OVERVIEW
Brooklyn Friends School (BFS), a thriving PreK-12 Quaker independent day school located in vibrant Downtown Brooklyn offering the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program seeks a dynamic, organized educator with experience in college counseling and higher education admissions to lead our students and families through the college search and selection process in the US and abroad.  This is a full time, 12-month position that begins on July 1, 2021.

Brooklyn Friends is a vibrant community of eager-to-learn and engage students and highly committed and talented colleagues (BFS uses the all-inclusive term, colleagues, to refer to all rather than one that delineates faculty/staff). Founded in 1867, Brooklyn Friends School’s pillars of social justice, service learning/civic engagement, and Quakerism, serve as guideposts for our action-oriented collective work. Our school’s history has been illustrious and reflective of the expansive nature of human experiences. Guided by our mission, BFS provides a dynamic, diverse, and robust social/emotional environment and academic program that cultivates compassionate, intellectually curious, and confident changemakers. As a school, we affirm that human diversity includes, but is not limited to: race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, socioeconomic class, family structure and physical ability, as well as diversity of thought, talents, and learning style. 

This short video gives you a glimpse into our contemporary experience.

Successful candidates will have experience creating a student-centered college counseling process that includes:

• Encouraging/Guiding students to approach the college search/post-secondary planning process in a developmentally appropriate way; promoting student mental health, independent agency, setting clear timelines and expectations that take into consideration the other demands of student time during the search/application process; serving as an enthusiastic and knowledgeable partner to students with a range of interests, abilities and needs
  
  

• Embracing the opportunity to work closely with individual students and families through frequent productive meetings to establish a tailored college application approach including the development of a college list; support in crafting a compelling and accurate college essay; creating a standardized testing plan when necessary; supporting students as they pursue their special talent via creation of arts portfolios/auditions and manage NCAA recruitment
  
  

• Establishing relationships with students, families, faculty and Community Based Organizations that aid in the creation of counselor recommendation letters that thoroughly synthesize individual student academic and social experiences, learning style, and challenges during their time as a member of the BFS community
  
  

• Introducing relevant, creative, timely college search and application information to students via regular small-group college counseling seminars, and to students/families via various large-group presentations and workshops throughout the academic years

• Serving as liaison to colleague partners in College Admissions offices across the country and around the world; hosting annual admissions representative meetings with students and families, offering expert understanding and articulation of the BFS academic curriculum

• Willing partner to independent school counselor colleagues in the Brooklyn and NYC region to both offer and support collaborative college process related programming

• Working closely with academic department chairs and Head of Upper School on identifying academic trends in higher education that may impact the strength of students transition to the college setting; support the development of curriculum that is BFS mission aligned and responsive to the demands of rigorous post-secondary education
  
  

• Successfully partnering with a knowledgeable Registrar to provide thorough, timely and efficient documentation and dissemination of each student’s academic record

• Supporting an engaged and talented faculty in the development of student-specific recommendation letters that are efficient, relevant, timely and impactful in the overall admissions process

• Eagerly representing Brooklyn Friends School within professional organizations, peer networks and professional development conferences prioritizing professional growth and maintaining awareness of the current trends, issues, and program opportunities within the admissions, financial aid and college counseling landscape; promptly communicating those observations to stakeholders

• Crafting detailed reports for the Head of Upper School, Head of School and Board of Trustees that accurately and clearly communicate the areas of growth, successes, and evolving trends
  
  

• Providing an annual review of college counseling practices, policies and documentation to ensure that all processes are equitable, current, practical and mission-aligned. Ensuring the responsible management of the annual departmental budget in a way that enhances departmental goals and outcomes in the most efficient manner possible
  
  

• Collaborating with and supervising the College Counseling Administrative Assistant to produce consistent and high quality programming, communications and reports. Ensuring sufficient structure and support for the administrative assistant’s professional development in their role