Military & Family Life Counselor- Temporary Backfill

Magellan Health•Columbia, SC

About The Position

The Assignment Ready Counselor (ARC) provides short-term, surge, and on-demand coverage to meet military needs, including post-deployment events and coverage for absent counselors. The Summer ARC position covers assignments from May 15 through September 15, coinciding with school summer break. Assignments may last from one or two days to several weeks, with the possibility of longer assignments based on program needs. Candidates must reside near Fort Jackson or Shaw AFB, or be willing to make themselves local, and must be available Monday through Friday, with occasional weekend assignments. 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. Services include non-medical, short-term, solution-focused assessment and counseling, consultation, action planning, referrals and follow-up. Counselors may also provide training and health and wellness presentations, parent guidance, and consultation to installation command and staff at child daycare centers, schools, youth programs, and summer camps. CYB counselors may work in DoDEA or community schools and must have school-setting experience to back up a school position. Adult counselors may support MFLC services in military community and readiness centers, as well as surge and on-demand assignments. The counselor coordinates with installation and military branch Points of Contact (POCs) to ensure services meet installation needs and remain within scope. The role also requires maintaining appropriate community-resource relationships, responding to critical incidents and special requests as directed, and submitting accurate daily activity data through a smartphone or web application while protecting service-member and family-member confidentiality and anonymity. Duties listed are representative and may include additional assignments consistent with the role.

Requirements

Master’s degree from an accredited graduate program in a mental health-related field or social work.
Current independent licensure to practice as a mental health counselor, therapist, or social worker in South Carolina, meeting applicable state, customer-specific, and position requirements.
Clinical work experience.
Fluent in English and able to prove U.S. citizenship.
Advanced knowledge of brief therapy and solution-focused counseling methods.
Availability Monday through Friday, with occasional weekend assignments; willingness to accept assignments of undefined duration on short notice, including weekends.
Ability to cover assignments on a full-time basis for varying durations, from a weekend to two weeks; assignments may also range from one or two days to longer surges or backfills.
Ability to quickly build rapport with service personnel, family members, students, parents, and coworkers.
Adaptability to new working conditions, locations, and site rules; ability to work effectively with minimal instruction and follow instructions carefully.
Ability to quickly engage and communicate with military members, spouses, and children and respond to emergent situations.
Ability to traverse short or long distances on military installations and in school settings, including indoor and outdoor locations, rugged or uneven terrain, steep inclines, stairs, and grass, and to work in outdoor weather and other military-base conditions.
Ability to meet site-specific requirements for assigned locations; some assignments may require current immunizations or vaccinations and proof of receipt.
For CYB school backfill assignments, experience working in a school setting.
For CYB positions, ability to meet Magellan MFLC CYB experience criteria for working with children and youth and specialty criteria in child and adolescent development or psychology.
Ability to comply with security responsibilities and controls and applicable legal, regulatory, contractual, and internal requirements.

Nice To Haves

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

Responsibilities

Provide short-term, non-medical, solution-focused counseling to service members, adults, children, and youth, including assessment, brief counseling, consultation, action planning, referrals, and follow-up as indicated.
Provide surge, short-term, and on-demand coverage, including backfill for absent counselors and support for military needs such as 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 and participate in health fairs and other installation activities.
Consult with parents, childcare and school personnel, and installation command regarding behavioral health issues affecting military personnel and their families.
Coordinate with installation and military branch Points of Contact to deliver services that address the needs of the installation or facility.
Establish and maintain relationships with community resources and provide appropriate referrals and linkages.
Create an approachable presence on installations and, for CYB work, in child and youth settings while maintaining confidentiality and following line-of-sight protocol when working with children.
Enter counselor activity data daily through a smartphone or web application while maintaining confidentiality and anonymity.
Manage duty-to-warn and restricted-reporting situations according to DoD protocol and consult with the Regional Supervisor or Regional Director.
Communicate with Regional Supervisors and participate in individual and group supervision, sharing information about trends and issues at assigned installations and facilities.
Respond to critical incidents and special requests as directed by the POC and approved by the OSD program manager.
Participate, sometimes with minimal notice, in in-services, training, Quality Improvement committees, and other assigned contract activities.