Manager, Counselling Services

Overview

Term: 2 years

Reporting to the Associate Director, Counselling Services (AD), the position of Manager, Counselling Services (MCS) encompasses supervisory responsibilities of a multidisciplinary team of approximately 10 members each, along with administrative and clinical responsibilities for the department which assists in enabling Campus Wellness to accelerate its journey to achieving wellness for all.

This position will help lead their team to use inclusive, integrative, anti-racist, anti-oppressive, and trauma-informed approaches in all aspects of client-care and employee management, centering employee safety and engagement alongside client-centeredness. The services provided by the Counselling team focus on campus community mental health, psychological wellness, and safety at the University of Waterloo (UW). This is vital for the personal and academic success of UW’s members. The Manager, Counselling Services will employ a participatory style of leadership to fortify a culture of caring and achieve cohesion within their team and in all interactions across Campus Wellness. They are pivotal in working with their teams to create a transformative, future-ready service in a world changed by a racial reckoning, a mental health awakening, and a global pandemic.

The incumbent will work closely with other members of the department leadership team to ensure programs offered to students are contributing to the vibrant student experience and the wellness of our campus community. This position is responsible for effectively managing staff, policies, processes, and programs involved in the provision of counselling services.

The MCS performs their duties conscientiously and responsibly, adheres to high personal standards of behaviour with students, colleagues, members of the University community and clients of the University, community colleagues and resources, and in a manner consistent with the ethics and responsibilities of their own profession.

Responsibilities

Multidisciplinary Team Management and Coaching

The MCS provides leadership in the development and facilitation of multidisciplinary service delivery teams who provide mental health treatment & services on campus. They demonstrate skill in the following areas:

• Meeting individually with team members for monthly supervision with an emphasis on clinical consultation, case file reviews, and professional growth & development
• Managing and coaching an allocation of clinical staff, providing a supportive environment that encourages productivity, staff success, as well as efficient and healthy workload management
• Engaging in effective & equitable recruitmentselectionproceduresandstandards
• Focusing team effectiveness on University of Waterloo goals, and Counselling Services’ values of Community, Care and Growth
• Overseeing the professional training and development of team members, including an emphasis on counsellor development through the career path.
• Leading with a collaborative, relationship based, growth mindset
• Facilitating staff annual performance appraisals and addresses performance management needs of staff

Relationships/Partnerships

Cultivating and stewarding strong working relationships and partnerships, including:

• Working closely with others within Campus Wellness and other relevant stakeholders on and off campus to help provide the best programs and services to the students
• Taking a collaborative approach to developing strategies that strive to achieve the institutional vision of a vibrant student experience
• Creating partnerships with wellness service providers on campus to contribute to a comprehensive wellness strategy for the campus community

Clinical Responsibilities:

• Conduct routine clinical file audits to ensure adherence to ethical and standard practice guidelines
• Provide on call support to counselling services staff working evening hours, as a part of a management on call rotation (Flexible work hours provided should a call be received in the evening)
• Facilitate monthly clinical supervision meetings with all direct reports The MCS provides clinical mental health services with individual clients as back up support for direct service staff, and/or maintains a reduced clinical load to allow them to meet their administrative, managerial and coordination responsibilities. It is expected that no more than 25% of the MCS’s is devoted to clinical service delivery to allow for an emphasis on staff development at both an individual and team level

Coordination of Specific Responsibilities: Each MCS oversees the coordination of and is responsible for one or more areas of Counselling Services. These coordination responsibilities for this manager include:

