Postsecondary Pathways Counselor

Role: Postsecondary Pathways Counselor

Category: Full-time, exempt

Reports to: Post-secondary Pathways Manager

Start Date: February 2025

Salary Range: $55-$65K, with generous benefit package, PTO schedule and wellness perks

About Futures Ignite:

Founded in 2012 by the Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School (WHEELS), Futures

Ignite (FI) has 10 years of experience investing in New York City’s high school students' futures. Using WHEELS as a catalyst for expanding student opportunities for high school and beyond, FI’s mission is to amplify youth and community power by inspiring, guiding and advocating for youth to determine their college, career and leadership futures. FI provides leadership development, postsecondary advisement, and career exposure for students and alumni. Our work with 1500 WHEELS students and alumni has achieved impressive results, which you can learn more about here.

About the Role:

Futures Ignite is seeking an enthusiastic, diligent, and equity-minded professional. The ideal candidate for this position has excellent communication skills, strong attention to detail, and a high degree of flexibility in serving the varied and diverse needs of the individual students. The Postsecondary Pathways Counselor is an integral part of our Postsecondary Pathways (PSP) team and will work closely with both the Postsecondary Pathways Manager and Senior Director of Programs. The person in this role will work closely with students to develop academics plans, advocate for individual students with college administrations, and college and career access programs to ensure that students within their caseload have the tools, resources and support they need to identify, apply and get into a best-fit college or career pathways. The PSP Counselor shall possess a high degree of sensitivity, warmth and empathy while maintaining consistency with program expectations to encourage academic, social and personal growth.

Roles/Responsibilities:

• Manage a caseload of approximately 50 students, providing one on one college counseling
• Provide individualized counseling and assistance meetings per student, focused on college application and selection, financial aid, and other areas to ensure each student graduates with a best-fit postsecondary plan. This may include postsecondary planning related to technical program, certificate or internship programs based on student needs
• Support students in researching college lists, reviewing personal essays, and completing the application process
• Facilitate college preparation workshops and group counseling sessions for juniors and seniors–with a focus on combining leadership development, college readiness and professional skill building.
• Co-coordinate college application workshops and resources for students and parents, including college application days (CUNY, SUNY, private) and financial aid nights for families
• Support in student collection and management on Naviance, Enroll, and other data systems tracking student records, supporting regular updates to the team
• Support partnership development with colleges and universities, including coordination of admissions representative visits and information sessions at WHEELS. Organize college trips (both day and overnight) for all high school students and serve as a chaperone, as needed
• Collaborate with FI and WHEELS staff to build a cohesive and robust college access and support team, and college going culture throughout the school
• Deepen our team expertise in professional-pathways, including finding credible certificate and trade programs, service years, and gap year options

Skills/Qualifications:

• Subject matter expertise and experience in the college access space
• Proven ability to track and analyze data, both quantitative and qualitative, to measure program effectiveness on a daily/weekly basis to drive continuous improvement
• Passionate about supporting first generation students from underserved communities in graduating with postsecondary plans for education and career opportunities
• Analytical skills, critical thinking and problem solving
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Ability to manage and be flexible with multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment
• Committed to anti-racist practices, equity-driven mindset, and culturally responsive in theory, action and principle
• Demonstrated community leader, with connections in the postsecondary education and education ecosystem highly preferred
• Spanish language fluency preferred

Experience and Education:

• Bachelor’s degree required and master’s degree preferred, ideally in education, youth development or counseling
• A minimum of 2 years of relevant professional experience. 2-3 years of experience providing counseling services is highly preferred
• Experience working in a high school setting, or in a youth-development setting with adolescent students
• Experience with data management and analysis
• Experience with project management

Futures Ignite is an equal opportunity employer and actively encourages applications from people of all backgrounds.