Director of College Counseling

The Agnes Irwin School’s Director of College Counseling has overall responsibility for guiding the members of each year’s graduating class through the transition to post-secondary education, focusing specifically on the college search and application processes, working with approximately 35-counselees, guiding them through the college search and application processes and helping them to shape the best possible college match.

The Agnes Irwin School in Rosemont, PA, has engaged DovetailED to lead a search for the Director of College Counseling beginning July 1, 2024. Interested candidates should review the opportunity statement and submit a cover letter, resume, and list of references with contact information as a single PDF document to DovetailED President Zack Lehman at zack@dovetailedsourcing.com. Please refrain from contacting the school directly.

The Agnes Irwin School Director of College Counseling Opportunity Statement: https://bit.ly/4a2eRBY.  

The Ideal Candidate: 

• Embraces the Agnes Irwin School’s mission to empower each girl to learn, lead, and live a legacy, and is committed to the ethos of girls’ education.
• Will immerse themselves in the life of the school and share their talents as a coach, advisor, chaperone, or  club leader
• Commits to continued development of cultural competency and necessary skills to engage with and learn from people with diverse backgrounds and experiences. 
• Demonstrates a dedication to continuous growth and development in areas of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging and commits to our DEIB Philosophy at Agnes Irwin. 
• Is willing to engage across difference with empathy and understanding
• Regards collaboration as an essential component of professional growth and values working on a team.

Essential Functions:

• Counsel students and parents, individually and in groups, through all aspects of the college application and admission process, possibly including some work with AIS graduates who transfer.  

• Support an innovative, robust college counseling program that is responsive to the current college admissions climate.
• Write an official school counselor recommendation for each senior, gathering information from parents, teachers, school records, and students. Provide feedback on college recommendations written by the Associate Director of College Counseling and the College Counseling Associate. 

• Lead small and large presentations, usually parents and students, to discuss the college admission and application process.
• Teach college counseling seminars and co-present various programs to faculty, parents, prospective families and other constituent groups (including some evenings).
• Build and maintain relationships with college admission professionals by visiting college campuses, maintaining regular phone/email communication, and welcoming 100+ college admission visitors to campus each year.
• Represent AIS at national, regional and local conferences as beneficial both to learn and educate; host/direct and participate in events throughout the year sponsored by the College Counseling department, such as evening workshops and college fairs/interview days/information sessions. 
• Partner with the Director of Athletics on the student - athlete recruitment process.
• Assist students with course selection for their senior year; the Director often consults with younger students, especially athletic recruits.

• Advise AIS advisors and coaches on their role in helping students through the college selection process.
• Guide the College Counseling department in determining and using technological programs, both commercial and intra-AIS, as needed to effectively run the office and deliver students’ applications. 
• Coordinate accurate records of student testing and academic work with the Registrar.
• Maintain an informative and up-to-date college guidance center on campus.
• Prepare reports bi-annually for the Board of Trustees on the college admission process for each given class.
• Establish and maintain a yearly budget, including anticipating expenses necessary to maintain a three to four person office.
• Plan and execute the end of year College 101 series, our culminating senior program. 

Qualifications:

• Minimum seven years experience in independent school college counseling and/or college admission.  
• Master’s degree preferred.
• Experience with athletic recruiting and working with tuition assistance families seeking financial aid for college preferred.
• A strong work ethic, excellent organizational skills, and ability to work in a fast-paced, highly stressful environment; ability to manage multiple assignments while managing interruptions and meeting deadlines. 
• Strong counseling skills in the context of an empathetic understanding of family dynamics; the ability to maintain confidentiality
• Strong communication/marketing skills, both written and oral, to communicate effectively with students, faculty, parents and college officers.
• Effective interpersonal, decision-making and organizational skills deployed in an environment with limited supervision.
• Strong knowledge base of U.S. colleges/universities and the ability to reasonably predict college admissions decisions; knowledge and/or willingness to acquire it for some overseas (UK) programs; a full understanding of college athletic and artistic ‘recruiting angles’ as well as financial aid processes/negotiations.
• Advanced proficiency in all areas of Microsoft Office and chosen commercial/institutional databases/ industry software. 

Physical Requirements and Work Environment:

• Adequate physical mobility, dexterity, strength and endurance to actively lead Upper School students and be responsible for their physical safety during all school-related activities, including evacuations and other emergency response procedures.   
• May work at a desk and computer for extended periods of time.  
• Must be able to occasionally lift up to 30 lbs.  

The physical requirements and work environment described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.