Family Advisor (Midwest)

Role: Family Advisor

Reports to: Director of Family Advising

Salary: $80,000 with a $3,000 stipend for candidates with fluency in writing and speaking Spanish, Japanese or another target language.

Status: Full-time

Location: Remote but must live in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, or Ohio as this position will require travel to visit families across the state (approximately 25% travel).

Who We Are:

National Math Stars ensures mathematically extraordinary students from all communities have the resources they need to reach the frontiers of math and science.

Through our Awards Program, we collaborate with schools and districts to identify and recognize their highest-achieving 2% of 2nd- and 3rd-grade math students. Those students are invited to a competitive admissions process, which aims to select the top talent from all communities. (You could roughly think of this as “the best young mathematician in every ZIP code,” if the US didn’t have quite so many ZIP codes!)

We admit those top students to our Stars Programs and work with them (and their families) over the course of a decade to support their journeys to the frontiers of STEM. All Stars receive access to advanced math opportunities, family guidance, and community gatherings. Within the Stars Program, we have two tracks: (1) our fully-funded Voyager Stars program, targeted at families with significant unmet need for guidance and financial support, and (2) our Pathfinder Stars program, which provides lighter-touch advising and access to partial funding for STEM opportunities. We currently serve over 400 Stars across seven states and are rapidly expanding our reach.

In 2026, we anticipate admitting an additional 125 students into Voyager, from across the Midwest and the South.

Role Overview: As a Family Advisor for National Math Stars, you are the first and most frequent point of contact for our families and Stars. You will work closely with approximately 30-35 families on your caseload from their acceptance to their graduation from the program, meeting with them monthly or as needed to provide invaluable support throughout their 10-year journey with us. With each family, you will customize support based on their goals and needs. The support you will provide will include partnering with them to advocate for accommodations and support in their schools, assisting them in managing their allotted enrichment budgets, helping them find and access incredible STEM extracurricular and summer opportunities, and providing them with a holistic view of their child’s experience and opportunities in the program. As a family advisor, you will develop the most trust and strongest relationships with our families and Stars and have the ability to positively impact their journey for years to come.

We anticipate the start date for this role to be late July. Although this is a remote position, candidates for this role must live in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, or Ohio
.

Key Responsibilities:

The family advisor’s key responsibilities fall under the following categories:

Monthly Advising Meetings

• Manage and support a caseload of 30-35 families
• Conduct a minimum of one advisory meeting with each family every two months (note that some of these meetings will require advisors to be available during evenings and weekends to accommodate our families’ needs)
• Co-create individualized goals and plans with each Star and their family and track their progress towards these goals
• Be available to families as needed via email, text, or phone call for questions or concerns related to the program or support they are seeking
• Assist families in connecting with external resources (e.g. mental health providers or housing assistance) when the support they require falls beyond our program's scope of services
• Schedule family meetings with appropriate program staff
• Track relevant data to ensure that families are meeting the minimum commitment requirements for the program
• Provide families with constant encouragement and support for their child to continue to succeed on their journey with National Math Stars

Financial and Enrichment Support

• Pack and deliver welcome packs to families at the beginning of every year
• Partner with families to ensure their annual budget funds are spent in alignment with their child’s STEM interests and goals and allow their child to participate in STEM enrichment opportunities during the school year and summer
• Manage a contingency budget and assist in determining when to use it for families who may face additional obstacles for their child to fully participate in our program (e.g. childcare, transportation, etc.)
• Support families in navigating the STEM enrichment space by helping them identify opportunities for their child
• Partner with families on completing applications and financial aid applications (as necessary) for STEM enrichment and summer programs
• Work with STEM enrichment providers to finalize registrations and manage payments for our Stars’ participation in their programs
• Build partnerships with STEM enrichment providers across the state to expand the opportunities available for our Stars

Math Development Progress

• Check in regularly with math mentors and math course instructors to stay updated on each Star’s progress in their math mentoring and math courses
• Advise families on their child’s mathematical development, and provide feedback on areas of strength or growth
• Communicate any required updates from math mentors and math courses to families

School Advocacy and Selection

• Build relationships with each Star’s school to understand the current support and academic program designed for our Stars
• Partner with families to support any school advocacy conversations such as those involving math acceleration, testing and participation in gifted and/or special education programs, and supports or accommodations required for our Stars to be successful in their schools
• Support families in researching and selecting schools at key transition points (e.g. elementary to middle school) or when families are seeking a transition for other reasons

Building and Nurturing Community

• Moderate family discussion forums
• Assist the Director of Family Advising and Director of Math Community to organize and run in-person and virtual family events
• Assist the Director of Family Advising to create monthly family newsletters highlighting key program updates and celebrations
• Assist in regularly adding to and updating a database of important resources for families
• Work with regional parent leads to run regional community events

Data Entry and Management

• Ensure that each Star’s and family’s journeys are well documented in our CRM
• Use data and dashboards to evaluate Star and family progress and schedule additional check-ins or support as necessary

Skills and Experience:

This job might be a good fit for you if you…

• Have experience in K–12 education, especially with gifted/profoundly gifted learners and/or students from low-income and diverse backgrounds
• Know the STEM enrichment landscape (programs, competitions, camps, after-school options) and enjoy helping families navigate it
• Have done work that required building deep trust with families and making thoughtful recommendations when the “right answer” isn’t obvious
• Thrive in a fast-moving, startup-like environment where priorities evolve and you’re comfortable creating structure as you go
• Are a strong communicator (written and verbal), highly organized, and good at following through
• Can manage basic logistics and small budgets
• Are available for occasional evenings/weekends (family meetings and events)

Nice-to-haves (not required):

• Coursework or background in advanced math
• Familiarity with gifted/special education programs and policies in your area

Requirement:

• A valid driver’s license in your state and reliable access to a car

We value and encourage diversity and solicit applications from all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, gender, sex, age, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, marital status, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, medical condition, veteran status, gender identity, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

All full-time roles at National Math Stars include a competitive benefits package:

• Fully paid health, vision, and dental coverage for employees, plus partially paid coverage for dependents
• 401K plan with automatic company contributions
• Work-from-home stipend for purchase of a laptop and/or home office supplies
• Generous paid time off from day one, including parental leave
• Free pie every Pi Day