Middle and High School Social Emotional Counselor (G5-G12)

Raffles American School (RAS) is seeking a highly motivated and innovative Middle and High School Social-Emotional Counselor to join our Middle & High School team in August 2025.

The position commences in August 2025. Working hours are from 7:15 am to 4:15 pm. As we are a going school, There are roughly 180 school days each year, and staff are paid in full every month, including summers. Students are released an hour early every Friday and the hour is used for PD and collaborative work time. We follow Common Core Standards as grade-level learning objectives while using WIDA testing to measure English growth, and NWEA’s MAP adaptive assessments to measure individual improvement three times annually.

Job Purpose: The Counselor & DSL’s main responsibility is to:
1. Provide regular, meaningful opportunities for students to consider their well-being and personal, social, and mental health and development.
2. Provide guidance and support through the development and maintenance of the MSHS Safeguarding on campus.

General Expectations:
1. Demonstrate organizational skills & proper time management:
a. Establish routines and procedures for accomplishing duties, demonstrating a productive use of time.
b. Complete Tasks - Dependable and conscientious; takes initiative to find new tasks to support the program.
c. Attend meetings consistently and contribute meaningfully.
2. Maintain Accountability
a. Maintain accurate records and accountability of your administrative work - Hours maintained on Google Calendar, records/minutes of student meetings saved on drive, materials/presentations created saved on drive.
b. Files clearly labeled, systematically filed, and accessible to the Safeguarding team as required.
c. Stay abreast of current training and information for the success of the program; complete training as required
3. Communicate effectively:
a. Interaction with community members - Communicate clearly, honestly, and respectfully. Exemplary interactions to earn respect and be perceived as an outstanding representative of the school.
b. Interaction with school leadership / supervisors - contribute to and nurture cooperative relationships with the Principal, MLT, Coordinators, demonstrating cooperation, support, respect, and professionalism.
4. Build community and positive morale within the school:
a. Support school leadership, teachers, and support staff, adhering to school policies and code of conduct.
b. Remain positive and supportive of school programs and the wider leadership team.
c. Create and maintain environment - shared office is organized and welcoming to all students, space is used for professional work, is open and available to students and parents, and flexible hours allow student walk-ins, etc
d. Model and encourage cultural awareness and understanding.
e. Represent the school at recreational, social, and athletic functions.

Key Responsibilities:
● Advises and counsels students regarding academic, educational, social, and emotional problems. Records should be compiled and analyzed to show progress in addressing each issue. These reports should be shared with the Student Support Team.
● Advises and counsels School staff as needed, working with the Social Committee to ensure a positive work environment and healthy community mindset. Survey data should be compiled over time to show progress in staff well-being and morale.
● Designs and implement a data-driven, comprehensive school counseling program for all students to address psychological barriers to student learning. These plans should be continually renewed and proposed to the Management Team on a regular basis.
● Creates regularly scheduled hours to remain accessible and meet with students, making an effort to know every student for whom they are responsible. Records of meetings with students should be kept and notes made if potential problems are identified. Issues that are identified should be brought to the attention of the Student
Support Team.
● Provides individual student planning and responsive services to support students and their families regarding social and behavioral matters. These records should be made available to the Student Support Team.
● Teaches guidance classes and provides guidance counseling to students through planned activities in small group or classroom settings to convey educational, social, and important school information, and offers workshops/seminars for parents. Survey data should be collected and analyzed to determine the effectiveness of these activities.
● Consults, facilitates and maintains communication with parents, teachers, administrators, and pertinent agents on specific student and parent social and behavioral matters including academic modifications and/or accommodations.
● Provides feedback and recommends appropriate action and solutions to individual student’s social and behavioral needs and abilities.
● Participates on in the Student Support Team by creating school policies and identifying students who may need targeted or intensive services, and coordinates with the Special Needs Coordinator and Academic Director to implement these strategies.
● Assists students/parents/teachers in understanding school safeguarding policies and procedures.
● Provide brief counseling to address social and emotional concerns and appropriately refer students/staff to behavioral health specialists.
● Communicates, coordinates, and collaborates with behavioral health specialists (including local organizations) on developing and implementing student support.
● Supports and attends appropriate student activities and events.
● Regularly attends monthly SST meetings. Work with the School Nurse, the Health and Safety Coordinator, Academic the Director, and the Special Needs departments to ensure their policies align with the School’s Counseling policies.
● Assist the School with other duties as necessary, including substitute teaching when required.

Qualification, Knowledge, Skills and Personal Qualities:
- 2 Years of School Social Emotional Counselor or other counseling experience required
- An appropriate degree in a related field (social work, psychology, sociology)
- Appropriate license/qualifications to carry out student counseling
- Strong interpersonal skills with both students and parents
- Demonstrable organizational skills
- Strong desire to help others and should be able to inspire respect, trust, and confidence
- A high level of professionalism and consideration for the well-being of children
- Respect for all members of a school community, irrespective of position, gender, age and ethnic background
- A positive and solution-focused attitude to working life

The position starts at 50,000-70,000THB for a full-time Middle and High School Social-Emotional Counselor. There is no additional housing stipend. Candidates will be reimbursed for their flight to Thailand and provided round-trip airfare to their home country at the end of each contract (overseas applicants only). Visa and work permit expenses will be reimbursed by RAS. Medical, accident, disability, and life insurance are also provided.

Due to the high volume of applicants, only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Number of Contract Days

Teacher contracts specify a maximum of 195 work days in a year, but teachers have always worked less days than this. The actual number of school days in a year is 179, including half day events. Teachers should expect approximately 9 days of professional development and training in addition to those 179 teaching days. Teachers are paid in full every month and new contracts pick up immediately after the old ones finish.

Starting Salary Range

we offer competitive salaries in the area dependent on qualifications, experience, and role.

Taxes

Your personal income taxes in Thailand are very straightforward and can be calculated using online calculators such as https://www.uobam.co.th/en/tax-calculation

Accommodation

No accommodation allowance is provided in addition to your salary. It should be noted that non-taxed perks like a housing allowance are illegal in Thailand and put teachers at risk.

Flights/Transport

If an employee is recruited from abroad, the School will reimburse employees for one (1) reasonably priced economy class ticket, from Home Country to Country of Work and back per contract of continuous employment of two academic years. The first trip to place of employment will be considered as part of the round trip.

Medical

The School will enroll employees for general and basic hospitalization insurance coverage under the Group Hospitalization & Surgical, Group Accidental Death & Dismemberment, Group Term Life insurance coverage by the School’s appointed insurer.

Other

Professional Development support fund of up to $500 USD per year

Bonus

In addition, to relocation flights, teachers who complete their contracts and give proper resignation notice will be paid for the summer following their resignation and be reimbursed for a flight home. Teachers that choose to renew their contracts will be given a renewal bonus in addition to a round-trip ticket to their home country.