Careers and Colleges Advisor

Overview: 

Kodaikanal International School is a 125-year-old dynamic international school with a rich history of holistic education, offering the IB continuum of the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), the Diploma (DP), and Career-related (CP) Programmes to our learners. Our beautiful school and community are nestled in the Palani Hills of Tamil Nadu, South India.

At KIS, we empower our students to navigate through life’s challenges to achieve their true potential. We follow an inquiry-based approach that promotes critical thinking, learner agency, and a dedication to serving others. We recognize the importance of a meaningful, relevant, and engaging curriculum that connects students to real-world contexts for their learning. We are keenly aware of the need to adapt our teaching and learning model to respond to the needs of our students in a world of fast-paced change. 

Role:

This position is a full-time role to counsel students in their career education within an American curricular framework that is fully integrated with IB Middle Years and Diploma Programmes. The Careers and College Advisor is responsible for counselling students in their higher education pathways and providing academic guidance. All members of the KIS professional community are expected to fully support a residential-school ethos and environment.
 

About Kodaikanal International School

KIS Vision Statement: We strive to be a school the world needs: Our graduates will be transformative leaders, caring humans and thoughtful ambassadors for a just, sustainable and peaceful world.

KIS Mission Statement: Kodaikanal International School (KIS) is committed to empowering young people from diverse backgrounds with vision, knowledge, compassion and cross-cultural understanding. We are a community that welcomes everyone and seeks our purpose in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.

KIS Values: Accountability, Appreciation, Concern for Others, Consistency, Context, Cooperation, Integrity, Openness, Performance, and Reverence.

We are seeking colleagues who are driven by:

•  A strong belief in KIS’s guiding principles;
• The IB philosophy;
• Service and action
• A focus on trust, relationships, and community.

Our learning environment is characterized as:

• Inquiry-based learning;
• Fostering agency in our learners;
• Transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary;
• Service-oriented;
• Diverse, safe, and inclusive.

Safeguarding Statement

KIS is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people in our care. We support the rights of the child and will act without hesitation to ensure a child-safe environment. We also support the rights and wellbeing of our staff and volunteers and encourage their active participation in building and maintaining a secure environment for all participants. Teachers at KIS must follow the guidelines of the school’s protective behavior policies and protocols, including reporting any situation that might constitute a health and/or safety hazard to students or school employees.

Qualifications & Experiences

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s (or equivalent) in a relevant field
• International Baccalaureate experience
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills
• Strong organizational skills

Preferred Qualifications:

• An advanced degree - Master's 
• A license or certification for career guidance 
• IB training
• Recent and relevant professional development in college/career counselling (e.g., UCLA, UCSD, College Board, or similar recognized programs)
• Knowledge of international university admissions systems (US, UK, Canada, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South Korea etc.)

Preferred Experience: 

• Establishing and participating in collaborative structures
• Utilizing data to make informed decisions
• Utilizing technology tools such as Unifrog, Cialfo, etc., to guide students concerning career education
• Ongoing professional learning demonstrated through workshops, conferences, and webinars related to global education and future careers
• Leading student learning

Preferred Skills and Dispositions:

• Proven ability to work successfully in a diverse and inclusive environment
• Ability to communicate effectively with students, parents, teachers, and other stakeholders
• Understanding and awareness of the challenges faced by learners in a multicultural environment
• Team player with the ability to delegate and coordinate work
• Capacity to support the goals and mission of KIS through his/her personal philosophy

Reports to: Vice Principal
Coordinates with: Coordinators, departmental leaders and colleagues, secondary teachers
Time Period: Initial 2-year contract, with possibility to reapply for the position

Learning Responsibilities

Instruction
A KIS staff member is expected to provide quality instruction to students at KIS in accordance with the school’s established curriculum, school policies, and expectations. A KIS Career and College Advisor:

• Have an understanding of the concerns of parents from diverse backgrounds and cultures about their children’s educational needs.
• Familiar with relevant evaluation systems in India, the US, Canada, the UK, Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Singapore, and South Africa. 
• Have knowledge of the admissions process and requirements for higher education in different parts of the world, especially India, the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia, and of the published sources of such information, as well as an understanding of how the academic program at KIS is related to these requirements.
• Be thoroughly knowledgeable about current career opportunities, trends, and sources of such information.
• Have excellent writing and critical reading skills.
• Dedicated to student learning 
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills
• Strong organizational skills
• Team player with the ability to delegate and coordinate work
• Willing to work creatively with available materials/ resources 
• Understand the developmental characteristics and differences in learning styles and intelligences, and adapt lesson planning and teaching appropriately 
• Capacity to support the goals and mission of KIS through his/her personal philosophy.
• Have an understanding of the intellectual and social development of adolescent children.

