The Catholic Schools Office is currently seeking a permanent part time (0.8 FTE) School Counsellor / Psychologist to join the team in January 2023.

School Counsellors provide direct services to schools including educational and psychosocial assessments, psychological treatment and counselling, crisis support. School counsellors also provide advice and consultation to teachers, parents, guardians and other stakeholders, and support school policies and practices to improve student wellbeing within the community. School counsellors are an integral part of the school learning support team and help children and young people to achieve academic success, psychological health and wellbeing and social and emotional wellbeing. There is an expectation that counsellors will provide support at other schools as required.

POSITION DESCRIPTION

The role of School Counsellor / School Psychologist aims to assist school communities to support students in achieving educational success and social-emotional wellbeing by:

• working collaboratively with students, school staff, families, and communities to enable students to reach both educational and social-emotional outcomes through proactive and reactive strategies
• providing expertise in mental health, child development, and education and learning
• providing consultation, assessment, and intervention that assist school communities to support students to achieve academic success, psychological health and social and emotional well-being and respond to the educational and wellbeing needs of their students:
  • individual assessments
  • personal counselling
  • behaviour management interventions
  • consultation
  • professional development for teachers and parents

All School Counsellors / School Psychologists will be supported with ongoing professional learning and networking opportunities to improve their knowledge and professional capacity.  Professional Practice and Development processes for the role of School Counsellor / School Psychologist will be established in consultation with the Coordinator: Counselling Team. These will include feedback mechanisms from Principals and relevant CSO and school staff.

School Counsellors are employed by the Catholic Schools Office and are allocated to schools within the Diocese. Due to school and team expansion there are a number of positions available within the school counselling team. These positions will be most likely allocated to schools within the All Saints (Maitland and surrounding suburbs) region but also could be elsewhere in the Diocese. These are ongoing positions. Intern psychologists are welcome to apply.

EXPERIENCE/CRITERIA

• Eligible for employment with the Catholic Schools Office Maitland Newcastle
• Minimum 4 year degree in psychology, social work or counselling. Psychologists must be registered with AHPRA.
• Experience in assessment of psychological & educational needs and provision of evidence-based counselling interventions for school aged students
• Experience in providing expert advice to schools on mental health, child & adolescent development, education, and learning
• Respect for the mission of Catholic schooling in the Diocese of Maitland Newcastle
• Demonstrated ability to build collaborative, respectful and productive relationships with key school and community partners
• Demonstrated knowledge of local community agencies including referral pathways
• Excellent organisational, communication and IT skills, current drivers licence
• Previous experience of working within a school setting (Desirable)

QUALIFICATIONS

• Minimum 4-year degree in psychology, social work or counselling. Psychologists must be registered with AHPRA.
• Current drivers’ licence
• Current Working with Children’s Check (WWCC) clearance

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

Salary is in accordance with Catholic Schools Office, Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle Employees Enterprise Agreement 2019-2021. School Counsellors have paid leave during the school breaks and a travel allowance. School Counsellors are supported from the Catholic Schools Office and are provided with funds for clinical supervision and professional development.

BENEFITS OF WORKING WITH US

• Work in quality schools where students are nurtured, challenged and encouraged to excel and grow;
• A corporate fitness program through Fitness Passport;
• Employee assistance program (EAP);
• Training and staff development programs;
• Paid parental leave for eligible employees;
• Access to long service leave after just five years for eligible employees.

TO APPLY

• Please provide a cover letter along with your resume
• Address each of the selection criteria as listed under EXPERIENCE/CRITERIA above and ensure your response to each criteria is no longer than 300 words.

Please note, not adequately addressing the selection criteria may result in your application not being shortlisted.

For any queries related to this role, please contact Emma Merlino at 0409 081 701 or [email protected]

Applications close: Friday 11 November 2022 at 11.59pm