At CodeDay Labs, mentors are the backbone of our program, providing essential guidance and support to student teams working on open-source projects. As a Program Lead in the Technical Mentoring Team, you will play an important role in ensuring the success of these relationships and the overall productivity of the sessions.

Purpose of the role:

The Program Lead is tasked with representing CodeDay to both students and mentors, ensuring seamless interactions and the smooth execution of the program. This role involves direct management of the mentor-student teams and overseeing the program's operational and interpersonal dynamics.

Key Responsibilities:

  1. Onboarding the mentors: To onboard mentors, you will conduct calls using a standard template. You can find it here.
  2. Build a professional relationship with the mentors: It's essential to maintain open lines of communication with the mentors. As their go-to person, encourage them to share concerns and challenges early. Often, mentors may hesitate to express concerns until issues escalate, so active communication is crucial.
  3. Connect Mentors and Students: Set up an initial introductory call between mentors and their teams. This helps start the Labs on the right foot, with everyone feeling connected and clear about the journey ahead. However, you don’t need to show up in the call.
  1. Keep an Eye on Slack channels: Join and regularly monitor the team's Slack channels (Channels are typically named after the Mentors). Your goal is not to micromanage but to ensure that communication flows smoothly and everyone remains engaged.
  2. Technical Support Coordination: If a team encounters a technical problem, assist directly if it’s a quick fix or direct them to our TA team for more complex issues. Your technical know-how and resourcefulness will really shine here! The goal is to guide them to the solution instead of providing it directly.
  3. Engagement Oversight: Make sure everyone is active and involved. If someone’s falling behind or feeling out of the loop, have a conversation with them and try to understand the issue.
  4. Regular Check-ins and Support:
    1. Conduct weekly sync-up meetings (can be done by texts as well) with mentors to discuss project progress, address any concerns, and confirm ongoing availability.
    2. Provide support and accommodations in response to mentor availability issues, ensuring minimal disruption to the team's progress.