Overview
Director
Counseling and Wellness Services
The University of St. Thomas (UST), a private Catholic University committed to the liberal arts and the religious and intellectual tradition of Catholic higher education, located in Houston, Texas, near the vibrant central business district, Texas Medical Center, and museum district, is currently seeking an experienced professional to serve as its next Director of the Counseling and Wellness Services (CWS) department.
The Director serves as the administrative head of the department of CWS and provides mental health counseling and wellness services to UST students in light of the mission of the University and the Catholic understanding of the human person. As Director, he or she also works to advance initiatives and collaboration with other departments for the promotion of mental health and wellness at UST. This full-time, year-round position is appointed by the Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs (AVP-Student Affairs) with the approval of the Vice President of Academic Affairs and Student Affairs, and reports directly to the AVP-Student Affairs.
Essential duties and responsibilities:
Direct and oversee the department of CWS as outlined below:
Responsible for the design, implementation, strategic planning, vision, and evaluation of a comprehensive counseling, wellness initiatives, and student development program for university students;
Provide leadership in development of priorities in the delivery of services; decisions on type and extent of services provided; and strategies for meeting the counseling/mental health needs of the campus;
Represent the department and mental health needs of students to the UST community;
Supervise all professional and administrative departmental staff as well as student assistants(s) and graduate practicum students completing professional training at CWS;
Recruit, train, schedule and evaluate all staff and graduate practicum students in CWS.
Establish departmental goals, objects, policy and program development;
Develop and implement outcomes assessment;
Lead the department to assure effective and efficient departmental operation;
Establish and maintain collaborative relationships with, and consultations to, university administration, faculty and staff, students and other constituent groups;
Provide liaison support in the UST community on matters related to mental health services and training;
Operate as chief mental health officer for the university;
Responsible for individual and group psychotherapy for mental health, personal and academic concerns;
Provide psychotherapeutic crisis intervention on campus as needed including on-call accessibility by telephone outside business hours;
Manage, develop and implement psycho-educational programming and campus outreach efforts;
Provide counseling support services (information and referral) to University personnel;
Oversee the administration and implementation of Wellness Services for students, as well as provide direct services facilitating events that promote mental health improvement;
Consult with administration, faculty and staff pertaining to equal access and opportunity concerns;
Participate in relevant Student Affairs Division meetings, committees or teams;
Serve as a consulting member of the UST Care Team for students;
Participate in other University committees as appropriate;
Plan and execute yearly goals.
Assume fiscal responsibility for the department;
Prepare and administer annual budgets for CWS;
Review budget reports, oversee expenditures, signing authority on purchase orders and timesheets for the department.
Perform all other duties as assigned by the Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs.
Knowledge and Skills Required:
Licensed Professional Counselor or Licensed Psychologist in the State of Texas;
Four years of experience working in a clinical setting including a young adult population, with at least three years in a university or college counseling center preferred;
Strong oral and written communication skills;
Strong organizational skills;
Competence in professional, ethical and legal standards in the field of mental health;
Competence in and commitment to working with multicultural populations;
Computer skills that include working knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word, Outlook, Excel, and PowerPoint), database management, and familiarity with online research protocol; experience with Titanium and PeopleSoft preferred;
Ability to work and relate well with supervisory and support staff;
Ability to work well with students, parents, faculty, staff of the University, as well as the professional mental health and lay community;
Commitment to maintain professional liability insurance;
Commitment to maintain licensing credentials and continuing education units (CEUs) annually;
Willingness to establish networks through professional affiliations;
Participate in national and state professional organizations;
Enthusiasm and ability to promote and further the Catholic identity of the University of St. Thomas in accordance with the Apostolic Constitution of Pope St. John Paul II, Ex Corde Ecclesiae
Doctoral degree in counseling psychology or clinical psychology preferably from an APA approved program and/or LPC-S preferred but not required.
The University of St. Thomas considers candidates in light of their professional credentials, experience, and consonance with the University’s Catholic identity and purpose. UST is committed to hiring individuals who can help to advance its integrated mission-the formation of the whole person for flourishing in this life and the next-and give public witness to that mission in new ways. The University’s Catholic identity is at the center of this mission, a Catholicism expressed for our own age by the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992), and Pope Saint John Paul II’s Ex Corde Ecclesiae, especially sections #21-26.
The University asks all candidates applying for a position to consider these documents to ensure that their professional goals, practices, and values can align with them. Successful candidates are to be able to support and promote joyfully, professionally, and publicly the University as it seeks to be faithful to and embody a robust Catholicism in the richness of its intellectual, doctrinal, moral, and spiritual dimensions. This integrated Catholic vision of education, which encompasses a vision of the good human life and of the world, is animated by and receives further depth and orientation from authors such as St. John Henry Newman, St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, Pope St. John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and their classical forebears.
The University of St. Thomas is an Equal Opportunity Employer
For more information, or to apply now, you must go to the website below. Please DO NOT email your resume to us as we only accept applications through our website.