Director of Counseling & Wellness - Warren Wilson

Are you a dynamic and compassionate leader with a passion for advancing mental health and well-being in a diverse academic environment? Warren Wilson College is seeking a visionary and experienced leader to be our next Director of Counseling and Wellness. This is an exciting opportunity for a mental health leader who is student centered, values collaboration and student engagement. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in mental health services, a passion for promoting well-being, and the ability to lead a team of dedicated professionals. The successful candidate will have a strong commitment to supporting LGBTQ+ students and fostering a culture of belonging and engagement. This position is supervised by the Vice President for Student Engagement & Dean of Students (VPSE) and supervises professional staff counselors, contract counselors, graduate level interns, and Wellness work crew students. 

We are seeking someone who will develop and implement a forward-thinking strategy for the Counseling Center that aligns with the College's mission and values. The Director of Counseling and Wellness is responsible for the strategic leadership, visioning, planning, implementation, supervision and evaluation of culturally competent and inclusive counseling services. Services include in-person and telehealth/mental health services, individual and group counseling, outreach programming and education, training, consultation, crisis intervention and assessment. The position promotes a culture of safety, health, belonging and well-being. The Director is responsible for the budget and resource management for the department, and works collaboratively with other departments and off campus partners to support the mission and goals of the department and broad efforts to improve student wellness. The individual in this role is expected to stay current in the field (clinical and education outreach) through professional development and licensure. Occasional evening and weekend hours, and on-call responsibilities are part of this position.

Interested individuals should read further to learn more about the qualifications and job responsibilities for this full-time, exempt position. Applicants are required to submit a resume and cover letter, which includes your experience working with a diverse range of identities and experiences including, but not limited to, previous DEI training or initiatives.

First consideration will be given to candidates who apply by Monday, September 23, 2024. 

Our mission:

Warren Wilson College, rooted in liberal arts education, is committed to providing educational programs that prepare graduates to engage in groundbreaking scholarship and creative work; pursue meaningful careers with professionalism; and lead purposeful lives dedicated to fostering a just, equitable, and sustainable world. Toward that end, the College utilizes an innovative educational approach that intentionally integrates academics and experiential learning (through campus work and community engagement) for a rich, challenging student experience. Our students matriculate through deliberately scaffolded courses and signature capstone experiences that combine intellectual foundations with experiential skill development and problem solving. In that vein, Warren Wilson College is committed to fostering students' curiosity, empathy, and integrity by providing them with a variety of perspectives, mentors and role models.

To fulfill this mission, the College, through its Strategic Imperative for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), is embarking on institutional initiatives that infuse DEI into all aspects of its functioning. Specifically, the College is unwavering in our commitment to the dignity of all people – particularly those populations who have been both historically oppressed and continue to experience systemic oppression. While we value the breadth of diversity necessary for a rich campus culture, we also recognize the particular challenge and opportunity for growth and leadership around race, noting that such a focus necessarily intersects with deepening efforts around other aspects of identity.  We are committed to a culture of educational access and ensuring that students and employees from a diverse range of identities and experiences will thrive in this community. Fully living out this commitment involves incorporating DEI knowledge, skills, and practices in all academic programs and administrative capacities to advance inclusive excellence at all levels of the College. In alignment with our DEI commitment, we welcome and invite applicants who desire to, and possess the skills and experience to, advance this work.  We welcome applications from members of racial/ethnic underrepresented groups (e.g., BIPOC/people of the global majority) and individuals who have experience working with diverse student populations (e.g., racial/ethnic, income, immigration status, sexual orientation/gender identification, etc.).

Minimum Qualifications

• Clinical licensure as a PhD psychologist, PsyD, LCSW, LPC, or LMFT in North Carolina (or license eligible) or a Master's degree in Social Work or an LCSW.
• Three to five years of professional behavioral health experience.
• Three to five years of supervisory experience with advising, mentoring, supervising and/or teaching young adults.
• Three to five years experience providing health education and promoting healthy behaviors including providing educational behavioral health programs.
• Three to five years experience working with issues of sexual assault, relationship violence, and stalking in a college setting.
• Three to five years experience with crisis response.
• Three to five years experience providing substance abuse prevention programming and counseling.
• Demonstrated experience building partnerships and relating effectively with diverse constituents including students, faculty, staff and administrators; including acting as an advocate when appropriate.
• Demonstrated expertise in practice of current therapeutic treatment modalities to include but not limited to cognitive, behavioral, psychodynamic, solution focused, group counseling, psycho-educational, and family systems.
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and experience incorporating these values into relationship building and programming with a diverse population.
• Demonstrated abilities related to leadership, communication, interpersonal, and public speaking skills.
• Evidence of prior fiscal or budget management.

