University Guidance Counsellor
School of the Nations
Taipa, Macau, China SAR
- Expired
- Salary:
- Detailed in job description
- Job type:
- Full Time, Fixed Term
- Start date:
- August 2021
- Apply by:
- 17 January 2021
Job overview
Responsibilities
A. Guide students to choose secondary courses and outside activities
- Track students’ journey and progression
- Do diagnostic and aptitude test to support students with personal growth and self-awareness
- Identify students who need additional support with academics
- Career pathway planning for students from Form 3 to Form 6 (age 14-18)
- Support IGCSE students with IB course choices
- Help arrange summer activities for students for internships or part-time work
- Regularly communicate with alumni association
B. Inform students about university requirements and personal suitability
- Support students’ emotions around university choices and expectations and help students make appropriate choices for progression
- Offer Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) to individual students applying to universities both locally and abroad
- Collect destination and intended destinations
- Understand university degree and entrance requirements internationally
- Keep up to date to with university admissions changes and policy
- Be aware of visa requirements for international applications
- Help students understand funding and fees for international applications
- Reach out and contact universities and organizations that students are interested in
- Arrange higher education events either online or in the school
- Attend information sessions at local universities
- Organize presentations to students by university representatives
- Maintain and develop the collection of university-related material in school’s IB study room
- Maintain the guidance counseling noticeboard
- Meet with parents and provide counseling
- Write the school profile
C. Assist students to complete university applications
- Teach and support students in writing university application essays and personal statements
- Process student applications on the Common Application (US) and UCAS (UK) systems
- Help student apply to Oxbridge, Ivy league and G8 schools
- Help students prepare medical and veterinary applications
- Administer special university entrance exams
- Improve interview skills for university and work opportunities
- Coordinate the production of school documents required by students for their university applications (reference letters, predicted grades, transcripts)
- Write references and recommendation letters for students
- Train and support staff on reference and recommendation letters for university applications
- Support students on results day
Secondary
The secondary department includes students from Form 3 to Form 6 (generally aged 14 to 18). The class size is usually about 20, although the maximum capacity is 25 students per class. Most students enter School of the Nations as ESL learners but by Form 3 most are approaching natural-level proficiency. We emphasize vertical and horizontal collaboration between teachers and expect teachers to work diligently for their students’ character development, thinking skills, academic performance, spirit of service, emotional, and physical health.
Students enter adolescence, also known as youth, in Secondary school. This is a period of life characterized by blossoming capacities, strength and vigour. We believe youth possess great potential to bring about constructive change and have an expanding capacity for meaningful service. Their sense of purpose and thirst for knowledge finds expression through greater ownership of their learning and growth. Our secondary programme aims to assist students to further develop their intellectual capacities along with the qualities, attitudes, and understandings that will enable them to make growing contributions to society. Through rigorous academic training spanning a variety of subjects, they are prepared to succeed in IGCSE exams in Form 4, the IB Diploma Programme in Form 6, and their further studies upon graduation.
Working Hours & Schedule
Teachers have 36 working hours per week, which is comprised of up to twenty 45-minute teaching periods, various responsibilities, and some planning time.
There are about 30 days of Macau and school holidays throughout the year which includes both Winter and Chinese Spring Festival breaks, plus about 50 days of summer holidays. Monthly working Saturdays—which often foster community engagement and extension activities—allow us to lengthen our holidays while still meeting contact day requirements.
Compensation & Benefits
The annual base salary, including housing allowance, is approximately US$44,000, after tax, and is slightly increased based on years of experience. This does not include the annual travel allowance, new year’s bonus, pension contributions, and a yearly re-enlistment bonus equivalent to one month’s salary. Furthermore, the government of Macau generously provides a teacher’s professional development subsidy of at least US$600 per month. Taken together, the after-tax total compensation that teachers receive is around US$58,000.
Benefits include local healthcare coverage, reduced tuition for up to two dependents to enroll in the school, internal professional development, and assistance in finding an apartment including a one-week hotel stay.
Requirements
- Bachelor degree (ideally with a Counselling qualification)
- Previous experience counselling of year 11 and 12 students
- Fluency in English, which is the medium of instruction.
- Understanding of the university admission process in the US or UK and Canada Hong Kong
- Strong interpersonal skills and networking abilities
- Organized, reliable, trustworthy, empathetic, positive and understanding
To Apply
Read our school profile below, view our Application Checklist, and Apply!
Attached documents
About School of the Nations
School of the Nations, an internationally-oriented day school, was founded by members of the Macau Bahá’í community exactly 30 years ago to serve the local and expatriate communities. At present, over 650 students from age 3 to 18 are instructed by a professional and diverse teaching staff.
Our school is dedicated to nurturing the physical, intellectual and spiritual development of children and youth, and developing their capabilities to contribute to the well-being of their families and communities. We are constantly innovating in order to achieve this. Read about our History.
What makes us different?
It is not uncommon for parents to say they chose our school because of our “framework” yet struggle to explain exactly this means to them. In brief, School of the Nations is a Bahá’í school, which means it aims to operate in ways that reflect the high ideals contained in the Bahá’í teachings.
At the level of belief, this Bahá’í-inspired framework underscores that we are all created noble and part of one human family, that scientific and religious knowledge is progressively refined and clarified, reality encompasses both material and spiritual dimensions, and that we can only truly fulfill our purpose of developing our full potential in the context of selfless service to others. In action, this finds expression as individuals strive to being increasingly selfless in approach, open in seeking truth, collaborative in style, honest and kind in speech, trustworthy in action, humble in manner, and optimistic in disposition.
We are working hard to raise generations of students who become protagonists of their own development and the transformation of society. Considerable distance must still be traversed and we invite you to learn more about our our framework, approach to education, and curriculum.
An IB World School, we offer the IBDP Diploma to Form 5 and 6 pupils, while students completing Form 3 and 4 are prepared to sit the IGCSE Exam. Yet our programmes are all integrated and go well beyond these exams, especially in the area of character development. As such, it is worthwhile to explore our Programmes.
What makes a suitable teacher?
Many schools, including ours, seek educators with demonstrated teaching skills in areas including content delivery, classroom management, lesson preparation, and assessment. Further, we look for teachers with the ability to facilitate inquiry and team/project-based learning and follow differentiated strategies to serve the needs of individual learners.
Yet above this, the ability to fully engage with the life of the school and contribute to its advancement is often connected with how flexible teachers are. Specifically, being eager to understand our school environment, which has been shaped by our students and our unique philosophy and grow within it. With flexibility, teaching becomes an exciting pursuit to set aside many of the underlying assumptions about education and human nature underpinning past training and classroom experience in order to explore it from another perspective.
We constantly question, assess, and evaluate every aspect of the education we provide. Every year we continue to make progress towards realizing our vision and we welcome you to apply to join us on this thrilling journey. Learn about Teaching at SON and complete our application checklist before applying.
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