Director of College Counseling

Cardinal Gibbons

Raleigh, North Carolina

Director of College Counseling

Start Date: July 2026

cghsnc.org

Cardinal Gibbons seeks a student-centered, dynamic, collaborative, and experienced Director of College Counseling. The current Director is departing after 23 years of dedicated service to the School and community. She succeeded in building and growing a program that strives to meet the needs of students and their families and in building a collaborative team. The next Director has the opportunity to build on these strengths and to continue to evolve the program. The Director of College Counseling reports to the Chief Academic Officer, serves on student support and academic leadership teams, and manages the counseling team that currently includes four college counselors and a college counseling coordinator.  The next Director will be an active partner with academic leadership, contributing to the school's ongoing efforts to strengthen its academic program and ensure that students are well-positioned as competitive applicants for a wide range of post-secondary institutions. Given the college counseling office’s strong foundation and the School’s strength, reputation, full enrollment, and sense of community, this is a compelling opportunity for a values-aligned, visionary, and relational educational leader.

Mission

Cardinal Gibbons High School is a college preparatory school of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh. We embrace the mission of Jesus Christ: to form men and women of faith, service, and leadership in church and community.

Opportunities and Challenges

Partner with academic leadership. The next Director of College Counseling will closely partner with the Chief Academic Officer to evolve the school’s academic program and to ensure students are prepared to thrive in their next educational steps. This partnership will include working alongside faculty and academic leadership to identify and support the curricular and programmatic development that will strengthen students' preparation and potentially broaden the range of colleges and universities where Cardinal Gibbons graduates thrive. Additionally, there is an opportunity to help clarify the role of the college counselors in relation to the roles of students’ advisors, Deans of Students, counselors, learning support, and Spiritual Life. By helping to define and organize these complementary roles, the next Director will ensure that the many student support resources at Cardinal Gibbons are well-coordinated, that student needs are met with intention and care, and that college counselors are able to focus their expertise and energy where   they are most needed.

 Lead and support the college counseling team. In addition to the Director, there are four college counselors and a college counseling coordinator. All the current college counselors have both school counseling and college counseling experience. The current team enjoys a collaborative culture and seeks to learn with and from one another. The next Director will bring meaningful experience managing and developing teams, with the organizational and interpersonal skills to support each colleague's professional growth while building a cohesive, high-functioning department and increasing the team’s connection to the school community.

 Assess and evolve the program. The college counseling program strives to support the academic and personal well-being of students in grades 9 to 12. College counselors are assigned in 9^th grade and partner with advisory groups through students’ time at Cardinal Gibbons. The team offers in-person as well as virtual programming to educate and support students and their parents/guardians throughout the school year. Based on recent student and family interest and feedback, the team added webinars on engineering and test prep. In collaboration with the college counseling team and school leadership, the next Director can assess and evolve the program to ensure it is meeting the needs of a dynamic and diverse student population.   

Partner in sharing the stories of Cardinal Gibbons. The next Director will partner closely with school leadership—particularly admissions and the Head of School—in sharing the quantitative and qualitative stories of students’ experiences in the college search and application processes. With curiosity about and facility with data, the next Director has the opportunity to develop systems to provide insight into Cardinal Gibbons students’ post-secondary journeys.

Qualifications and Personal Attributes

• A minimum of five years in counseling, college counseling and/or college admission that has included programmatic and people leadership responsibilities.
• Proven experience in formally supervising employees and supporting the growth and professional development of colleagues. The next Director will be a skilled and confident manager, able to build team structures and workflows that allow each member of the college counseling staff to contribute fully and sustainably.

• Systems thinker with an understanding of and curiosity about a school’s curricular and co-curricular programs and how college counseling might coherently complement the student experience. This includes the ability to develop collaborative partnerships with colleagues across campus.
• Familiarity with the evolving landscape of athletic recruiting, including early commitment timelines, NCAA and NAIA eligibility regulations, and the financial dimensions of athletic scholarships, with the ability to guide student-athletes and their families through a process that significantly intersects with, and at times shapes, the broader college search. At Cardinal Gibbons, where 40-50 students in every graduating class are recruited to compete at the collegiate level, this is not a peripheral concern but a core competency.

• The ability to develop and articulate vision and strategy and the tactical skills necessary to deftly manage the systems and processes required to implement strategy.
• The highest standards of professionalism with a focus on developing warm, collaborative, and transparent relationships characterized by cultural competence, humor, humility, empathy, and emotional intelligence.
• Curiosity about and facility with collecting, analyzing, and using data.
• Strong written and oral communication skills, combined with the interpersonal range to navigate complex conversations, build trust with diverse stakeholders, and communicate effectively with students and families, the broader school community, and college admission officers.

• Deep appreciation and affection for the joys of working with high school students, an orientation toward building relationships with students characterized by professionalism, warmth and humor, and a desire to see students in action by engaging in the life of the school.
• A joyful spirit, optimistic outlook, and sense of humor.
• A workstyle built on approachability, responsiveness, collaboration, and transparent and clear communication.
• The confidence and humility to advocate for and embrace new ideas, invite disagreement, and welcome feedback.
• Superior organizational skills and work ethic.
• A strong professional network amongst the college admission and college counseling community.
• A bachelor’s degree (required) and master’s degree in counseling or related field.