MS Counselor

Job overview

G E N E R A L D E S C R I P T I O N
RIS seeks an enthusiastic and engaging counselor to directly impact the middle school community by providing a comprehensive counseling program. The applicant will support students' academic and social-emotional life. The applicant will participate in the planning and
implementation of the developmental guidance and counseling program. The middle school counselor will support family education by leading parent discussion groups and regularly meeting with families.
RIS is committed to child safeguarding and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment by proactively upholding our code of conduct.

KEY R E S P O N S I B I L I T I E S
● Support students’ academic progress and social-emotional health
● Consult with classroom teachers/advisors about concerns and/or preventative measures for maintaining wellbeing, and facilitate regular communication
● Coordinate with the SST team regarding students with social and emotional issues
● Maintain and update outside referrals and outside referral lists in collaboration with the Student Support team
● Collaborate with the Student Support Team (SST), counseling team, Middle School Principal, Dean of Students, and the Director of Student Support to address concerns and make referrals to external agencies when necessary, coordinating with local social services in line with safeguarding protocols
● Provide individual and crisis counseling, with referrals to outside resources as necessary
● Actively participate in grade-level teaching team meetings, especially regarding students of concern
● Organize and facilitate groups for students with common issues
● Serve as a key member of the Child Safeguarding Task Force
● Lead parent discussion groups, trainings, and Coffee Talks
● Manage and communicate the Advisory curriculum based on the latest educational research with feedback from students, parents, teachers, and administrators
​​● Collaborate with teachers to integrate social-emotional learning (SEL) strategies into the classroom and Advisory program
● Organize new student orientations and consult on course placement and transition meetings
● Collaborate with ES and HS counselors regarding student transition between sections
● Maintain the database about students being counseled or referred in accordance with data protection and safeguarding guidelines
● Administration of our Caught Being Kind initiative
● Support peer mentoring or peer mediation initiatives as appropriate
● Collaborate with the K-12 Counseling team to maintain alignment across sections
● Collect, analyze, and report data related to student well-being and counseling services to inform program improvement
● Promote an inclusive and culturally responsive counseling program that reflects the diversity of the student body
● Engage in ongoing professional development to remain current with best practices in school counseling and adolescent development.
serve as a core member of the Safeguarding Task Force, supporting case management, documentation, and multi-agency collaboration
● Identify, assess, and respond to safeguarding concerns, following school and legal reporting procedures in coordination with the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL)
● Any other duties as are within the scope, spirit and purpose of the job, as requested by the Middle School Principal

S K I L L S & E X P E R I E N C E• Strong background in social-emotional counseling
• Possess teaching skills to administer developmental guidance curriculum; organizational skills; computer literacy; and knowledge of the developmental guidance philosophy
• Extensive experience in counseling in a K-12 school
• Proven ability to cooperate and collaborate with administrators, teachers, staff, and parents
• Ability to build rapport with students
• Experience and training in supporting and implementing comprehensive child safeguarding policies and procedures
• Strong skills in monitoring and following through

Q U A L I F I C A T I O N S & R E Q U I R E M E N T S • Bachelor’s degree in counseling or related field
• Master’s degree in school counseling preferred
• Maintains proper counselor certification