Upper School Counselor

UPPER SCHOOL COUNSELOR

Job Description

Gilmour Academy is an independent, Catholic, co-educational, college preparatory school in the Holy Cross tradition. The school’s mission is to develop students with the ability to see and the courage to act in creating a more humane and just society. Gilmour instills in every student a strong sense of self-worth through personal achievement and the discovery of his or her own voice.

We are seeking an experienced school counselor with exemplary counseling skills, a commitment to facilitating the growth of each student, and a desire for on-going professional collaboration and growth. Successful candidates will have energy, enthusiasm, and experience counseling at the secondary school level. In addition, excellent candidates will:

• Provide direct services for students to help them build knowledge, skills, and mindsets in order to set goals, solve problems, and reason through complex choices related to their academic, college/career, and social-emotional development.

• Purposefully employ a variety of approaches to implement the school and college counseling program and provide direct services to students. These may include individual and group counseling, one-on-one meetings, group lessons, classroom presentations or assemblies, integrated or stand-along lessons, parent/guardian and family education, and other approaches.

• Counselors exhibit empathy, unconditional positive regard, and genuineness in building relationships with students, families, and school personnel.

• Build on students’ strengths while helping them identify and manage their challenges.

• Recognize that educating students is a shared responsibility, involving students, parents/guardians, school personnel, and the community.

• Provide indirect services on behalf of students by fostering open communication and collaboration among the home, the school, and the community in order to promote and build trust, understanding, and partnerships.

• Seek solutions and provide referrals to meet student’s academic, career, and social/emotional development needs.

• Understand the importance of using data to plan, implement and continually improve.

• Monitor student performance and progress, monitor the effectiveness of the school and college counseling programs, and use data to recommend changes and adjustments to the counseling program, specific practices, and/or school policies and procedures to foster student success.

• Understand their unique role in schools, as leaders and advocates, for the well-being of the whole child, including students’ academic, college/career, and social-emotional development and growth.

Work as dedicated professionals who provide leadership and advocacy for the development, implementation, and management of the comprehensive counseling program.