Counselor Leadership Coordinator

Counselor Leadership Coordinator

Updated August 2026

For over 30 years, LEAP has worked with children, teenagers, and young adults in New Haven, Connecticut in some of the lowest income urban neighborhoods in America. As the largest youth agency in our city, we provide academic support, social enrichment, and leadership development, but we do so in a unique way. We give older students (ages 16-24) the training, education, and resources they need to work as counselors to our younger students (ages 7-15).

In doing so, we go beyond impacting individual lives through education and employment. We build a community with power and purpose.

All LEAP employees must adhere to LEAP's Core Values and Community Agreements.

• Social Justice
  - Advocating for fairness and equality while challenging systemic injustices
• Caring
  - Demonstrating empathy and concern for individual and community well-being
• Ethical Leadership
  - Leading with integrity, fairness, and moral courage
• Accountability
  - Taking responsibility for actions, outcomes, and commitments
• Collaboration
  - Fostering partnerships to achieve common goals and maximize impact

• Growth Mindset
  - Embracing challenges as learning opportunities
• Recognition & Appreciation
  - Expressing gratitude and celebrating achievements
• Conflict De-escalation
  - Resolving conflicts through open dialogue and cooperation
• Mutual Respect
  - Honoring diverse opinions, experiences, and boundaries
• Continuous Learning
  - Promoting ongoing personal and professional development

The Counselor Leadership Coordinator manages LEAP's year-round effort to recruit, hire, onboard, and retain the high school and college students who make up LEAP's youth staff. LEAP employs nearly 300 young people each year as Junior Counselors (ages 16-18) and Senior Counselors (ages 18-24), making it the largest employer of youth in New Haven. The Coordinator maintains the systems and records behind that pipeline and provides academic advising and professional development support to youth staff on a regular basis.

This is a full-time, exempt (salaried) position based in New Haven, CT. The role is in-person and not eligible for hybrid work. It requires frequent interaction with teenagers and young adults, with New Haven Public Schools and area colleges, and with community organizations that serve as recruitment partners. The ideal candidate can identify gaps in young people’s knowledge and build the training and materials needed to close them.

The position provides ample opportunities for professional development, including training, conference attendance, networking, and on-the-job learning experiences.

Reports to: Counselor Leadership Manager

• Recruit, hire, and retain LEAP’s youth staff, including Junior Counselors (high school students) and Senior Counselors (college students)
• Work closely with the Programs Team to set the criteria and goals for hiring and supporting youth staff each season
• Develop a comprehensive annual recruitment schedule and the marketing materials to support it
• Plan and attend recruitment events at local high schools, colleges, and community organizations
• Supervise counselors and interns conducting on-campus recruitment
• Maintain online applications for youth staff positions and collect application materials securely
• Organize youth staff interviews with the Counselor Leadership Manager and set standards for how interviews are conducted and evaluated

• Work with the Finance Office to onboard new youth staff into the payroll system efficiently
• Maintain accurate demographic, contact, and academic information on all LEAP youth staff for analysis and reporting
• Track retention and advancement through the counselor pipeline, from Leaders in Training through Senior Counselor

• Meet with individual youth staff members about their academic progress in order to identify additional supports they may need
• Develop or source professional development workshops, career-specific programming, and professional mentor relationships for youth staff
• Communicate with youth staff about…