Job Description

POSITION OVERVIEW

Counseling services can transform the college and career dreams into a reality. Evidence has shown that the lack of access to information and guidance on college admissions and financial aid is a prohibitive barrier for many low-income families. In the absence of good information, many families develop critical misconceptions about what it takes to get into and stay in college. By employing a diverse range of outreach efforts – from individualized, one-on-one meetings to large-group workshops – the KIPP Forward program closes the information divide for KIPP Texas students and families, breaking down the barriers to college access. The KIPP Forward office has four major program components: high school transition support, high school advising, college placement services, and college and career advising.

The COLLEGE & CAREER COUNSELOR supports KIPP Texas alumni enrolled at non-KIPP high schools in their pursuit of higher education and preparations towards a career. This position will support the transition to HS and a caseload of 9-12th grade KIPP Texas middle school alumni. The counselor's role is to support alumni to and through high school on the path to college using KIPP’s framework of “College Match” counseling. This role includes significant student outreach to promote workshops, summer enrichment opportunities and advising sessions. This position will be housed within the KIPP Texas School Support Partners (SSP) and will report to the Managing Director of KIPP Forward.

ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Alumni Support and Advising

●      Serve as an advisor for a caseload of KIPP Texas alumni and monitor their progress toward high school diploma and college matriculation;

●      Develop positive, appropriate, meaningful relationships with students, parents, teachers, and high school counselors;

●      Actively promote, assist alumni with applications, and track attendance for summer enrichment opportunities such as, but not limited to, pre-college programs, summer programs, leadership opportunities, internships and enrichment opportunities;

●      Advise students on college and career pathways and help students develop success skills, such as self-advocacy, problem-solving, interviewing, networking, etc.;

●      Guide students through aptitude and achievement assessments, to help students evaluate their interests, skills, and connect their interest with potential careers;

●      Counsel alumni on course-selection and extra-curricular activities in high school in addition to study skills, referrals to tutoring/counseling, on-campus support, long and short-term

goal-setting, coaching, problem solving and encouragement;

●      Offer individualized counseling around social and emotional issues associated with high school life, college and career readiness

●      Provide guidance on writing effective college and scholarship essays, strong resumes, submitting college and financial aid applications, and other items important for college admissions, internships and jobs;

●      Reach out to students and parents using phone calls, emails, in-person meetings, social media, and high school campus visits;

●      Keep students and families apprised of college admission requirements and monitor eligibility;

●      Keep students and families informed of deadlines and resources related to the college, financial aid and scholarship application processes;

●      Write effective recommendations for students for scholarships, college applications, summer programs, internships and jobs;

●      Assist alumni with registering for the SAT/ACT and help monitor test prep classes;

●      Introduce KIPP and KIPP Forward programming to high school administration and collaborate with high school counselors, college access programs and leadership staff at high schools to support alumni progress;

●      Serve as a resource for KIPP DFW Middle and High School teaching faculty regarding college and career readiness and integration;

●      Collaborate with KIPP DFW’s KIPP Forward Post-Secondary Team to ensure all graduating seniors complete college matriculation steps, including but not limited to submit housing deposits, attend orientation, and register for classes.

Research and Data

●      Track, input and verify student data (contact information, academic progress, test scores, summer program participation, etc.) using the Alumni Database (Salesforce);

●      Research and stay current on higher education programs, trends and issues with student impact and make recommendations based on best practices and research;

●      Assist in developing profiles of high schools based on performance, achievement results, and college-going rates;

●      Assist with data collection for annual report and program evaluation;

●      Maintain documentation for program files and evaluation of program activities;

●      Prepare marketing, publicity materials and reports as needed;

●      Track HS Budget expenses and ensure expenditures remain within budgetary limits.

Project Management

●      Plan and execute co-curricular initiatives as assigned. These may include: application events, parent meetings, college-readiness and transition workshops, volunteer events, and socials;

●      Support evening programming and coordinate academic tutoring enrichment initiatives for alumni in need of academic intervention;

●      Support design, writing, and distribution of KIPP Forward newsletter for alumni enrolled in high schools;

●      Create, update and distribute a Career & Summer Program Guidebook

●      Collaborate with KIPP DFW Middle Schools to devise transition plans for incoming high school freshmen and facilitate high school transition meetings;

●      Collaborate with the Director of College & Career Services to drive career support services for HS alumni;

●      Collaborate with the College Team to arrange college visits and opportunities for HS alumni to connect with alumni in college.

KIPP Forward Team

●      Meet weekly with the Managing Director of KTC to discuss progress, submit reports, etc.

●      Collaborate with the KIPP Forward HS team to report progress toward goals, plan HS visits and encourage alumni attendance for KIPP Forward programming;

●      Work with KIPP Froward team to identify partnership that could provide additional support and services to alumni such as tutoring, internships, scholarship programs and college placement services;

●      Develop positive, appropriate relationships with fellow KIPP DFW staff members and teachers, viewing each other as teammates and professional colleagues

●      Attend, and actively participate in, all staff meetings, etc.

Other duties assigned by the Managing Director of KIPP Forward

Qualifications

Qualifications:

●      Bachelor’s degree from an accredited 4-year college.

●      Prior experience working with high school students (especially first-generation) and their families in the college counseling field

●      Ability to work well both individually and within a team structure

●      Strong record of helping students achieve academic success, primarily with minority and low-income students

●      Ability to facilitate group workshops for teenagers and parents

●      Proven ability to collaborate and build relationships with stakeholders across functional and organizational lines

●      Comfort with working in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment

●      Excellent analytical, written, and interpersonal communication skills

●      Fast learner with the ability to inquire and be open to feedback

●      Strong work ethic, leadership acuity, and entrepreneurial spirit

●      Detail and results-oriented team player who is dedicated to getting the job done

●      Demonstrates a high proficiency with Microsoft Office and has previous experience utilizing a database, i.e. Salesforce

●      Unquestioned integrity and commitment to KIPP Texas's mission

●      Relentless drive to follow up and stay connected with students in order to help them succeed, and a willingness to do whatever it takes to help our students apply and gain admission to colleges or universities

●      Outstanding project management skills, with an ability to manage multiple tasks and projects simultaneously

●      Bilingual (English/Spanish) is strongly preferred

Additional Information

Compensation and Benefits:

Salary is based on years of experience, degree of education, and level of expertise. A competitive benefits package is also offered.

KIPP provides equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees.

As an equal opportunity employer, we hire without consideration to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status or disability