Company Description

KIPP Texas Public Schools is a network of 59 public charter, open-enrollment, pre-k-12 schools educating nearly 34,000 students across Austin, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. Together with families and communities, our mission is to create joyful, academically excellent schools that prepare students with the skills and confidence to pursue the paths they choose -college, career, and beyond-so they can lead fulfilling lives and build a more just world.

Founded in Houston in 1994, and operating as KIPP Texas since 2018, our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and antiracism in our classrooms, in our offices, and in the communities we serve is unwavering. We are looking to hire a diverse team of dynamic, collaborative, and dedicated individuals with an unyielding belief that every child will succeed. Join our Team and Family and champion equity, chase excellence, persist with purpose, bring joy, and help us rise together.

KIPP Texas is part of the national KIPP network of 255 college-preparatory public charter schools in 20 states and the District of Columbia. Nationwide, KIPP students complete four-year college at a rate of 36 percent, comparable to the national average for all students and approximately three times higher than the average of students from low-income communities.

You can see all our job opportunities at https://kipptexas.org/join-our-team/.

Job Description

The Director of College & Career Counseling is responsible for developing and managing a college and career counseling program and team that will ensure that every student deepens their knowledge about themselves and their top careers of highest aspiration, and builds and executes a strong plan that will allow them to make the best postsecondary choice. The Director of College & Career Counseling is responsible for building relationships with the school leadership team, national organizations and college/ universities that will lead to resources for students. It is the ultimate goal of the college & career counseling department, through guidance and education, to ensure that all graduates have the ability to maintain success in their academic, professional and personal lives. Finally, the Director of College Counseling is charged with keeping the college & career counseling program woven into all aspects of KIPP high school campus to ensure that the program does not work in isolation from the school's mission.

This role is an ideal opportunity for a highly motivated, collaborative, results-driven and service minded leader with a passion for supporting students in building and succeeding in their postsecondary plan for their career of highest aspiration. We are looking for a leader who can see the bigger picture, coach and develop our counselors and
manage the day to day operations.

Key Responsibilities

College and Career Access Knowledge and Skills

• KIPP Through College Counseling is driven by data and relationships with KIPPsters and their families
• Advise and coach all students, including students with unique circumstances through the financial aid process
• Create access to college resources and opportunities available to support underrepresented populations
• Knowledge of SAT/ACT registration processes and the impact on college access.
• Provide family engagement workshops related to college match

Team Management

• Develop an efficient, positive and effective team culture by developing ambitious team goals, building the team's competencies
• Create a collaborative team with consistent communication flow to all key stakeholders and teammates
• Support junior and senior level college counseling teachers with lesson planning , lesson execution and classroom management
• Provide College Counseling Coaching support to the junior and senior counselors as they prepare students towards college access and persistence through college
• Conduct weekly one-on-one check-ins with direct reports and participate in weekly one-on-one check-ins with the School Leader and the Director of College Match along with mid-year and end of year evaluations
• Progress monitor all KIPP Through College postsecondary access goals
• Oversee KTC campus team expenditures

Data Management

• Maintain constant and consistent communication on the data progress of students with key stakeholders including: KIPP Foundation, College personnel, CBO's, School and regional leadership, and state leadership, along with students and families
• Plan for a present cyclical data at Monthly Match Meetings involving key leadership personnel
• Utilize various student management platforms to track, progress monitor and submit student data, including, but not limited to Salesforce, Naviance, Google suite, Excel etc.

Project Management

• Effectively plan the organization and time management of the team in planning parent nights, college visits, guest speakers, career exploration trips and other college and career access programming
• Delegate and multi-task various projects while progress monitoring the progression of key projects
• Develop innovative and creative solutions through programming that problem solve gaps in college knowledge and access for students and families
• Impact focused and efficient processes that move the team toward meeting KTC goals

School Leadership Team Responsibilities

• Participate on the School's Leadership Team to keep everyone aware of the targets, goals and progress of the college counseling team
• Participate on the grade level leadership team
• Lead department meetings and departmental professional development
• Other duties as assigned by the School Leader

Qualifications

Experience and Background

• Required: Bachelor's degree. Masters degree preferred.
• Required: 2-5 years' experience working with high school and/or college students
• Required: Previous experience managing and supervising adults strongly preferred
• 3+ years of professional work experience in college access or admissions advising preferred
• Bachelor's degree required. Masters degree preferred.
• Previous experience in using data to drive decision making strongly preferred
• Experience in public education or non-profit a strong plus
• Experience in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial, and fast-growing organization a strong plus
• Must have demonstrated experience in building best in class systems, processes, and standards, using data and KPIs to drive accountability and results, being resourceful and strategic so as to save costs and provide better service, and leading change
• Demonstrated experience in leading, motivating, growing, and developing high performing teams which deliver results preferred
• Must be able to adopt new technology quickly and be very proficient with Microsoft and other productivity tools (Slack, Google Drive)
• Fluent in Spanish is strongly preferred

Personal Values and Leadership Style

• Unquestioned integrity, passion, and commitment to KIPP Texas's mission, the families and KIPPsters we serve
• Unquestioned belief that all children will learn and that education is for all
• Must be a team player, working both collaboratively and independently
• Must be highly organized and resourceful
• Must be able to toggle between the big picture and the details
• Must be able to relate and connect to others (empathy)
• Must be able to drive results with a sense of urgency
• Must be solutions oriented with a growth mindset
• Must be a strong planner with the ability to be flexible when plans need to pivot and change
• Must have the ability to show genuine appreciation

Physical Requirements:

• The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions.
• Considerable time is spent at a desk using a computer/laptop
• Attending conferences or training sessions

Work Environment:

• Typical office environment with frequent interruptions
• This role can be based in the following locations with KIPP Texas Public Schools: Houston

Travel Requirements:

• Ability to travel to various locations, travel time approximately 30% - 40%

Additional Information

Compensation and Benefits

As a full-time KIPP Texas employee you are eligible to participate in all KIPP Texas' benefit plans. KIPP Texas offers a robust variety of benefits choices with competitive rates, including medical, dental, and vision options, life insurance, and disability plans.

KIPP provides equal employment opportunities for all applicants and employees. As an equal opportunity employer, we hire without consideration of race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, or disability.