Dean and College Counselor - Grades 11-12

THE OPPORTUNITY

Start date: August 1, 2026

Avenues’ academic program makes our graduates uniquely compelling applicants for the most selective postsecondary pursuits, and also uniquely complex, fascinating, and joyful young people to support.

A College Counseling Dean at Avenues is a mentor and guide (also: cheerleader, thoughtful truth-teller, confidant, and steady presence) who supports students’ well-being, partners deeply with families, and helps students design the next chapter of their lives with confidence and clarity.

This is not traditional college counseling. It is relationship-based, whole-student, and deeply human. It is also strategic and outcomes-driven. You will help students thrive now and move on to truly great-fit pursuits next, in ways that feel empowering, personalized, and full of possibility. Above all, Deans build powerful, lasting relationships with students that extend across years, both during and long after their time at Avenues.

WHAT MAKES ADVISING AT AVENUES DIFFERENT
Advising at Avenues is student-centered and rooted in who a student is becoming, not just what they are doing. Built on deep partnerships with students and families, our work moves past the transactional. We believe the process should be joyful, fun, creative, and optimistic. Our approach is innovative and ever-evolving, and always aligned with fit: the best school is the one where a student will flourish because they know themselves well and are excited about what’s next.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

Mentor and champion students as whole people, not just college applicants.

• Advise a caseload of about 50 students and their families across grades 11–12. Your students will feel deeply known, mentored, and supported, and their families will rave about your partnership. At Avenues, we begin working with our students towards the end of 10th grade, thereby lengthening and deepening our relationship with them and their families. 
• Serve as a steady, trusted adult in students’ lives: a coach, confidant, advocate, and guide through the complex challenges of adolescence; help students build skills and habits that support wellbeing, belonging, resilience, and growth.
• Teach and co-design an advisory curriculum taught in weekly “Deans’ Meetings” focused on well-being and preparation for postsecondary success.
• Partner closely with faculty, student support staff, grade-level deans, and division leaders to ensure each student receives the right support at the right time.

Guide students to selective, best-fit postsecondary pursuits

• Expertly guide students and families through the college and postsecondary process with warmth, clarity, precision, and strategic vision.
• Help students explore and define what they want from their lives as Avenues graduates, aligning their values, interests, strengths, identity, and aspirations.
• Support students as they craft compelling, authentic applications that reflect who they are and what they care about.
• Navigate high-stakes moments with calm and confidence

Build and evolve an exceptional advising program

• Contribute enthusiastically to a dynamic, collaborative deans’ team dedicated to student well-being and meaningful postsecondary outcomes.
• Bring creativity and experimentation to the work: design new experiences, tools, workshops, rituals, and systems that make the process more human, empowering, and effective. 
• Share expertise, learn continuously, and help strengthen Avenues’ advising practices over time.

Qualifications

WHAT YOU BRING

• You love and respect teenagers, and you feel deeply passionate about helping them grow into themselves, managing the emotional life of adolescence and attendant expectations of a Manhattan private school community. 
• You bring a deep commitment to equity and belonging in this work, honoring the lived experiences, identities, and contexts of all students and families, and ensuring every student receives thoughtful, empowering, and high-expectation support throughout the process.
• You are energized by both dimensions of this work: holistic support and strategic postsecondary counseling.
• You’re excited by using data thoughtfully and ethically (application outcomes, student feedback, and program metrics) to spot patterns, improve advising practices, and help students make well-informed decisions.
• You are a student of college admissions trends and implement your understanding of those trends into your counseling practice. 
• You believe the college process should be about fit, growth, and meaning, not a narrow race for prestige or an exercise purely in project management. 
• You build strong, trusting relationships with students and parents, and you know how to partner with families through big emotions and high expectations.
• You communicate with clarity, responsiveness, integrity, and follow-through, and are an excellent writer and public speaker. 
• You understand that this work requires engaging in difficult conversations, navigating them with empathy, confidence, and grace.
• You excel in fast-paced, changing environments, handling multiple priorities with exceptional judgment and organization.
• You are fulfilled by deep collaboration; you are resourceful and eager to build something lasting with others.
• You bring creativity and an experimental mindset to your work, enjoy refining systems, developing new ideas, and making our program stronger year after year.
• You bring 5+ years of experience in college counseling and/or selective college admissions

Additional Information

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

If hired for this position, the annual salary range is $140,000–$160,000. Salary may vary depending on experience and skills. Competitive benefits for benefits-eligible roles include medical, dental, life insurance, 401K savings plan, generous paid time off, family-forming benefits, health and wellness benefits, and more.

Avenues is deeply committed to diversity, equity and inclusion throughout our organization. We strive to uphold a culture in which every colleague feels that they belong, are trusted, and are valued. We welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds, and strongly encourage candidates from traditionally underrepresented communities or groups to apply. Avenues offers competitive compensation and a generous benefits package. 

Avenues upholds the highest standards for safeguarding the physical and emotional wellbeing of children. As an essential aspect of this commitment, all offers are contingent upon successful completion of careful reference and background checks.