About this role
Job Information Job Title: Director of Counseling - Phoenix
Department: Phoenix Center
Reports To: Building Administrator
FLSA Status: Exempt
Work Calendar: All 12 Month Staff
Salary Scale: Teacher Salary Scale
Job Summary and Purpose The Director of Counseling provides division-aligned leadership, coordination, and accountability for counseling services across The Phoenix Center's six distinct alternative education programs: Turning Point, Evening Program, ISAEP/GED Prep, Regional Program, and Middle School Alternative Program (MAP). The Director ensures that every program receives fair and appropriate attention based on student need, enrollment patterns, legal and reporting requirements, program intensity, deadlines, and available staffing.
Work Objectives/Essential Functions
• Program Guidance, Equity, and Workload Management- Provide clear guidance, coordination, and continuous evaluation of counseling services across all Phoenix Center programs, recognizing the unique enrollment processes, calendars, student populations, scheduling structures, compliance requirements, and performance measures of each program. Develop and maintain equitable work plans that prioritize services based on program needs, caseloads, enrollment and completion activity, testing and reporting requirements, statutory deadlines, and staff capacity. Collaborate with program and school leadership to establish goals, priorities, schedules, service-delivery practices, and strategic improvements while monitoring implementation and outcomes across GED, Turning Point, Regional, MAP, Evening program, and other Phoenix Center programming.
• Counseling Department Director and Counseling Coordinator- Serve as department chair and represent the counseling department on school and district leadership teams, committees, and meetings as assigned. Lead regular counseling and PHXC staff meetings to coordinate student services, review complex cases, plan activities, distribute responsibilities, and ensure timely completion of departmental requirements. Coordinate counseling assignments based on program needs, staff expertise, continuity of student support, and equitable workload. Promote consistent counseling practices across all programs in collaboration with Regional & MAP counselors while ensuring appropriate documentation, confidentiality, professional ethics, and adherence to school division policies and procedures.
• Student Services and Direct Counseling- Ensure students across Phoenix Center programs have equitable access to comprehensive academic, career, social-emotional, crisis-response, transition, and referral services. Develop and implement an annual counseling plan responsive to student and program needs, academic planning, assessment, placement, and follow-up services. Provide direct counseling, consultation, scheduling, placement, and student-support services as assigned and as workload permits. Collaborate with students, families, base-school personnel, administrators, teachers, special services staff, and community agencies to identify student needs, determine appropriate placements and supports, and facilitate referrals to available resources. Participate in SEC, intervention, placement, threat assessment, crisis response, and other multidisciplinary student-support teams as appropriate.
• Program Enrollment, Academic progress, & Transition Coordination- Coordinate and collaborate on referral, eligibility, enrollment, transition, completion, and withdrawal processes across the GED/Turning Point/ Evening school programs. Collaborate with Phoenix Center administration to maintain accurate enrollment procedures, guidance, and stakeholder and base school communications. Support course placement and academic planning based on program and graduation requirements, testing needs, and individualized student plans. Monitor and communicate student progress, credits, testing, and graduation status with Phoenix Center staff and base schools. Coordinate January and May graduation processes for eligible students, including verification, communication, base-school coordination, and ceremony requirements. Maintain current knowledge of Virginia ISAEP/GED requirements and applicable state and division guidance.
• Compliance, Reporting, and Program Accountability- Ensure counseling services and program processes align with federal and state requirements, Stafford County Public Schools policies, alternative education requirements, confidentiality standards, and testing regulations. Coordinate required division, state, and program reporting related to enrollment, graduation, completion, dropout, CTE, and program outcomes. Maintain accurate systems for tracking student enrollment, graduation progress, coursework, and testing information and ensure timely communication with base schools. Maintain appropriate documentation of counseling guidance, direct services, and staff resource allocation across Phoenix Center programs.
