Director, Counseling Services

Aims Local College District•Greeley, CO

About The Position

Aims Community College actively supports an environment that embraces the College's Mission, Vision, Values and a culture of innovation and care. The College embraces and seeks to hire individuals who want to be a part of this environment and have the skill sets necessary to be successful in this position. Reporting to the Executive Director, Student Accessibility & Well-Being (EDSAWB), the Director, Counseling Services provides strategic leadership, oversight, and direction for the Counseling department and its team. The position also develops prevention/wellness programming and psycho-educational support groups for students, and training/workshops for staff and faculty. This position is required to develop community connections and partnerships with non-profit agencies to maximize outside referrals. In addition, the position supervises counseling interns who provide personal counseling services to students on campus; oversees crisis response services and serves as lead crisis response person based on institutional policy. The Director provides leadership, supervision, and professional development for Counselors while supporting the Executive Director in strategic planning, program development, training, and assessment. This role is also responsible for ensuring compliance with counseling best practices and maintaining operational excellence in student support services as well as overseeing and monitoring the Counseling budget.

Requirements

Master's degree in Counseling, Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Social Work, Psychology or a related behavioral health discipline, plus five (5) years of experience providing mental health counseling, crisis intervention, or related clinical services.
Of the required five (5) years of experience, two (2) years must be supervisory and/or demonstrated leadership experience.
Mental health professional licensure. Examples: Licensed Professional Counselor (LCP), Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), within three months of employment, maintaining license continuously for the duration of employment.
Experience must include direct service to students.
Skill in supervisory practices and techniques; knowledge of mediation and/or conflict resolution strategies and methods; skill in mediating disputes.
Demonstrated excellent written and oral communication skills.
Demonstrated high interpersonal personal skills.
Demonstrated ability to work effectively and equitably with diverse populations.
Demonstrated ability to work collegially and collaboratively with supervisors and colleagues.
Demonstrated ability to make decisions and take action on those decisions.
Ability to manage departments with high-volume workflows.
This position requires the use of a company vehicle and/or personal vehicle for business travel. The selected candidate must successfully pass an MVR and be insurable under Aims insurance.
Resume
Cover Letter
Licensed mental health professional or license-eligible in the State of Colorado within three months of employment, maintaining license continuously for the duration of employment.

Nice To Haves

Experience in case management or coordinating services within a higher education setting.
Familiarity with student information systems (e.g., Workday) and case management databases (e.g., Maxient).
Experience making professional presentations to groups of up to 50 people.
Experience working with a diverse student population, including post-traditional students, students of color, Veterans, first-generation college students, and others from underserved or underrepresented backgrounds.
Working knowledge of mental health, student development, BIT best practices, higher education law, FERPA, and electronic record-keeping systems.
Bilingual with proficiency in reading, writing, and speaking Spanish.

Responsibilities

Clinical Mental Health Services Conducts individual counseling sessions in areas of academic problems, personal, interpersonal relationships, family, social, and psychological issues.
Establishes support groups on campus to assist students with coping strategies related to common issues (e.g. grief/loss, single-parent, self-harm, suicidal/homicidal ideation, abuse, etc.)
Supports development of departmental procedures for crisis response manual based on crisis response policy.
Serves as the lead crisis response point person for Counseling Services.
Meets with referred students and help them to gain emotional stability.
Assists the student in the problem-solving process to make well-informed decisions regarding alternative choices.
Leads psycho-educational support groups specifically focused on the needs of students and academic cohorts.
Coordinates relevant training on crisis response for staff.
Provides outside referral resources when needed.
Maintains currency in best practices and emerging theories in the field.
Maintains annual professional development and continuing education credits for licensure.
Leadership and Supervision Supervises support staff overseeing and directing daily operations, providing guidance and performance management, and ensuring efficient team productivity, providing direct supervision to at least 3 counselors and occasional interns.
Offers leadership, guidance, and support in counseling practices and professional development.
Assists in the training and onboarding of new counselors, ensuring adherence and compliance to best practices and institutional policies.
Collaborates with the EDSWAB and Director, CARE Case Management to develop and implement strategies for program improvement and effectiveness.
Counseling Department Leadership This position is responsible for overseeing and directing all counseling related services, programs, and staff.
This role is the leader within the Counseling department and serves as the direct contact for escalated complex situations.
Participates and directs assessment efforts related to counseling effectiveness.
Supports the EDSAWB in strategic planning, program evaluation and assessment, and reporting.
Collaborates with the EDSAWB to develop and implement strategies for program improvement and effectiveness
Maintains knowledge of community and campus resources by ongoing engagement with Aims faculty and staff, public health, private services, and community stakeholders.
Evaluates and enhances the quality of counseling services through consistent assessment, detailed documentation, comprehensive reporting, and the proactive revision of policies and procedures.
Directs, oversees, and supports counseling staff in achieving and maintaining relevant professional development certifications and engaging in continuous training.
Designs, develops, and implements educational programs to advance case management practices and knowledge both at the department level and college-wide level.
Leads weekly counseling meetings, ensuring continuity and effective team collaboration.
Provides budget development recommendations to Executive Director.
Adheres to internal compliance standards and ensure support staff is also in compliance with case management practices.
Prevention and Well-Being Programming Directs the development and implementation of educational materials, support groups, and wellness programming tailored to mental health needs.
Creates and directs marketing and awareness campaigns promoting counseling services.
Conducts training sessions for faculty and staff on effectively supporting students with mental health counseling.
Collaborates with the EDSAWB to develop an on-going counseling program training series for counselors.
Develops and directs the annual counseling services training series for faculty and staff.
Directs surveys and focus groups to assess students’ mental health needs and concerns.
Directs and provides workshops and seminars on stress management, mindfulness, and resilience building.
Collaborates with experts to provide educational sessions on mental health disorders and available resources.
Other duties as assigned

Benefits

Benefits are effective immediately
100% employer provided medical & dental coverage employees (employee only option)
85% employer provided medical & dental coverage for employee's spouse and/or family
Voluntary vision insurance
Staff Annual Leave (minimum accrual of 15 days) & Sick (minimum accrual of 12 days)
17 paid holidays and 3 personal days each year
Summer schedule: 4-day work week - Fridays Off
Employer paid long-term disability and life insurance premiums
Tuition waiver & reimbursement for employees
Tuition waiver for dependents
PERA employer (see www.copera.org for comprehensive benefits)
Additional supplemental benefits & retirement programs available
Access to the PERC (Aims gym) for employee & one guest
Free parking on all campuses