1:1 Mentorship Program Lead

About Indigo

Indigo Research is dedicated to transforming the education landscape by pairing high school students with research mentors to complete and publish research projects. Whether in-person or online, we aim to deliver transformative educational experiences and cultivate the next generation of scholars.

Role Overview

The 1:1 Program Lead is a key member of the Operations Team responsible for the end-to-end planning, execution, and student success across our 1:1 Online Research Mentorship programs (Explorer, Researcher, and Innovator).

Operating in a 100% virtual environment, the PL manages bespoke, long-term student journeys ranging from 12 weeks to 50+ weeks. This role focuses on mentor matching, tracking multi-milestone research deliverables, maintaining parent/family communications, facilitating academic credits, and supporting publication/competition submissions.

The 1:1 PL must be highly organized, proactive, and comfortable working across different stakeholders and in ambiguous, fast-paced environments. They will directly oversee Operations staff, ensuring that team KPIs are met and that students continue to succeed as Indigo expands.

Key Responsibilities

Team Leadership & Operations Oversight

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Oversee Mentor Operations Lead, supervising the execution of the end-to-end Mentor Lifecycle. Ensure accountability for mentor KPI tracking systems, mentor performance reviews, recertification efforts (IRB & Publication Support), capacity forecasting, and reduction of mentor-related escalations.

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Oversee Junior Operations Coordinator, providing direction on mentor allocations, ensuring target turnarounds, administrative support SOPs, database accuracy, and student progress follow-ups.

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Align mentor management systems and allocation pipelines with 1:1 program outcomes to eliminate bottlenecks and operational friction for workflow optimization.

Project & Student Journey Management

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Ensure a stellar program experience across all three 1:1 tiers (Explorer: 10 hrs / 12 wks; Researcher: 20 hrs / 23 wks; Innovator: 45 hrs / 50 wks).

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Implement a 5-star outcome plan, increasing student success rates and achieving higher levels of student outcomes while maintaining current student outcome rates.

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Act as the primary escalation contact to handle and resolve student, family, or mentor conflicts, maintaining high satisfaction and delivering practical solutions.

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Oversee escalation ops, including devising systems to support tracking, analyzing performance, interventions, and ways to lower or eliminate escalations entirely.

Mentor & Stakeholder Management

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Review mentor KPIs and PRs to discuss performance, share best practices, and drive continuous improvement.

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Provide operational support, guidelines, and Checkpoint System tracking.

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Identify scalable systems for improved mentor management, eliminating manual operations and giving mentors more high-touch opportunities for feedback and support.

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Work with Indigo staff to convene Academic and Scientific Review Committees, identifying areas of improvement and achieving progress against priorities (e.g. AI policies, academic integrity).

Operations & Continuous Improvement

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Work with Operations Lead to monitor student progress via tracking dashboards, coordinating with Student Success and Indigo Ops teams to strategically intervene as needed.

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Implement a new escalation prediction system, monitoring hotspots and eliminating escalations and other challenges before they occur.

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With the Indigo SSM, analyze operational data and Net Promoter Scores (NPS) to identify service gaps and implement scalable, automated workflows.

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Maintain seamless integration with Student Success Teams and Crimson Education stakeholders.

Qualifications & Skills

Qualifications

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Experience: 3–5 years of experience in education, mentoring, academic coaching, or youth development organizations.

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People Management: At least 2 years of experience directly overseeing teams.

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Education & Research Knowledge: Familiarity with high school research, academic writing, citation standards, and the journal publication process.

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System Knowledge: Knowledge of international education systems and US/UK college admissions (e.g., Common App, STEM supplements).

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Technical Skills: Proficiency in Google Workspace, Microsoft Office Suite, and learning systems/CRM tools

Skills & Competencies

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People Management: Ability to mentor, guide, and hold operational staff (Mentor Ops Lead, Jr. Ops Coordinator) accountable to performance metrics.

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Project Management: Highly organized with exceptional ability to manage asynchronous workflows across diverse time zones.

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Customer Service & Communication: Advanced English proficiency with a high-empathy, client-centric mindset for interacting with high-achieving students and families.

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Problem-Solving & De-escalation: Grace under pressure, adept at resolving cross-cultural and communication challenges.

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Analytical Thinking: Capability to identify needed KPIs and track track them, spot engagement drop-offs, and execute timely interventions.

What Success Looks Like

1. Team Leadership & Operations Performance

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Mentor Ops Lead Accountability: Successful rollout of mentor training programs and policies, maintaining active mentor performance/KPI tracking and ensuring they are met.

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Jr. Ops Coordinator Efficiency: Mentor–student allocation turnaround time consistently maintained at ≤2 business days with zero allocation bottlenecks or talent shortages.

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Team Synergy: Smooth operational execution across the team with clear SOP adoption, minimal administrative backlogs, and accurate database records.

1. Student Outcomes & Program Delivery

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5-Star Outcome Delivery: Successful execution of the 5-star outcome plan, increasing advanced student outcomes (e.g., publication, conference presentation, ISEF progress) while maintaining overall program completion rates.

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Milestone Progress Tracking: High completion rates of target deliverables within projected program timelines.

1. Escalation Management & Retention

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Escalation Reduction & Elimination: Lower overall monthly student/parent/mentor escalations to <0.5% of active students through early warning tracking systems and proactive interventions.

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De-escalation Speed & Resolution: Rapid resolution of escalations with structured follow-ups, maintaining high family and mentor trust.

1. Scalability & Operational Excellence

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System Automation & Efficiency: Creating scalable, automated workflows with the Operations team to reduce manual intervention and streamline cross-team communications with Crimson & Student Success Teams.

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Data-Driven Improvements: Utilizing performance dashboards and KPI analytics to systematically identify and resolve service gaps before they impact student experience.

Originally posted on Himalayas