Admissions Counselor

ABOUT SIMMONS

Located in Boston’s historic Fenway area, Simmons has a strong tradition of empowering women and challenging traditional gender roles. Simmons University was one of the first higher education institutions to prepare women to become leaders and has evolved to become a university offering a women’s undergraduate program and graduate programs open to all.

You’re joining our community at an especially exciting time as one of our strategic goals is to become the most inclusive campus in New England. You’ll find that people who work here are truly committed to our mission of preparing students to become champions of social justice and leaders in their professions and their communities. This commitment and pride make for a dynamic workplace. Simmons University is committed to inclusive excellence in all aspects of an individual’s community experience.

As a university committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, Simmons encourages applications from all under-represented groups. Simmons is committed to creating, developing, promoting, and enhancing inclusive hiring practices–at all levels, for all positions–ensuring diverse talent pools and the delivery of a consistent positive candidate experience. Simmons is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to continuing to develop a more diverse faculty, staff, student body, and curriculum.

JOB SUMMARY

The Admission Counselor is responsible for the recruitment and counseling of undergraduate students. They are expected to travel to regional and national recruitment events, interview prospective students and meet with their families, and evaluate several hundred applications per year. Additional responsibilities and projects will be assigned as needed.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.

• Counsel a caseload of 550-650 students, including first-year students from several geographic territories throughout the United States, international, and/or transfer and adult students, from the prospect stage through enrollment. The caseload will be assigned to the admission counselor yearly and may be changed at the discretion of the management team.
• Travel extensively to college fairs, community colleges, and high school visits to speak with prospective students, their families, and college counselors. The admission counselor will plan and attend presentations and events within their assigned territories, including strategizing what schools to visit and events to attend and maintaining positive relationships with college counselors, consultants, and community organizations. The admission counselor will cover travel for other territories when needed.
• Read applications for students in their caseload, evaluate their applications based on a rubric, recommend admission decisions, and present applicants to the admission committee. The counselor will assist other counselors with application review when needed.
• Respond to communications from, and proactively reach out to, students, families, and counselors to motivate and assist students in their caseload with moving through all points in the admission funnel.
• Serve as Counselor on Duty (CoD) on campus on a rotation of up to 6 weekdays per month and up to 6 Saturdays and/or holidays per year. CoD duties include meeting with walk-in visitors, presenting group information sessions, responding to incoming emails/phone calls/texts, and staffing the front desk when no student workers are available.
• Present at and staff a variety of admission events. This includes but is not limited to large on- campus events (2 Friday evenings and 5-6 Saturdays and Sundays per year), smaller on-campus events held during the work day, and virtual events during the weekday and evenings.
• Manage several projects within the admission office. This may include but is not limited to liaising with other offices, student worker management, and serving on committees.

OTHER DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Other duties as assigned.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree
• Valid US driver’s license and ability to rent a car, as most recruitment occurs in areas not served by public transportation or reliable taxis
• Passport or REAL ID will be required before the government deadline (currently May 2025), as this position requires 4+ flights per year

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience in an Admission setting, either as undergraduate or graduate student worker or professional. Other types of possible work experiences could include other areas in higher education, high school counseling, sales, or a profession that is heavily customer service oriented.
• Fluency in one or more of the most common languages other than English in our applicant pool (Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Mandarin, and/or Haitian Creole).
• Experience with Slate or another CRM

COMPETENCIES

• Communication (Written, Verbal, Presentation)
• Independent Problem Solving
• Commitment to Inclusive Excellence and Social Justice
• Teamwork
• Analytical and Strategic
• Customer Service Oriented

WORK ENVIRONMENT & CONDITIONS/PHYSICAL DEMANDS

• 12 months at 40 Hours / week, with significant hours beyond the established work week at certain times of the year.
• Communicate with others in-person and by email, video conferencing, and telephone.
• Work is performed in a setting with moderate noise levels, controlled temperature conditions, and no direct exposure to hazardous physical substances.

When not traveling:

• Hybrid schedule (on campus 3 days per week)
• Generally sedentary office environment with significant time operating a computer
• During reading season (generally November-March), days may last up to 10 hours and the counselor must read and rate applications on a computer for 8+ hours per day

During the travel season:

• The counselor must travel independently for approximately 8-10 weeks in the fall (generally late August to early November) and 4-6 weeks in the spring (generally late February to mid-May), with occasional short trips in the summer.
• Trips will range from day trips, to brief overnights, to multiple trips that require overnight stays on location for up to three weeks at a time. Travel may be virtual, regional, or national, and though it will primarily be within the counselor’s assigned territories, it is not restricted to their assigned territories. During the travel season, counselors will typically work 3-4 nights per week (workdays may last up to 16 hours) and will attend college fairs and other events that are held on weekends and holidays.
• Most trips require several hours of driving per day; and many trips require significant time on planes and/or trains
• College fair setup and breakdown requires light lifting (up to 20 pounds) of fair materials 5+times per day. College fairs may last from 45 minutes up to 5 hours and are generally in a crowded indoor space like a gym, cafeteria, or convention center, and are occasionally held outdoors in temperate weather.

Salary Grade

S04

Instructions to Applicants: Please upload all applicable application materials (e.g. resume/cv, cover letter, writing sample, teaching philosophy, etc.) in the Application Materials box on page 2 ("My Experience") of this application. Documents can be uploaded individually or as a combined document (e.g. PDF).

Simmons University is committed to inclusive excellence in all aspects of an individual’s community experience. As a university committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, Simmons encourages applications from all under-represented groups. Simmons is committed to creating, developing, promoting, and enhancing inclusive hiring practices–at all levels, for all positions–ensuring diverse talent pools and the delivery of a consistent positive candidate experience. Simmons is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to continuing to develop a more diverse faculty, staff, student body, and curriculum.