Responsibilities

• Support KIS guiding principles
• Counsel students in academic matters and be a resource person for staff advisors and parents in their academic advising of students.
• Organize an annual international college fair on the KIS campus during the first quarter of each academic year.
• Actively build the base of KIS’s contacts in top universities in India and abroad, nurture such relationships, and encourage their attendance at our annual college fair.
• Develop and execute an action plan designed to continually elevate KIS’s profile among top colleges and universities worldwide. 
• Administer standardized tests (such as aptitude tests), and keep informed of new testing techniques/materials, when ordering or writing new tests relevant to the needs of the school, as needed.
• Organize and conduct workshops and lessons on the Career Interest Inventory, based on the Myers-Briggs and other frameworks, to help students in grades 9-11 select a pathway that best suits their interests and abilities.
• Organize and lead grade 11 and grade 12 bootcamps for parents and students to better understand the career and college process.
• Organize and administer the SAT, PSAT, SSAT, and ACTs.
• Correspond with testing agencies such as the College Board Admissions Testing Program, American College Testing Program, and Test of English as a Foreign Language.  
• Obtain up-to-date information about colleges, universities, and other post-secondary institutions around the world, as well as on careers, their requirements, and outlooks.
• Correspond with post-secondary institutions and other bodies about the admission of KIS graduates, read all teacher recommendations, and write official recommendations and school reports as required by students seeking admission to post-secondary institutions.
• Organize and lead training workshops in academic guidance and recommendation writing.
• Work closely with teachers, other counselors, and staff advisors in providing career education and academic guidance for Middle and High School students.
• Write and distribute annual newsletters to students and parents from grades 8-12.
• Visit colleges in India and neighbouring countries and attend workshops on guidance when possible.
• Interview all 10th-grade students in the third quarter to ensure correct courses and levels are taken in the 11th and 12th grades.
• Interview all 11th-grade students at least twice during the 3rd and 4th quarters, completing a questionnaire for each and recommending colleges to apply to.
• Order new books and magazines for the Guidance Department.
• Display posters and make sure the Guidance Office is attractive and provides information about Universities and Colleges.
• Give information about GAP Year programs and instruct students who are younger than 18 years of age about the advantages of taking a GAP year.
• Inform students of available scholarships and financial aid packages.
• Arrange for guest visitors from colleges around the world to visit KIS and speak to students and staff, including organizing transport and accommodation.
• If necessary, take small groups of students to college fairs, TOEFL/ university entrance exams in nearby cities, and occasionally chaperone seniors going for interviews.
• Be available to conference with students out of class.
• Promptly pass information to advisors, residential Parents and Coordinators when students’ attendance, academic performance, or behaviour is praiseworthy or gives cause for concern.
• To be available for work on campus in good time to complete all necessary preparations and meetings before the start of the term.
• To hand over all relevant material to the HoD / Coordinator. 
• To respect the confidential nature of discussions at staff meetings and other contexts in which sensitive information is likely to be communicated, particularly in terms of interaction with students.
• Support residential life of the school by chaperoning activities, clubs, field trips, camp, and long weekend field day, etc.
• Fulfil other duties as required by the Vice Principal/Principal.

School Community
A KIS faculty member is expected to support the holistic development of the child. The faculty: 

• Understands and supports the diversity of the school community and students’ backgrounds;
• Works in a positive, cooperative, and supportive way with students, parents, co-workers, and other stakeholders;
• Communicates regularly with students, residential parents and students’ parents on matters of school business;
• Engages in and supports activities that help promote school spirit and sense of community;
• Promotes opportunities for developing community involvement throughout the wider community;
• Recognizes the importance of service learning to our community and promotes this with students and the wider community;
• Support the residential life of the school by chaperoning activities, clubs, field trips, camp, long weekend field day, and other activities, and serves as an advisor to a group of students.

Other

• Supports, promotes, and enforces the ethos of KIS as defined in the mission and vision statements, guiding principles, and strategic plans;
• Promotes a positive attitude about the school with all members of the school community;
• Implement decisions made in department- and school-committee meetings, as relevant to the department;
• Follow the guidelines of the school’s protective behavior policies and protocols and personal data protection policies and procedures, including reporting any situation that might constitute a health and/or safety hazard to students or school employees, and reporting any personal data breach.
• To respect the confidential nature of discussions at staff meetings and other contexts in which sensitive information is likely to be communicated, particularly in terms of interaction with students.
• The faculty at KIS is expected to perform other appropriate duties as assigned by the subject chair, coordinator, Vice Principal, or Principal. 
   

Application Process:

1. Download Application Form >> KIS Administrative Position Application Form
2. Fill-in the required information
3. Use the form below to submit your application along with your resume

Please note that applications that do not include the application form and a resume will not be considered.