College Counseling Director

About this role

College Counseling Director

The College Counseling Director (CCD) reports to the Executive Site Director and is responsible for leading college counseling outcomes at their site. As the ultimate college counseling expert at the site, the College Counseling Director leads site-level college counseling and matriculation strategy to implement College Track’s College Counseling Playbook priorities and College Counseling Philosophy. With the ESD, and in accordance with organizational priorities and philosophy, as well as the requirements and deadlines driven by local or state context, the CCD co-develops and implements a site-based strategy that ensures scholars are matriculating to partner universities and are on track to matriculate to a 4-year college or university. The CCD manages and coaches the College Counselor through check-ins, observation and training to ensure alignment in counseling strategies and real time data collection. The CCD divides and assigns scholar caseloads to the College Counseling Team and also manages a caseload of juniors and seniors to provide individualized college counseling as well as participation in college readiness programming like family meetings, financial aid workshops, and Writing Institute.

Primary Responsibilities

[Lead College Counseling and Matriculation Strategy at the Site]

• Lead goal setting process with site college counseling team to develop annual strategic plan for meeting matriculation goals and executing college counseling programming

• Track and maintain scholar college application, financial aid, and matriculation data (college aspiration lists, admission decisions, FAFSA completion, matriculation steps, etc.) using Salesforce, standardized spreadsheets, and additional platforms

• Meet high expectations for scholar college application, matriculation, and partnership goals and ensure FAFSA/alternate state-based financial aid completion as the ultimate content expert at the site

• Develop a site-based college exposure strategy that follows College Track’s program requirements, centers College Track’s college partners and ensures scholars have visited four colleges in person by the end of 11th grade

• Build relationships and collaboration with key stakeholders like College Track Partner college/university representatives, partner high school college counselors, partner high school leadership, etc.

• Collaborate closely with the College Thrive team to understand college scholar trends in order to inform college counseling strategies in the College Going phase of the program and to ensure a strong transition for graduating high school seniors

• Serve as the primary liaison between the central College Counseling Strategy team and the site

[Management and Coaching]

• Manage the College Counselor and Advisors (CCAs) at the site, completing weekly one-on-one check-ins to delegate responsibilities, ensure alignment and program fidelity, clarify questions and provide consistent feedback

• Equip CCAs with caseload management tools and strategies to integrate use into their day-to-day workflow, ensuring tracking and data collection is happening in real-time and on-time to a high standard

• Observe CCAs leading individualized college counseling meetings, individualized and group family meetings, college clinics, Writing Institute sessions, and more to provide feedback with clear action steps to improve college counseling

[Caseload Management and College Readiness Programming]

• Divide and strategically assign junior and senior scholar caseloads to the site’s College Counseling Team

• Manage a diverse caseload of ~65 high school juniors and seniors, including undocumented students, ensuring each student has the support they need to matriculate to a four-year college

• Provide individualized, one-on-one college counseling to students, ensuring students complete FAFSA, their college applications, and receive financial aid and scholarship application support

• Assess, track, and report leading indicators (like attendance, college application submission, and financial aid completion) in service of driving student outcome metrics including: percentage of students who matriculate to partner colleges, percentage of students who submit FAFSA, and more

• Lead specialized clinics and family meetings related to college readiness, including topics such as: financial aid, the college application process, and scholarships

• Support in the preparation for and facilitation of key College Counseling-focused LEAD lessons for seniors and, occasionally, juniors

• Lead Writing Institute to support students in writing drafts of their personal statements before the start of 12th grade

• Other duties as assigned

Qualifications

First and foremost, the College Counseling Director will be a fierce advocate for College Track’s mission to equip scholars confronting systemic barriers to earn a bachelor’s degree in pursuit of a life of opportunity, choice, purpose, and power. Additionally, candidates bring with them the following skills, experience, and knowledge:

• Minimum 3+ years of experience as a full-time College Counselor supporting 12th graders through the application, financial aid, and matriculation processes in MD and/or the District of Columbia; experience should be within the past 5 years

• Minimum Bachelor’s degree with master’s degree preferred

• Program area expertise: knowledge of financial aid and scholarships, including supporting students in applying for FAFSA and relevant state-specific financial aid applications

• Program area expertise: knowledge in key college application processes like Common App or state-specific applications in MD and/or the District of Columbia (e.g. University of California system, California State University system, University System of Maryland, etc.); existing relationships with, or ability to develop relationships with, key admission and financial aid staff at colleges of interest, especially CT’s college

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