Educational Navigator - Winfield Correctional Facility

Overview

Educational Navigator - Winfield Correctional Facility at Cowley College. Date : September 2025. Salary Range : $40,954-49,578. Position Type : Full Time / Grant Funded. Location : Winfield Correctional Facility – Winfield, KS. Department : Adult Education. Reports To : Director of Adult Education.

Summary

The Educational Navigator will work to enhance the existing high school equivalency (GED) program at the Winfield Correctional Facility (WCF) and connect residents with the appropriate post-secondary education programs in order to help them achieve their educational goals. The Navigator will assess residents, disseminate assessment information to the appropriate staff, and develop Education and Employment Plans based on each resident's educational needs and aspirations. The Navigator will serve as academic and career advisor, helping residents refine goals and connect them with practical solutions. They will help residents stay on track, stay motivated, engage with self-improvement goals, encourage positive behaviors, and link them with support services as necessary. Navigators will collaborate with adult education staff to move students from adult education into postsecondary programs.

Navigator Functions

• Assisting with recruitment : navigators will distribute information to all incoming residents about programs, career and education pathways, and how to contact staff and faculty.
• Tracking learner attendance, behavior, and progress toward outcomes.
• Establishing professional intrapersonal relationships with residents and encouraging accountability.
• Being aware of available support services, including developmental education, peer tutoring, printed and technology resources, career resource center services, re-entry services, and mental health services.
• Assisting residents as they transition from adult education into postsecondary education and as they transition from the correctional facility to post-incarceration; assist with career research and planning, employment search, job interviews, and job placement. Emphasize personal and professional advancement. Residents may require life skills training (e.g., professional clothing, hygiene, driver's license, stress management). Serve as a link to Cowley College, KDOC, and community resources when a direct answer or solution is not available.
• Establishing regular meetings with residents regarding academic progress, career goals and opportunities, and behaviors.
• Establishing ambassadors on the facility campus who serve as peer mentors, assist with tours, and provide residents with insights into program benefits.
• Assisting graduates with job placement prior to release by working with KDOC Job Specialists to complete job applications and interviews.
• Assisting faculty and staff with essential skill development; team-teaching "soft skills" and employment skills as part of KDOC's essential skill development initiative. Focus areas include job search, employability, interviewing skills, and using the EPICS model in interactions with residents.
• Understanding and abiding by safety and security procedures, rules, and guidelines defined by KDOC and WCF; participate in required staff development training; be aware of and utilize core correctional practices.

Qualifications

Preferred

Responsibilities

Essential Functions

General Responsibilities

Supervisory Requirements

none

This position is contingent upon grant funding. Continued employment is not guaranteed beyond the period of grant funding. In the event that grant funds are reduced, withdrawn, or not renewed, the employer reserves the right to reduce hours, reassign, or terminate employment with or without notice. Employee acknowledges and accepts that this position is tied directly to the availability of such funding.

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