MFLC Assignment Ready Counselor (Florida Panhandle)

Magellan Health • Eglin AFB, FL

3d

About The Position

The Assignment Ready Counselor (ARC) provides coverage for short-term, surge, and on-demand military needs, including post-deployment events and temporary coverage for absent counselors. The Summer ARC role covers assignments from May 15 through September 15. With minimal guidance and oversight, the counselor provides adult or Child and Youth Behavioral (CYB) counseling services to military service members and their families at military installations. Assignments may include military community and readiness centers, DoDEA and community schools, youth programs, summer camps, and other on-demand locations. CYB counselors backing up school assignments must have experience working in a school setting.

Services include non-medical, short-term, solution-focused counseling; assessment; brief counseling and consultation; action planning; referrals and follow-up; training and health and wellness presentations; parent consultation and guidance; and consultation with school, daycare, youth-program, and installation personnel. Counselors work with installation and military branch Points of Contact (POCs) to ensure services meet installation needs and remain within scope. They also establish community resource relationships, manage duty-to-warn and restricted-reporting situations according to DoD protocol, participate in supervision and training, respond to critical incidents as directed, and record counselor activity data daily while preserving client confidentiality and anonymity.

This is a part-time, intermittent position for candidates local to the Florida Panhandle. Counselors must be willing to accept assignments with short notice and undefined durations, including weekends, and to cover full-time assignments ranging from a weekend to two weeks. The position may require travel across indoor and outdoor installation or school locations, movement over uneven terrain and stairs, and working in outdoor weather and other military-base conditions. Some locations may require current immunizations or vaccinations and proof of receipt. This is a Service Contract Act-covered position; pay and the health and welfare allowance are specified in the applicable wage determination agreement.

Requirements

• Master’s degree from an accredited graduate program in a mental health-related field or social work.
• Current independent-level licensure in a state as a mental health counselor, therapist, or social worker; the posting also lists LPC and other applicable state, Commonwealth, or customer-specific licensure requirements.
• Clinical work experience.
• Fluent in English and able to prove U.S. citizenship.
• Willing to accept assignments on short notice and for undefined periods, including weekends.
• Able to cover full-time assignments ranging in length from a weekend to two weeks.
• Able to quickly build rapport with service personnel, family members, students, parents, and coworkers.
• Adaptable to changing work conditions, location rules, and work environments.
• Able to work effectively with minimal instruction and guidance and to follow instructions carefully.
• Able to quickly engage and communicate with military members, spouses, and children and respond to emergent situations.
• Able to traverse short and long distances on installations and in schools, including indoor and outdoor areas, rugged or uneven terrain, steep inclines, stairs, and grass, and to work in outdoor weather and other military-base conditions.
• Able to meet site-specific requirements for designated locations; some assignments may require current immunizations or vaccinations and proof of receipt.
• Advanced knowledge of brief therapy and solution-focused counseling methods.
• For CYB roles, must meet Magellan MFLC CYB experience criteria for working with children and youth and have a specialty in child and adolescent development or psychology.
• For CYB counselors backing up school assignments, experience working in a school setting is required.
• Must comply with security responsibilities and controls, applicable legal, regulatory, and contractual requirements, and internal policies and procedures.

Nice To Haves

• Prior military service, being a military family member, or strong familiarity with military culture.

Responsibilities

• Provide coverage for short-term, surge, on-demand, summer camp, and backfill assignments supporting the MFLC program.
• Provide non-medical, short-term, solution-focused counseling to service members and their adult, child, and youth family members.
• Conduct assessments, brief counseling and consultation, action planning, referrals to resources, and follow-up as indicated.
• Provide training and health and wellness presentations, and participate in health fairs and other installation activities.
• For CYB assignments, support staff and personnel at child development centers, DoDEA and community schools, youth programs, and summer camps, and provide parent training and guidance.
• Enter counselor activity data daily through a smartphone or web application while maintaining service-member and family-member confidentiality and anonymity.
• Build a welcoming presence on installations and, for CYB roles, in child and youth settings; follow line-of-sight protocol when working with children.
• Establish and maintain relationships with community resources and provide appropriate linkages.
• Partner with installation or facility POCs to provide services that address local needs and maintain an effective working relationship with them.
• Manage duty-to-warn and restricted-reporting situations in accordance with DoD protocol and consult with the Regional Supervisor or Regional Director.
• Communicate with Regional Supervisors and participate in individual and group supervision, sharing trends and issues from assigned locations.
• Participate, with minimal notice, in in-services, training, Quality Improvement committees, and other assigned contract activities.
• Respond to critical incidents and special requests as directed by the POC and approved by the OSD program manager.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Part-time