Admissions Counselor

Living Resources Career Opportunties; City of Albany (NY); On-site; USD 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid Training

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Tuition assistance

Retirement programs

Job summary

Living Resources is seeking an Admissions Counselor to manage the admissions process for The College Experience at Russell Sage College and CareerNext Programs. You will drive enrollment growth, coordinate interviews, and ensure timely completion of all admissions steps while engaging families and partners.

You will educate prospective students, families, educators, and counselors through various formats, manage timelines, and prepare onboarding materials for accepted applicants.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Special Education, School Counseling, Higher Education, Marketing, Communications or related field
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Comfortable with public speaking (in person and via Zoom)
• Excellent organizational and time management abilities
• Ability to multitask tasks with speed and accuracy
• Ability to travel, schedule evening recruitment events in fall and spring

Responsibilities

• Serve as a key representative educating prospective students, families, educators, counselors, and other professionals.
• Maintain an availability calendar on CareerNext & College Experience sites for scheduling calls.
• Review applications and supporting documents to evaluate readiness for programs.
• Coordinate admissions processes including interviews and overnight trials.
• Organize Classroom Experience Day for OPWDD waiver applicants.
• Establish enrollment timelines, track deposits, and inform finance of status.
• Present qualified applicants to the Director for acceptance consideration and prepare onboarding materials.
• Oversee intake for OPWDD Waiver and private tuition students, including document development.
• Maintain timely communication with applicants via email and phone.
• Coordinate onboarding regulations with OPWDD as directed by leadership.
• Manage service authorization for WOW and Self-Direction budgets.
• Create OPWDD residential binders and organize medical/nursing documents.
• Assist with social media content postings.

Skills

Verbal and written communication

Public speaking

Time management

Multitasking

Travel flexibility

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

Description

Living Resources is a non-profit agency dedicated to empowering individuals with disabilities or other life-altering conditions to live with dignity, independence, and purpose. We work with, and for, families by providing peace of mind. All employees are to be respectful and supportive of families. We are working with them as partners, providing support and services.

To work for Living Resources is to make a difference in the lives of others. Living Resources employees provide individuals with disabilities and other life-altering conditions the support they need to thrive and lead active, full lives. For many employees, their work becomes an experience where they find fulfillment and develop both personally and professionally.

Our Values

Advocacy, Collaboration, Empowerment, Excellence, Inclusivity, Integrity, and Kindness are at the heart of everything we do. These values guide how we support those we serve, work together, and create a culture where everyone can thrive.

The Admissions Counselor is responsible for managing all aspects of the admissions process for The College Experience at Russell Sage College and the CareerNext Programs. This role also supports recruitment efforts and vendor events across both programs, ensuring a smooth, informed, and professional admissions experience for prospective students and their families. The Admissions Counselor plays a key role in driving program growth by establishing, tracking, and achieving enrollment benchmarks. This position requires the ability to independently organize and manage multiple projects, prioritize competing responsibilities, and ensure timely execution of admissions and recruitment activities aligned with program goals.

• Serve as a key representative of The College Experience and CareerNext programs by conducting outreach and educating prospective students, families, educators, educational consultants, guidance counselors, care coordinators, and transition specialists through individual phone and Zoom meetings, in-person and virtual open houses, webinars, SEPTA meetings, high school transition fairs, college nights, private presentations, and conferences.
• Maintain an up-to-date availability calendar on the CareerNext & College Experience website to allow prospective families to schedule phone consultations.
• Review and assess student applications and supporting documentation, including academic records, Psychological, clinical history, IEP/504 accommodations, Life Plans and current support service needs, to evaluate student readiness and program fit for College Experience and CareerNext.
• Coordinate all aspects of the admissions process, including student overnight trials and student/parent interviews for prospective College Experience candidates.
• Organize Classroom Experience Day for all OPWDD waiver applicants for College Experience as part of the admissions process.
• Establish and manage enrollment timelines, track deposits, and monitor admitted student status through to confirmed enrollment for both programs and communicate program deposits and family contact information to finance.
• Present qualified applicants to the Director of College Programs for acceptance consideration. Upon approval, draft and send official acceptance letters for College Experience and CareerNext. Prepare and distribute onboarding materials to all accepted students.
• Oversee all aspects of intake for OPWDD Waiver applicants and private tuition students for College Experience. Responsibilities include development of intake packets, updating documentation with finance and nursing, meeting with families to review documents as needed, collecting accurate submissions for dissemination to relevant departments (finance, nursing, residential, Netsmart).
• Maintain timely and proactive communication with prospective and current applicants via email and phone, while establishing enrollment timelines, tracking deposit payments, and monitoring applicant status through enrollment.
• Communicate with OPWDD as directed by Director of College Programs for any onboarding regulations.
• Manage the service authorization process for group day habilitation (WOW), Self-Direction budget closures, ensuring proper documentation and filing for College Experience enrollees is prepared for move-in.
• Create OPWDD residential binders for incoming waiver students. Track and organize medical documents for development of nursing binders.
• Assist with social media content postings to Facebook and Instagram

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Special Education, School Counseling, Higher Education, Marketing, Communications or related field
• Strong Verbal and written communication skills
• Comfortable with public speaking (In person and via zoom)
• Excellent organizational and time management abilities
• Ability to multitask tasks with speed and accuracy
• Ability to travel, schedule flexibility for evening recruitment events in fall and spring

Preferred Qualifications/Skills:

• Knowledge of OPWDD regulations and documentation
• Experience working in admissions capacity

Benefits

We offer great benefits including Paid Training, Health, Dental & Vision Insurance, Payment in Lieu of Health Insurance, Tuition Assistance, and Retirement Programs!

There are also opportunities to advance within our agency!