• Coordination of Intake and Access Advising Services: The MCS maintains a thorough knowledge and expertise in best evidence-based intake practices and ensures these practices are well designed, implemented and evaluated to fit the needs of Waterloo students. The MCS works with intake specialists to ensure adequate intake and immediate response coverage. The MCS also oversees intake procedures around student clients who are seeking a change in clinicians is being followed. They respond to requests from professionals and others both within Campus Wellness as well as from the broader University community and beyond regarding intake information, crises, and other related queries. The MCS manages procedures related to new student clients entering Campus Wellness with mental health concerns, as well any waiting list related to intake. In conjunction with the Intern/Resident coordinator, they determine which clients are seen by practicum students/interns/residents providing counselling services. The MCS is responsible for the development, and oversight, of the Access Advisor pilot service from an equity lens. Will implement evaluation of the pilot to make data informed decisions to assist with scaling this service to all Faculties across campus. The MCS will have an expertise with client navigation and support coordination, electronic documentation to support this work, and collaborating with community partners to ensure ease of access to services for clients
• Coordination of Back to Campus Program: The MCS maintains a thorough knowledge and expertise in the area of mental health case management of clients who are of high risk and high acuity, the mental health act, and cross discipline collaboration. They partner with leadership within CW, and the community including hospitals, community mental health agencies and institutions to ensure services for students with high acuity are available and in place. The MCS will act as back up for the Mental Health Case Manager and Mental Health Nurse to support students who are returning to school following hospital assessment or admission. The MCS will establish and maintain constructive collaborative relationships between multisectoral community partners in community mental health, identify, research, and communicate emerging trends and best practices relevant to vulnerable populations served in the department
• Coordination of Mental Health Case Management for students. The MCS will maintain thorough knowledge and expertise in serious and persistent mental illnesses, mental health case management, and the Mental Health Act. This manager will have extensive knowledge in trauma, compassion fatigue, and compassion satisfaction in order to reduce the incidence of compassion fatigue among staff. This manager will provide back-up for the case managers when they are not working, to allow them the opportunity to disconnect from their work outside of work hours. This MCS manages procedures related to case management service delivery for students, sets targets, and ensures high quality service delivery for students whose mental health located anywhere on the spectrum from early intervention to complex and acute

Qualifications

• Completion of a master’s degree in a mental health field is necessary.  PhD in a related field is beneficial
• Registered or eligible to be registered in a regulated mental health profession within the Province of Ontario
• Experience providing intake services and mental health crisis intervention
• Ability to make quick decisions and problem solve in high pressure/high risk situations
• Experience conducting clinical consultation & debriefing sessions
• Process review/continuous improvement experience
• Formal management or supervisory experience with oversight of direct reports
• The provision of clinical supervision for mental health counselling professionals
• Management of direct service mental health teams including counsellors, mental health case managers, mental health nurses and/or crisis workers
• Working in environments with multiple, unpredictable & regularly changing priorities
• Hospital or community mental health case management experience preferred
• Progressive clinical and administrative experience with a background highlighted by mental health and student development expertise
• Experience working with late adolescent early adulthood population and/or in a student-focused post-secondary environment is an asset but not required
• Competencies will include strategic thinking, leadership, human resource management, organization, and communication
• Clinical practice with high acuity clients
• Compassion Fatigue and Trauma Informed mental health care
• Thorough knowledge of the Mental Health Act of Ontario
• Demonstrated experience applying learning in the areas of equity, diversity, anti-racism, inclusion and/or accessibility to their leadership practice, program and/or strategy development
• Experience in facilitation required
• Demonstrated ability to contribute to and thrive in a collaborative environment and to apply a positive team approach when working with colleagues
• Exceptional communication, use of emotional intelligence and relationship building skills
• Demonstrated ability to support cross functional teams and build consensus. Sensitive to the diverse perspectives of stakeholders and works with them to resolve differences
• Ability to engage in challenging conversations with tact
• A clear Vulnerable Sector Check is required

Equity Statement

The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is co-ordinated within the Office of Indigenous Relations.

The University values the diverse and intersectional identities of its students, faculty, and staff. The University regards equity and diversity as an integral part of academic excellence and is committed to accessibility for all employees. The University of Waterloo seeks applicants who embrace our values of equity, anti-racism and inclusion.  As such, we encourage applications from candidates who have been historically disadvantaged and marginalized, including applicants who identify as First Nations, Métis and/or Inuk (Inuit), Black, racialized, a person with a disability, women and/or 2SLGBTQ+.

Positions are open to qualified candidates who are legally entitled to work in Canada.

The University of Waterloo is committed to accessibility for persons with disabilities. If you have any application, interview, or workplace accommodation requests, please contact Human Resources at hrhelp@uwaterloo.ca  or 519-888-4567, ext. 45935.