• Stakeholder Collaboration and Community Engagement- Serve, alongside Phoenix Center administration, as a key counseling liaison among Phoenix Center programs, base schools, families, school divisions, court services, community agencies, and other stakeholders. Collaborate with faculty and staff to develop student and family awareness activities and initiatives appropriate to the alternative education setting. Maintain visible engagement in school and community activities while positively representing the philosophy, mission, and professional standards of Phoenix Center and the counseling profession.
Education and Experience Education Attainment (Required):
• Master's degree from an approved school counseling program, or a master's degree from an accredited college or university with completion of an approved school counseling program.
Education Attainment (Preferred):
• Specialized preparation in middle or high school counseling appropriate to assigned programs.
Relevant Experience (Required):
• Two years of successful two years of successful school counseling experience. Successful full-time counseling experience completed under a provisional license may be accepted when permitted by applicable licensure requirements.
Relevant Experience (Preferred):
Industry Licensure or Certifications (Required):
• Valid Virginia license with the endorsement(s) required for the position, or eligibility to obtain such licensure, consistent with Stafford County Public Schools and Virginia requirements.
Industry Licensure or Certifications (Preferred):
Required Licensures and Certifications
Additional Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Knowledge:
• Ethical standards and professional guidelines applicable to school counseling, including confidentiality and student records requirements.
• Child and adolescent development; academic, career, and social-emotional counseling; crisis response; referral practices; and alternative education programming.
• Graduation requirements, assessment and testing processes, student information systems, data reporting, and program evaluation.
Skills:
• Leadership, facilitation, workload analysis, prioritization, conflict resolution, and cross-program coordination.
• Use of counseling resources, student information systems, collaborative documents, data tools, and educational technology.
• Accurate recordkeeping, written and oral communication, stakeholder engagement, and development of clear procedures and program materials.
• Appropriate use of assessment techniques, counseling theories, and evidence-informed interventions.
Abilities:
• Balance urgent student-facing responsibilities with sustained systems-level planning, oversight, and compliance work.
• Make transparent, defensible decisions about allocating limited time and resources across programs with different workloads and needs.
• Work cooperatively in a team environment while organizing and performing independent work.
• Manage multiple deadlines, communicate capacity constraints early, and maintain quality during periods of frequent task switching.
• Exercise sound professional judgment, discretion, cultural responsiveness, and calm decision-making in complex situations.
Core Expectations of All Stafford Schools Employees
• Engage in ongoing professional development relevant to position.
• Respond to written and oral requests for information promptly and thoroughly.
• Maintain a clean, neat appearance and dress appropriate to position and duties.
• Maintain a record of appropriate attendance and punctuality.
• Serve as a role model for students, colleagues, and the general public.
• Work in close harmony with supervisor(s) and colleagues.
• Comply with all division policies and regulations, including but not limited to guidelines for confidentiality and professional conduct, as well as all site-based procedures and protocols.
Weight Demands Weight Demands Rarely Occasionally Frequently
Lifting – 1–25 lbs X
Lifting – 26–50 lbs X
Lifting – 50+ lbs X
Carrying – 1–25 lbs X
Carrying – 26–50 lbs X
Carrying – 50+ lbs X
Pushing/Pulling – 1–25 lbs X
Pushing/Pulling – 26–50 lbs X
Pushing/Pulling – 50+ lbs X
Physical Demands Physical Demands Rarely Occasionally Frequently
Standing X
Sitting X
Walking X
Reaching X
Turning/Twisting X
Balancing/Climbing X
Stooping/Kneeling X
Crouching/Crawling X
Classification Details (Completed by Human Resources) Job Family: COUNSELOR DIRECTOR
Calendar: ALL 12 MONTH STAFF
Pay Structure: TEACHER SALARY SCALE
Position: 803226371
FLSA Status: EXEMPT
Job Grade: T80-T89
Job Code: 1141
Status: ACTIVE
This description is intended to describe the general nature, essential functions, and requirements of the job. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties and tasks, the inclusion of which are considered for job classification purposes.