, and Google Workspace.

Skills

  • Client Management & Professionalism: Proven ability to build immediate rapport and trust with high-net-worth clients/families, command attention in meetings, and maintain a high level of composure in emotional or difficult situations.

  • Analytical & Project Management: Highly organized with demonstrated analytical ability to recognize patterns, predict roadblocks, and manage complex, multi-stakeholder project timelines effectively.

  • Communication & Negotiation: Exceptional verbal and written English proficiency. Proven ability to lead and negotiate, employing strong de-escalation and conflict resolution skills.

  • Adaptability & Cultural Awareness: High degree of cultural awareness and agility to efficiently manage the dynamics of diverse international customers and stakeholders.

What Success Looks Like

Success in this role is measured by the ability to deliver predictable, high-quality outcomes for every student.

  • Achieving target Net Promoter Scores (NPS) and response rates

  • Ensuring 100% timely student progress and tailoring and intervention/s

    • Utilisation of purchased support packages

    • Continued progression of milestone targets and goals

    • Strategic intervention to correct an off track student

    • Identifying additional opportunities for student both locally and globally

  • Establishing trust and rapport with families quickly and effectively

    • Creating a successful transfer of the relationship from Indigo sales team

    • Being the first point of contact for any family inquiries, complaints or concerns

    • Providing consistent, proactive updates to families, minimizing the need for them to follow up

    • Identifying and capitalizing on additional opportunities that enhance the student's profile

    • Maintaining a high rate of client retention and referrals

  • Appropriate issue handling and escalation, taking feedback and initiating change / improvements to service delivery where necessary

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Common Interview Questions And Answers

1. HOW DO YOU PLAN YOUR DAY?

This is what this question poses: When do you focus and start working seriously? What are the hours you work optimally? Are you a night owl? A morning bird? Remote teams can be made up of people working on different shifts and around the world, so you won't necessarily be stuck in the 9-5 schedule if it's not for you...

2. HOW DO YOU USE THE DIFFERENT COMMUNICATION TOOLS IN DIFFERENT SITUATIONS?

When you're working on a remote team, there's no way to chat in the hallway between meetings or catch up on the latest project during an office carpool. Therefore, virtual communication will be absolutely essential to get your work done...

3. WHAT IS "WORKING REMOTE" REALLY FOR YOU?

Many people want to work remotely because of the flexibility it allows. You can work anywhere and at any time of the day...

4. WHAT DO YOU NEED IN YOUR PHYSICAL WORKSPACE TO SUCCEED IN YOUR WORK?

With this question, companies are looking to see what equipment they may need to provide you with and to verify how aware you are of what remote working could mean for you physically and logistically...

5. HOW DO YOU PROCESS INFORMATION?

Several years ago, I was working in a team to plan a big event. My supervisor made us all work as a team before the big day. One of our activities has been to find out how each of us processes information...

6. HOW DO YOU MANAGE THE CALENDAR AND THE PROGRAM? WHICH APPLICATIONS / SYSTEM DO YOU USE?

Or you may receive even more specific questions, such as: What's on your calendar? Do you plan blocks of time to do certain types of work? Do you have an open calendar that everyone can see?...

7. HOW DO YOU ORGANIZE FILES, LINKS, AND TABS ON YOUR COMPUTER?

Just like your schedule, how you track files and other information is very important. After all, everything is digital!...

8. HOW TO PRIORITIZE WORK?

The day I watched Marie Forleo's film separating the important from the urgent, my life changed. Not all remote jobs start fast, but most of them are...

9. HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR A MEETING AND PREPARE A MEETING? WHAT DO YOU SEE HAPPENING DURING THE MEETING?

Just as communication is essential when working remotely, so is organization. Because you won't have those opportunities in the elevator or a casual conversation in the lunchroom, you should take advantage of the little time you have in a video or phone conference...

10. HOW DO YOU USE TECHNOLOGY ON A DAILY BASIS, IN YOUR WORK AND FOR YOUR PLEASURE?

This is a great question because it shows your comfort level with technology, which is very important for a remote worker because you will be working with technology over time...