Preferred Qualifications

• Licensed Clinical Addictions Specialist.
• Prior experience in a College Counseling Center.
• Prior experience supervising professional psychologists and mental health clinicians.
• Evidence of specific training in trauma informed care.
• Demonstrated experiences creating and implementing new programs that relate to well-being and mental health.
• Demonstrated knowledge of integrated care and ability to effectively lead an integrated model of health and wellness.

Key Responsibilities

Clinical Administrative Level

• Provides counseling to students.
• Leads and coordinates the provision of counseling by the department. Oversees all services provided at the Counseling Center, including those provided by remote or contract entities, such as TimelyMD, to assure that services are high quality and in sync with WWC vision, mission and policies.
• Maintains and monitors clinical records to ensure compliance with state and federal requirements.
• Provides oversight over all clinical supervision for non-licenced staff and trainees who work at the Counseling Center to assure that appropriate supervision is maintained. Oversees Counseling Center staff who provide supervision to non-licensed staff.
• Provides support to all students including survivors of sexual assault, relationship violence, and stalking.
• Assures regular and ongoing assessment of all Counseling Center services, utilization and effectiveness; analyzes data and makes recommendations to supervisor/VPSE regarding ways to improve services based on this data. Maintains a database of evaluations and assessment.

Education and Outreach

• Provides and coordinates training and educational programming in collaboration with various departments such as Public Safety, Title IX Coordinator, Health Center, and Residence Life on mental health and wellness issues. Provide educational outreach programs to students, residence life staff, and student leaders in the areas of emotional regulaton, self-care and stress reduction, sexual assault, relationship violence, healthy relationships, substance abuse prevention, bystander intervention, Title IX issues, and other topics.
• Engages in community building programming to create a campus climate that is safe, healthy, and inclusive.
• Provides oversight and training to student work crews, who will provide outreach programming to students through activities, events, and publications addressing the issues listed above, and who will provide advocacy and support to other students.
• Collaborates with other directors and leaders across departments to strengthen and support student engagement.
• Remains current in the field in order to identify innovative and effective strategies and initiatives that are effective to engage with students; stays current with industry standards. 
• Takes the lead to assure that the College provides various screenings for mental health, wellness, and substance abuse prevention.

Staff Supervision

• Promotes teamwork and promotes effective communication and coordination through regular staff meetings.
• Ensures a continuity of services for students beyond WWC by maintaining an on-going professional relationship with the Pisgah Institute and the College Consortium, as well as with other community providers, agencies, and organizations.
• Develops, nurture and maintain a current network of contract counseling providers concurrent with student needs; and provide ongoing assessment of those providers.
• Ensures maintenance of licensure credentialing for all appropriate staff and promotes professional development opportunities.
• Responsible for supervision of all staff and implementing personnel actions, including, but not limited to, hiring, transfer and performance evaluations.
• Manages staff positions, including the selection, hiring, training, and evaluation of all staff, in collaboration with the office of Human Resources.
• Establishes and implements policies and procedures for the department, including departmental goals and objectives that align with the strategic plan of WWC.
• Orients and guides staff through orientation, standard procedures, philosophy of mentoring and supervising students on work crews and general performance expectations.
• Facilitates and directs the process of goal setting for all staff, monitors workflow and offers feedback and guidance to support professional development.
• Delegates tasks to appropriate departmental staff members as new college initiatives arise.
• Plans, analyzes and evaluates programming and departmental workflow, facilitates departmental goal setting opportunities to foster cooperation and teamwork, and implements strategies to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the department.

Resource and Budget Management

• Monitors and manages departmental budgets, and approves all program expenditures.
• Develops, maintains, and works within budget, with specific attention to contract work for special projects and ongoing department needs.  
• Reconciles credit card statements, submits departmental check requests to the office of Administration and Finance.
• Seeks opportunities across campus departments and with off campus partners to collaborate and co-sponsor events and community involvement to increase student participation and foster broad support for campus programming initiatives.

Crew Supervision

• Assists the WPO with selection and recruitment of student crew members, and provides orientation and training for all student workers to support their professional and educational development.
• Coordinates, communicates and monitors student work schedules, and approves student time cards by payroll schedule deadlines.
• Guides students through the learning and performance goals and evaluations process in a timely manner.
• Attends WPO supervisor orientations and retreats and collaborates with WPO staff in order to help coordinate experiences, and address work crew issues that may arise.

Crisis Management and Support

• Acts as primary contact for student mental health crisis responses, and, in collaboration with the Associate Dean of Students, Residence Life Director, Public Safety, Health Center, the BIT, and The Chaplain, in responding to individual and campus crisis issues.
• Serves on the Behavioral Intervention Team.
• Consults with the WWC Connect and Care committee, respondes as needed to concerns shared through this early warning system for students.
• Participates in on-call rotations and provides after-hours support
• Completes other duties as assigned.

Warren Wilson College is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.