Military and Family Life Counselor - Temporary Backfill

Magellan Health•Augusta, GA

About The Position

The Assignment Ready Counselor (ARC) provides short-term, surge, and on-demand coverage in response to military needs, including post-deployment events and coverage for counselors who are absent. The temporary backfill role may involve assignments lasting one to two days, one week to 30 days, or potentially longer based on program needs. The Summer ARC position covers May 15 through September 15. Candidates must reside near Fort Gordon or be willing to become local and must be independently licensed in Georgia as an LCSW, LMFT, or LPC. With minimal guidance and oversight, the counselor provides adult or Child and Youth Behavioral (CYB) counseling services to service members and their families at military installations. Services include non-medical, short-term, solution-focused assessment and counseling, action planning, referrals and follow-up, consultation, training, health and wellness presentations, and support for installation activities. CYB assignments may be in DoDEA or community schools, youth programs, summer camps, and child development settings; school assignments require experience working in a school setting. Adult counselors may serve military community and readiness centers and respond to on-demand and surge assignments. The counselor works with installation and military branch Points of Contact (POCs) to ensure services meet installation needs and remain within program scope. The role also includes maintaining relationships with community resources, responding to critical incidents and special requests as directed, following DoD protocols for duty-to-warn and restricted-reporting situations, and participating in supervision and assigned training or other contract activities. Counselor activity data must be entered daily using a smartphone or web application while preserving service-member and family-member confidentiality and anonymity.

Requirements

Master’s degree from an accredited graduate program in a mental health-related field or social work.
Current independent behavioral health licensure meeting Georgia and applicable customer-specific requirements; the posting identifies LCSW, LMFT, or LPC.
Current valid driver’s license.
Must be able to prove U.S. citizenship and be fluent in English.
Must reside near Fort Gordon or be willing to make themselves local.
Must be available Monday through Friday and for occasional weekend assignments, with assignments of varying and sometimes undefined duration.
Must be willing to accept assignments on short notice and able to cover full-time assignments ranging from a weekend to two weeks.
Advanced knowledge of brief therapy and solution-focused counseling methods.
Ability to build rapport quickly with service personnel, family members, students, parents, and coworkers.
Ability to adapt to new working conditions and location-specific rules and to work effectively with minimal instruction and guidance.
Ability to quickly engage and communicate with military members, spouses, or children and respond to emergent situations.
Ability to traverse short or long distances on military installations and in school settings, including indoor and outdoor areas, rugged or uneven terrain, inclines, stairs, and grass, and to work in outdoor weather and other military-base conditions.
Must comply with site-specific requirements for assigned locations; some assignments may require current immunizations or vaccinations and proof of receipt.
For CYB positions, must meet Magellan MFLC CYB experience criteria for working with children and youth and have a specialty in child and adolescent development or psychology.
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.
For CYB assignments backing up a school position, experience working in a school setting.

Responsibilities

Provide short-term, non-medical, solution-focused counseling to adults, children, and youth of service members, including assessment, brief counseling, action planning, referrals, appropriate linkage to resources, and follow-up.
Provide temporary, short-term, surge, and on-demand coverage for military counseling assignments, including coverage for absent counselors and post-deployment events.
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.
Provide training and health and wellness presentations, participate in health fairs, and take part in other base or installation activities.
Coordinate with installation and military branch POCs to provide services that address the needs of the installation or facility and remain within program scope.
Establish and maintain working relationships with community resources and provide appropriate referrals and linkages.
Enter counselor activity data daily through a smartphone or web application, ensuring accurate reporting and maintaining confidentiality and anonymity.
Manage duty-to-warn and restricted-reporting situations according to DoD protocol and staff cases with the Regional Supervisor or Regional Director.
Communicate with Regional Supervisors and participate in individual and group supervision, sharing trends and issues from assigned installations and facilities.
Respond to critical incidents and special requests as directed by the POC and approved by the OSD program manager.
Participate, with minimal notice, in in-services, training, Quality Improvement committees, and other assigned contract activities.
When working with children, follow line-of-sight protocol.