Advanced Specialist, Service Provider (School Counseling, and Career)

At Pearson, we’re committed to a world that’s always learning and to our talented team who makes it all possible. We are bold thinkers and standout innovators who push the boundaries of technology. We create seeds of learning that become the catalyst for the world’s innovations. Within the Pearson Virtual Schools (PVS) division, we have reimagined K-12 education through our virtual school and curriculum offerings. Our schools, Connections Academy and Pearson Online Academy, provide a best-in-class online learning environment for K-12 students to acquire the skills and confidence they need to adapt and thrive in a changing world. We also support school districts with curriculum, teachers, and technology as they make the shift online. The COVID-19 pandemic introduced significant disruption and transformation to the K-12 learning market. And as a result, virtual learning has seen explosive growth, and our business has experienced enormous increases in awareness and enrollments. This presents an incredible opportunity for our team to chart a ground-breaking path through this shifting environment to achieve continued success.

Purpose Summary & Position Overview

The Advanced Specialist serves as a primary liaison between Pearson Virtual Schools (PVS) and partner schools, delivering expert guidance and operational support across School Counseling + Career programming. As a Professional Individual Contributor, this role independently manages a portfolio of schools, applies specialized knowledge, and ensures the consistent, compliant delivery of school counseling and career readiness services in a virtual environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Works independently within established frameworks and guidelines
• Manages moderately complex cases, programs, and stakeholder needs
• Applies specialized knowledge of ASCA supported school counseling practices
• Exercises professional judgment in decision‑making and prioritization
• Contributes to team consistency, quality, and continuous improvement
• May informally mentor or support peers , without formal people‑management responsibility

Consultation and Program Support

• Assist school counseling personnel in implementing systems and structures for counseling programming, including (but not limited to) new student enrollment and returning student placements, risk management, students in distress training, and college and career readiness solutions.
• Provide subject matter expertise to guide the implementation of ASCA-modeled comprehensive counseling programs for partner schools.
• Mentor, coach, and advise counseling leaders during program implementations.
• Research graduation and educational requirements for assigned and developing schools.
• Support new schools in obtaining High School CEEB and Online Provider Codes.
• Collaborate with members of the Partner Schools Success Operations (PSSO) ecosystem to deliver counseling initiatives.
• Oversee training and maintenance of the Progression Plan tool.
• Manage the creation of annual school profiles and research state-specific counseling guidelines for new schools.
• Review and evaluate weekly school counseling data throughout the school year cycle.
• Support partner schools in providing required tools, materials, and student supports aligned with the school year cycle.
• Monitor implementation to ensure consistent and compliant delivery of school counseling services in a virtual setting.

Program Coordination & Oversight

• Assist schools with service delivery challenges, continuity concerns, and provider coordination.
• Contribute to oversight activities supporting service quality, documentation accuracy, and college and career readiness.
• Identify relationships between School Counseling + Career initiatives and school improvement planning.
• Aid with resolving technical or platform issues.

Program Standards, Quality & Accountability

• Collect, analyze, and interpret school year cycle data to assess program health, compliance, and quality implementation.
• Provide actionable insights and guidance to schools to strengthen School Counseling + Career programming and address gaps.
• Support continuous improvement by identifying trends, risks, and opportunities across assigned schools.
• Support schools during the school course selection process, returning student course placement, building a master schedule, staffing, and summer school planning.

Compliance, Audit & Risk Assurance

• Act as a knowledgeable partner during state or district audits, monitoring activities, and complaint resolution.
• Support development and execution of action plans based on internal reviews, audit findings, or state-level determinations.
• Collaborate with legal and internal stakeholders for accurate interpretation of requirements and defensible responses.
• Keep abreast of legislative changes and provide support to schools to ensure compliance.

Consultation, Training & Capacity Building

• Provide ongoing consultation to school leaders, counseling leaders and counseling/advisory staff to build understanding, confidence, and capacity.
• Support onboarding new school staff and leadership transitions.
• Deliver or coordinate targeted training aligned with School Counseling + Career expectations, tools, and best practices.

Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement

• Build and maintain strong working relationships with partner school leaders, School Counseling + Career staff, and internal PVS stakeholders.
• Collaborate cross‑functionally with legal, operations, analytics, and service delivery teams for aligned execution.
• Serve as a trusted point of contact for assigned schools within the scope of School Counseling + Career support.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Required Skills, Experience, and Competencies

• Master’s Degree in counselor education or school administration or related education field
• State issued School Counseling license or Professional Certification
• Experience supporting or managing school counseling programs
• Experience as a school counselor, preferably at the high school level
• Experience in school improvement, program development, and implementation
• Strong presentation skills
• Experience with virtual education environments preferred
• Ability to analyze data, manage competing priorities, and deliver results within established timelines
• Expertise in interpreting graduation requirements and compliance with state laws
• Willingness to obtain certification in other states as needed
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• High degree of flexibility and organization required
• Technological proficiency, especially with Microsoft Office and Google Suite products, Artificial Intelligence, and virtual collaboration platforms
• Ability to work effectively in a fast‑paced environment, consistently meeting deadlines and delivering tasks with expertise and precision
• Strong customer‑focused approach, delivering outcomes with professionalism
• Comfort working within a matrixed organization and navigating ambiguity with professionalism
• Periodic travel required

Key Relationships

• Service Delivery & School Operations partners
• School Counseling + Career partner school leadership and peers
• Partner school leaders and School Counseling staff
• Product and Technology partners
• Legal, analytics, and operational partners

Compensation: Salary: $70,000 – $85,000 per year. This position is eligible for Pearson’s annual incentive program. Information on benefits can be found here.

Applications will be accepted through May 31, 2026. This window may be extended depending on business needs.

Pearson is an Equal Opportunity Employer and a member of E-Verify. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit and business need. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status or any other group protected by law. We actively seek qualified candidates who are protected veterans and individuals with disabilities as defined under VEVRAA and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act.

If you are an individual with a disability and are unable or limited in your ability to use or access our career site as a result of your disability, you may request reasonable accommodations by emailing [email protected].

Job: School Service Delivery

Job Family: LEARNING_&_CONTENT_DELIVERY

Organization: Virtual Learning

Schedule: FULL_TIME

Workplace Type: Remote

Req ID: 23794