Externship Advocate

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.

Advocates 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.

Key Responsibilities

• 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

Working Conditions & Hiring Process

• U.S. Work Location Requirement: All employees must reside in and perform work within the United States. We do not support international remote work arrangements for this role.
• Travel Expectations: While this is a remote position, occasional travel may be required for team meetings, company events, conferences, summits, and similar activities. Candidates must be willing and able to travel as needed.
• On-Camera Work Environment: We operate in a highly collaborative, remote, on-camera culture. Employees are expected to be on camera during meetings unless extenuating circumstances apply.
• Recorded Video Interviews: All video interviews conducted during the hiring process will be recorded to support internal hiring consistency and process improvement.
• Background Checks: Employment with Penn Foster Group is contingent upon successfully completing applicable pre-employment screening requirements, which may include verification of employment history, education, and criminal background, where permitted by law.
• Identity Verification (Form I-9): As part of our onboarding process, all hires must complete employment eligibility verification in compliance with federal law. This includes remote Form I-9 verification, which may require an in-person identity verification step with an authorized representative.

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 learners 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 develop the skills necessary for safer jobs. Today, with the partners who use our education and training programs, we continue that mission by providing accessible training and education for in-demand skills and building a workforce 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. Our goal is to create a culture where people feel connected to one another and have a sense of belonging.

We value diversity, equity, and inclusion because they form the foundation that enables us to achieve our organizational goals—from maximizing the number of learners who can reach their goals and providing meaningful learner experiences to becoming the type of company where people want to work.

What We Offer

We offer a robust benefits package that includes:

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Flexible spending accounts
• Generous paid time off
• Sponsored volunteer opportunities
• A 401(k) plan with company match
• Free access to all of our online programs