- Based at our Melbourne, Burwood Campus
- Full-time and continuing
- HEW 8 $105,612 – $120,918 + 17% Superannuation
Founded in 1974, Deakin is a public university in Victoria with 61,000 students across five campuses: Melbourne Burwood, Geelong Waurn Ponds, Geelong Waterfront, Warrnambool, and the online Cloud Campus. We are a progressive and open-minded university, with the highest student satisfaction in Victoria and consistently ranked in the top 1% of the world’s universities.
Student services are seeking to appoint a Counsellor, a student mental health expert to provide best practice and evidence-based assessment, referral, consultation and short-term solution focussed counselling to support Deakin students and their academic outcomes.
As a Deakin Counsellor you will promote wellbeing, enhance the mental health literacy of the University community and minimise negative impacts of mental ill-health on student learning. This role will provide accessible counselling services that are responsive and relevant to the needs of students from all backgrounds (international, CALD, age, gender, LGBTIQ etc). Additional responsibilities may include the supervision of postgraduate trainees and also responsibility for the local counselling team response to critical incidents including provision of psychological first aid.
The position will build and maintain effective relationships across the University, including within the multi-disciplinary Student Health and Wellbeing team and collaborate and consult with staff across many areas of the University on matters relating to student mental health and educational needs, as well as providing recommendations regarding suitable interventions/solutions to student issues.
Your key responsibilities will include:
- Provide evidence-based assessment and short-term psychological interventions to support student mental health and improve academic outcomes.
- Assess for, and manage, emerging, acute, and complex student mental health issues, including student risk.
- Actively engage and enable collaboration across a multi-disciplinary team of health professionals and with a diverse range of stakeholders to provide inclusive and accessible services and expert advice to support student mental health
- Based upon best practice guidelines, student feedback and clinical outcome measures, use understanding of student mental health to anticipate needs, tailor services, improve service offering and ensure high-quality outcomes
- Provide training and education to enhance mental health literacy and improve student outcomes
- Maintain appropriate records management in accordance with the requirements of Deakin University, relevant legislation and professional bodies
- Proactively create, establish and retain professional networks within and external to Deakin which have practical application and alignment within Deakin to support student mental health
- Utilising mental health expertise, identify and analyse student mental health trends to design, implement and evaluate initiatives and programs that are based on best practice guidelines
To be successful, you’ll have:
- Registration as a Psychologist with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) or membership of Australian Association of Social Work (AASW) with registration as mental health Social Worker
- Postgraduate qualifications or progress towards postgraduate qualifications and extensive relevant experience or an equivalent combination of relevant experience and/or education/training (desirable)
- Professionally approved training and experience in initial critical incident response
- Knowledge of the tertiary university context and the range of issues faced by a diverse student population, e.g. First-in families, transition, cultural, pressures of tertiary study.
- Skills and experience in providing counselling via phone and online.
- Advanced clinical, assessment and intervention skills
- Experience and expertise in the provision of evidence-based, short term counselling
- Current AHPRA approved supervisor (desirable)
- An accredited facilitator of Mental Health First Aid training (Standard/Tertiary Blended) (desirable)
For a copy of the position description, please see below:
Applications for this position close on 1 December 2022
SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS
- Infrequent work outside business hours is required (e.g., work at evening or weekend events is required)
- Infrequent travel between campuses is required
- Working with Children Check (refer to Recruitment Procedure)
Successful applicants will need to comply with vaccination mandates imposed by the relevant state/territory government. Applicants who attend third-party sites to undertake University activities will also be required to comply with any other directions or requirements in place at the third-party location.
Please submit your updated resume and a short cover letter outlining your skills and experience for this role.
For a confidential discussion regarding this position, please contact Karen Stuart, Manager, Student Psychological Programs and Services at [email protected]
Are You Ready?
Deakin is a Victorian university with a global impact. We are an agile, dynamic, and innovative university committed to making a positive impact through our excellence in education, research and innovation and the contributions we make to the wider community.
We understand that our reputation has been built on the dedication and expertise of our staff and we offer a dynamic and diverse working environment with opportunities to grow and develop careers. We believe that a progressive, thriving culture will ensure that people choose to come, and stay at Deakin and contribute to our ongoing success.
We value diversity and aim to build an inclusive environment that champions, embraces and respects differences. We support and encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and people of all abilities, cultures, sexual orientation, and genders.