College Counselor

Position Overview

SEED Miami centers its mission on helping students access college and persist through completion. The College Counselor supports students and their families across the full college journey, from early exposure and exploration through applications, standardized testing, and final college selection. This role is especially focused on serving first-generation and low-income students, helping them make informed choices about higher education and building family capacity to support the process.

The position also owns SAT and ACT preparation planning and execution. That includes arranging test-prep supports, monitoring student progress, and offering individualized guidance when needed. To maintain continuity and strong planning, the counselor leads summary advising meetings in July to review academic progress, college-planning milestones, and next steps for the coming school year.

SEED Miami uses a data-informed college-matching model that emphasizes access as well as student success and completion. The ideal candidate will have strong knowledge of colleges and universities across the country, with particular attention to institutions that demonstrate strong outcomes for first-generation students. This role requires close collaboration with SEED Miami staff, faculty, and leadership, along with coordination with the College Transition & Success team in Washington, D.C. and counseling colleagues across the SEED network to ensure consistent support from high school through college completion.

Key Duties

• Work with the Director of College Counseling to plan and deliver college counseling programming aligned to the SEED College Access and Success Guide, while applying SEED’s college-matching philosophy across grades and family programming.
• Provide individualized college guidance to seniors and their families, including regular one-on-one counseling meetings.
• Support students and families through college search, fit evaluation, applications, and college awareness activities.
• Use advising tools with students, including career inventories and career interest profiling.
• Maintain the College Center space and bulletin boards so they reflect SEED’s college success culture and match philosophy.
• Keep the College Data Tracker accurate through timely data entry and weekly updates.
• Prepare regular updates and reports for the Director of College Counseling.
• Build and maintain relationships with college admissions representatives, arrange meetings with students, and serve as the year-round liaison to admissions offices.
• Support and chaperone approved national and regional college fairs.
• Help manage the college recommendation letter process.
• Make sure families receive timely information about the college process and are invited to counseling events and meetings.
• Partner with the Director of College Counseling and the College Transition & Success team to share information on colleges, guides, scholarships, financial aid, and paying for college, including access to major scholarship opportunities.
• Stay current on trends and developments in college admissions, higher education, testing, and professional association research and updates.
• Support senior-transition rituals and traditions.
• Assist with financial aid and financial education sessions.
• Chaperone all college tours, including local, out-of-county, and out-of-state trips.
• Design and oversee 9–12 community service opportunities and service-hour tracking with other directors.
• Coordinate college representative campus visits with the Director of College Counseling.
• Complete additional duties assigned by the Director of College Counseling.
• For juniors, lead the college-prep seminar in both fall and spring.
• Support ACT and SAT preparation partnerships, including course delivery, registration, and test-data management.
• Handle grading, lesson planning, and general teaching responsibilities under the guidance of the Director of College Counseling and the Director of High School Academics.
• For seniors, facilitate the fall college-prep seminar and support the planning of the College Prep Boot Camp alongside SEED DC, SEED MD, and the CTS team.
• Assist with senior transition traditions, including Signing Day.
• Carry out any other related duties or skills requested by the supervisor.

Core Competencies

• Clear written and verbal communication skills with the ability to explain complex college-planning information to students, families, and colleagues.
• Strong organization, careful attention to detail, and the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Deep understanding of college admissions, financial aid, FAFSA, and colleges that serve low-income and first-generation students well, along with a strong grasp of college fit and match.
• Ability to support and advocate for diverse student and family communities with sensitivity to underserved and first-generation populations.
• Comfort using data and technology to guide decisions, monitor progress, and manage counseling systems.

Compensation & Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, STD, LTD, group life, voluntary life, and FSA coverage are offered.
• 403(b) deferred compensation with up to 6% employer match.

Requirements

• A bachelor’s degree, or 3–5 years of experience in college access and success counseling within a school, community-based, or university setting.
• Current knowledge of the college application process, admissions practices, financial aid, and FAFSA completion.
• Understanding of college fit and match concepts, plus NCAA eligibility and recruiting rules.
• Strong relationship-building ability with faculty, staff, students, families, alumni, and community partners.
• Experience using education and counseling systems such as Naviance, CoPilot, and PowerSchool.
• A demonstrated record of building effective programs or services for underserved students and communities.
• Must be able to complete pre-employment drug screening and Level 2 fingerprint screening.

Additional Information

This position is based in Miami, Florida and is structured as a full-time, onsite role. The work involves direct student advising, family engagement, college-access programming, data tracking, event coordination, and collaboration across multiple SEED teams and partner institutions.

Pre-Employment Requirements

Drug screening and Level 2 fingerprint screening are required before employment.