Career Center

Associate/Assistant Director of College Counseling

Job Posting

*Title to be determined based on level of experience

About the Branson School:

The Branson School is a coeducational, college-preparatory day school of 370 students, grades 9-12, located in Marin County, California. Branson prides itself on fostering nurturing relationships with students while maintaining high academic standards. The faculty and staff value collaboration, professional development, reflection, and continual exploration of good teaching. Branson employees work in a beautiful, well-resourced environment with dedicated students. The faculty and staff are widely regarded as outstanding and there exists in the adult community an admirable esprit de corps and a positive attitude about their work and their relationship with students.

Mission Statement:

Branson develops students who make a positive impact in the world by leading lives of integrity, purpose, learning, and joy.

Core Values:

Kindness, Courage, Honor, Purpose

Community Statement of Belonging:

Branson believes that diversity, equity and inclusion are essential to create a truly excellent learning environment and a vibrant, caring community. We aspire to have every member of the Branson community feel a deep sense of belonging and inclusion.

Reports to:  Director of College Counseling

Position Description:

Under the supervision of the Director of College Counseling, the Associate/Assistant Director of College Counseling will provide comprehensive, individualized college counseling services to a community of 420 students with a particular focus on highly selective admission processes.  The Associate/Assistant Director must have excellent counseling, listening, organizational and writing skills. He, she, or they must fully understand the ins and outs of the college application process in order to be able to provide precise, highly customized academic and college counseling services.  These services include list construction, holistic essay review, interview preparation, curricular and standardized testing advising, and general admission strategy.  The Associate/Assistant Director must be able to operate in a fast paced, varied work environment that includes high volume responsibility and atypical or unpredictable hours and tasks. An easy-going personality and great sense of humor, coupled with a steadfast work ethic, is essential. 

We are seeking someone who demonstrates sensitivity and compassion while working with students and families from a wide variety of ethnic, socioeconomic, cultural, and otherwise diverse family compositions. While the Associate/Assistant Director must be able to work with all constituencies at the school, he, she, or they must be particularly able to build trusted relationships with students and their parents.

This job is a full-time, 12-month, exempt position. It requires occasional evening and weekend commitments. Annual salary range: $105,000.00-$130,000.00. Expected start date: July 1, 2024.

Primary responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Manage the college counseling process for approximately 35 seniors and 35 juniors.  
• Meet with seniors as needed to create and finalize college lists, review essays, proofread/edit applications and resumes, etc.
• Author highly personalized letters of recommendation for high school seniors. 
• Demonstrate a willingness to become a part of the broader Branson community through participation in campus events, club advising, school committee membership, and eventually grade-level advising.
• Participate in all office-sponsored programming and show enthusiasm for enhancing programming. 
• Team-teach two week-long essay writing workshops over the course of the summer. 
• Team-teach “college counseling class” for at least four sections of juniors (spring) and seniors (fall). 
• Assist in Branson-offered standardized testing planning and administration. 
• Utilize college counseling technology to both guide students through the college selection process as well as to upload/submit college applications and supporting documents and manage enrollment data. 
• Show willingness to learn new technological skills and/or systems in order to manage and assess current practices. 
• Handle highly sensitive material with discretion.
• Engage in professional development opportunities, such as visiting colleges and universities throughout the academic year and attending national and regional college admissions counseling conferences. 
• Meet with college representatives (both on campus and through professional development opportunities) in order to develop collegial relationships.

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree required. Master’s preferred. 
• A minimum of 4-5 years of experience in college counseling and/or college admissions.
• Outstanding interpersonal skills.
• A willingness to try new things and develop new procedures and strategies as the College Counseling Team adapts to an ever-changing college admissions environment.
• Strong organizational, problem-solving, and analytical skills.
• Proficiency in Scoir and Microsoft Office Suite. 

Equal Employment Opportunity Policy

Branson is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to a policy of equal employment opportunity for all applicants, employees, volunteers and interns, and the School makes decisions based on the merits of each candidate. Branson prohibits discrimination based on an individual’s race, color, religion (including all aspects of religious beliefs, observance or practice, including religious dress or grooming practices), sex (including gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender, pregnancy and breastfeeding), sexual orientation (including heterosexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality) national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, marital status or registered domestic partner status, uniformed service member or veteran status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic characteristics or information, or any other basis protected by law. The School will afford equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants, employees, volunteers, and interns as to all terms and conditions of employment, including, without limitation, compensation, hiring, training, promotion, transfer, discipline, and termination.

For Consideration

We encourage those that align with Branson’s shared commitment to its Mission Statement, Community Statement of Belonging and Core Values to apply by uploading a cover letter and resume to Michelle Jones, Director of Human Resources at: https://thebransonschool.applytojob.com/apply/LrDLOC6AmF/AssistantAssociate-Director-Of-College-Counseling