VP of Strategic Services

Collegewise is a college counseling company that helps high school students confidently navigate their journey to college. We believe the college admissions process has spun out of control, with too much confusion, too much anxiety, and too many students losing agency for what should be their path to higher education. We’re out to change all that.

Since 1999, we’ve helped more than 35,000 students apply and get accepted to schools—sometimes famous, often not—that they’re excited to attend. We do it all with just the right mix of advice, encouragement, and occasional cheerleading. All of our work is backed by data and experience to ensure that each student’s college admissions process runs smoothly and thoughtfully. And our work doesn’t stop with students who enroll in our program. We speak in public, write, and constantly look for ways to spread relevant college planning information to anyone who needs it, whether or not they work with us. To learn more about Collegewise, check out this short video.

You definitely wouldn't be crossing over to the for-profit "dark side" here. We have an excellent reputation with both high school counselors and admissions officers. We present at NACAC, local ACACs, and at high schools and community events. We partner with community-based organizations to directly support their students and increase college access. We tell the truth, we treat people right, we recycle, and we have at least five confirmed vegetarians on the team. We're biased, but really, this is a pretty great place to work.

Collegewise has spent 27 years building the most trusted name in college counseling, and the services around that core have grown fast. This is a new role, and it's time to bring in our next Wiser to help the work already happening in these teams keep growing. The teams doing this work are strong. You'll help them build on it, with the judgment to lead without close supervision.

• You've run businesses, led teams, and built things from scratch. You're comfortable being the person who makes the call.
• You believe in Collegewise's mission. You want to help students access higher education, and you see this role as a way to do that at scale.
• You've owned P&Ls and hit revenue and margin targets. You know how to run a business line, not just manage one.
• You've led multiple teams at the same time, including teams of more than 30 people.
• You've launched programs, hired teams, and created structure where none existed.
• You gather the information that matters, make the call, and thoughtfully execute the plan. When a call is wrong, you own it and adjust.
• You work well across functions. You build alignment, and you know when to stop planning and start executing.
• You operate without close oversight and set your own priorities.
• You’re high EQ. People enjoy working with you, and they come away from working with you better for it.

Instead of a traditional cover letter, please choose 3 of the following questions to answer (150–250 words is a helpful guideline, but use as much or as little space as you need).

1. Tell us about a time you had to make a call without all the information you wanted. How did you decide what you needed to know, when did you stop gathering information, and what happened next?
2. Tell us about a time you built or scaled a team. How did you find the gaps, who did you hire first, and what did you do when a hire or a plan didn't work out?
3. Describe a program or service you launched that didn't exist before. How did you test the idea before committing to it, and what did you change once it was live?
4. Tell us about a time you had to get functions with different priorities, such as sales, marketing, and operations, moving toward the same goal. What did you do to bring people along when they disagreed with you, and how did the team experience it?
5. Describe a time you held a team to a quality standard that was hard to measure. How did you define that standard, and how did you enforce it without managing every decision?

Please submit your resume and responses through our Careers page. Every single applicant will receive a response from us, and we do our very best to reply within 10 days.

If you're excited about this opportunity but unsure if you're the right fit, we hope you'll take a shot. There is no such thing as a perfect applicant (or a perfect job, for that matter). And we promise to give a fair and thorough read to every applicant who takes the time to submit a thoughtful application to us.

Collegewise is stronger because of the different perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences our team brings. We're committed to building a place where everyone can do their best work—and we actively work toward that through our Inclusion, Equity, and Access (IEA) Committee, our resources for students from all backgrounds, and our everyday practices. If that matters to you too, we'd love to meet you.

Questions? Feel free to email us at jobs@collegewise.com (please no phone calls). We promise to respond to you quickly.

Thanks for reading! We'd love to hear from you, but if we don't, we hope you find the perfect professional fit someplace else.