VA Summary: Vermont Academy (VA) is nestled on four hundred fifty acres at the foothills of the Green Mountains in Saxtons River, Vermont, and has provided a supportive community and close personal attention to its students for close to 150 years. VA immerses students (boarding and day) in key developmental pillars including Community, Land, Ingenuity, and Independence.

Values: Diversity, equity, and inclusion are central values to Vermont Academy. We are passionate about building and sustaining an inclusive and equitable working and learning environment for all students, staff, faculty, and families. We believe every member of our team enriches our diversity by exposing us to a broad range of ways to understand and engage with the world, identify challenges, and discover, design, and deliver solutions.

Job Title: Director of College Counseling 

Reports To: Assistant Head of School

Position Summary: Vermont Academy seeks a Director of College Counseling for the 2025-2026 school year. The Director of College Counseling is responsible for leading students through the college selection, application, and admission processes, coordinating office operations, and counseling students and their parents through the college selection and application process. This position works collaboratively with college counselors and supports staff and colleagues throughout the school to ensure that student college searches culminate in appropriate college options. The Director of College Counseling plays a key role in promoting equity in the college application process.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

• Develop and implement a comprehensive, thriving, and evolving college counseling program that seeks new approaches to serve and assist students of all grades. 
• Ensure a mission-driven program that meets students’ needs, takes into consideration diverse backgrounds, and assists all students in equitable and inclusive ways. 
• Reach out to, inspire, and motivate students throughout their time at VA to be active participants and to develop skills that will help them experience a successful college application process. 
• Plan, design, and implement college counseling programs and events for students and families to assist them in the proper planning for college. 
• Develop and implement new college counseling strategies and communicate regularly with students and their families. 
• Build relationships with college admission offices throughout the United States and abroad, visit colleges, and oversee visits from and relationships with college representatives. 
• Maintain current knowledge of the college financial aid process and work closely to educate and support families applying for aid. 
• Collaborate with colleagues throughout the school to promote students’ strengths and identify weaknesses with respect to their impact on college admission. 
• Write college recommendations and offer support and training to the faculty in that process.
• Supervise and support the college counselors and administrative staff on the daily operation of the office; lead the department in creating a student-centered vision for the college counseling program.
• Monitor and keep up-to-date records on assigned students’ academic choices, performance, and educational testing results as they affect college plans.
• Report to the Assistant Head of School on the overall program and on the progress of students through the application process. 

Basic Qualifications:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, and excellent interpersonal skills that include a demonstrated ability to collaborate with and support diverse populations. 
• Commitment to making a positive impact on the lives of adolescents and willingness to work in a diverse and inclusive boarding school environment.
• Minimum of 10 years of prior work in college counseling or college admission administration or equivalent; supervisory experience desired.
• Experience with financial aid, merit scholarships, educational testing, summer programs, and/or year-off programs desired.
• Bachelor's degree. Advanced degree desired.

Disclaimer: The above declarations are not intended to be an all-inclusive list of the duties and responsibilities of the position described, nor are they intended to be such a listing of the skills and abilities required to do the job. Rather, they are intended only to describe the general nature of the position.

Job Description Status: The duties and responsibilities listed in this job description are illustrative ones anticipated for this position. Other duties and responsibilities may be assigned as required. Vermont Academy reserves the right to amend or change this job description to meet the needs of its programs. This job description and any attachments do not constitute or represent a contract.

Employment decisions are made at Vermont Academy without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status.

Please apply to our posting by sending a resume/CV and cover letter to jobs@vermontacademy.org. 

About Vermont Academy

Founded in 1876, Vermont Academy is a coed college preparatory boarding and day school in southern Vermont, serving grades 9-12 plus a postgraduate year. www.vermontacademy.org

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