OPEN UNTIL FILLED - Review of applications will begin 12/12/22  

The Career Coach is an employee of Gaston College and is hosted by a designated public high school in a cooperative agreement between Gaston College and Lincoln County Schools. The primary responsibility is to assist high school students in determining career goals and identifying community college programs that would enable students to achieve these goals. Provide academic advising, career guidance, and academic support services to students by collecting, organizing, and analyzing information.  Participate in College programs, activities, and committees which are designed to promote academic success. The Career Coach reports directly to the Dean of College Now.

1. Serve as an effective advisor for students in designated high schools and provide assistance in determining career goals and identifying community college programs that would enable students to achieve these goals. 
2. Remain current in the knowledge of career opportunities, required education and/or training, and the utilization of pedagogical materials and technologies to enhance the career advising process. 
3. Participate in College and high school programs, activities, and committees that are designed to promote academic success.  Represent the College and the school system in the community and serve on assigned or elected committees and organizations. 
4. Guide students in researching transfer, career, and financial options.  Make referrals to counselors, other agencies, and student employment services as needed. 
5. Maintain contact with senior institutions to provide current transfer information to students, school counselors, parents, and high school faculty.  Provide information and answers to student questions about the application and transfer processes to four-year institutions. 
6. Provide career information to students on future job trends, type of training and education required for a specific job, where to obtain specific training and education, salary information, employment outlook, and working conditions.  
7. Behave in a professional manner that promotes collaboration, collegiality, and outstanding customer service for both internal and external clients.  
8. Provide information as requested on any of the various degrees, diplomas, and certificates offered by the community college; assist with high school registration, as permitted by respective schools’ policies and procedures; provide regular, updated information for school’s website, as allowed, to provide the community with an ever-present source of information regarding the cooperative efforts between the high schools and the community college.   
9. Advocate for accurate, uniform, and streamlined assessment practices regarding student performance; assist, whenever possible and appropriate, in the administration and interpretation of assessments used by the public school system and the community college to help establish a baseline against which each student can develop an understanding of career opportunities and training requirements. 
10. Provide regular contact with high school faculty and staff to promote encouragement of increased student involvement in cooperative college courses, and articulated credit opportunities. 
11. Cooperate in efforts to reduce the high school drop-out rate for assigned schools; keep abreast of current statistics related to the drop-out rate of high school students nationally and locally: a) understand why students drop out, b) understand what happens to them when they do drop out, c) understand who returns to school and why, and d) understand what are the most effective retention tools or methods. 
12. Evidence an understanding of local factors contributing to the local drop-out rate; maintain a current and accurate understanding of the referral process for entering into a college’s Adult High School (AHS) Diploma program and a college’s High School Equivalency (HSE) program (formerly known as GED). 
13. Follow up with high school drop-outs to ensure that they are informed of options for obtaining an Adult High School (AHS) Diploma or High School Equivalency (HSE) at the area community colleges; maintain and communicate to the high schools an ongoing list of AHS/HSE enrollees from each respective school. 
14. Promote a seamless educational experience for the students in the assigned high schools; serve as a consultant and resource specialist to high school instructors and guidance staff to offer information, resources, and in-service training on methods of incorporating post-secondary educational and career planning activities into academic coursework. 
15. Offer assistance to school counselors with arranging for college tours, or information sessions, for college- or technical school-bound students; assist in the scheduling of individual career assessments and educational planning appointments both for students matriculating from area middle schools to the high school, and for high school graduates who will be transitioning to the community college. 
16. Participate in orientation and registration sessions for pending high school graduates who plan to attend Gaston College; attend meetings, conferences, and in-service training to keep abreast of best practices and professional trends in both secondary and post-secondary settings. 
17. Maintain regular communication with other Career Coaches to foster a cohesive department and model a proactive approach to problem identification, success replication, and contextual learning; assist in the coordination of efforts between the public schools and the college; actively seek out opportunities to collaborate with programs with similar goals, such as TRiO, Communities in Schools, the College Foundation of North Carolina, Dream Scholars, etc. 
18. Model legal and ethical practices and guidelines as related to academic advising and/or counseling; adhere to FERPA guidelines, record keeping, and confidentiality. 
19. While on any public-school campus, the Career Coach must obey all local board of education policies and rules and be subject to the authority of the school building administrator.  
20. Perform other related duties as assigned by the Dean of College Now and Vice President of Educational Partnerships.

• Bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university required.
• Bachelor’s degree (or higher) in counseling, psychology, social work or education from a regionally accredited college or university preferred.

• Three years’ work experience in human services required. (Human services is defined as any area where service is provided to people: counseling, advising, education, customer service, instruction, social work, etc.)
• Work experience in public secondary and post-secondary environments preferred. 

• Must be able to comply with criminal background checks required by the assigned Local Education Agency (LEA) for employees working directly with students.
• Generally, works in a traditional climate-controlled office environment and requires the ability to sit for extended periods.
• Some walking, standing, and bending, with the ability to lift and maneuver items weighing up to 25 pounds required. 
• Work environment can be stressful at times in dealing with a wide variety of challenges and deadlines.
• In addition to regular office hours, position may require working evening and/or weekend hours.
• Valid driver’s license required.
• Travel between high schools and college will be required.