1030 Director of the Counseling Center

POSITION IDENTIFICATION

TITLE Director of the Counseling Center

CLASSIFICATION NUMBER 1030

GRADE 47

CLASSIFICATION Exempt

IMMEDIATE SUPERVISOR Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs/Dean of Students

GENERAL FUNCTION

The Director of the Counseling Center is responsible for leadership in the administration, planning, implementation, and evaluation of counseling services. These services are provided to promote students' personal development and psychological well-being and include individual and group counseling, outreach programming, training, consultation, crisis intervention and assessment. This position involves supervision of professional and support staff, budget administration, and formulation of unit policies and procedures.

MINIMUM ACCEPTABLE QUALIFICATIONS

Education: A Master's degree in psychology, counseling, or a mental health discipline is required; a Doctorate in psychology, counseling, or a mental health discipline is preferred.

Experience: At least five years clinical experience in a university/college counseling center or related mental health agency is required. Experience in administrative work required, preference within a university counseling center.  

Licensure: Must be professionally licensed in the mental health field in Missouri and eligible to supervise staff seeking licensure.

Skills:  Experience with tele-mental health is preferred. Excellent organizational, management, budgetary, and leadership skills are required. Excellent verbal and written communication skills are required. Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to work collaboratively with others are required. Computer literacy and electronic records software experience are required. The ability to manage and complete tasks in a timely manner is required. Dedication to growing in cultural competency and consciousness in working with and providing mental health services to communities of underrepresented populations is required.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Provides interaction and communication with other departments of the University by coordinating the services of the Counseling Center.

2. Ensures financial responsibility of the unit by preparing the budget and supervising all expenditures.

3. Promotes the personal development and psychological well-being of students by providing counseling on an individual, couple, or group basis.

4. Provides effective and appropriate services by planning, organizing, and implementing new counseling, training, and educational outreach programs.

5. Ensures that the needs of students are addressed in emergency situations by coordinating and/or providing crisis intervention services during office hours and after hours as needed.

6. Provides input to other units of the University by serving on University committees; including but not limited to the Behavioral Intervention Team (BIT).

7. Provides supervision and support to the Assistant Director in the coordination of training experiences for Counseling Center staff.

8. Promotes communication within the unit by conducting regular staff meetings.

9. Provides monitoring of clinical records to ensure compliance with state and federal requirements for clinical records.

10. Ensures office effectiveness by handling office correspondence.

11. Communicates the function and mission of the Counseling Center by meeting with students, faculty and administrative groups of the University and the greater community.

12. Provides for continuity of care by recruiting, selecting, training, and supervising Counseling Center personnel.

13. Provides clinical supervision for non-credentialed staff operating under the supervisor’s license. Oversees Counseling Center staff who provide supervision to non-credentialed staff.

14. Actively participates in and contributes to staff planning, and evaluation of services and staff performance.

15. Compiles statistics for annual reports and other reporting requirements.

16. Oversees management and negotiation of contracts with external entities and programs, including but not limited to online mental health platforms, after-hours crisis support service, etc.

17. Remains competent and current through self-directed professional reading, developing professional contacts with colleagues, attending professional development seminars, and attending training and/or courses as required by the Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs/Dean of Students and obtaining Continuing Education Units (CEUs) as required by state licensing and regulatory boards.

18. Contributes to the overall success of the Counseling Center by performing all other duties and responsibilities as assigned by the Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs/Dean of Students.

SUPERVISION

The Director of the Counseling Center is supervised by the Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs/Dean of Students and supervises the staff of the Counseling Center, which includes mental health clinicians, support staff, graduate assistants, and student workers.

OFFICE OF HUMAN RESOURCES

REVISED JANUARY 2025

JOB FAMILY 4

Factor 1: Professional Knowledge, Skill, and Technical Mastery

Level 6.0 - 4500 Points: Knowledge of a wide range of concepts, principles, and methods of an administrative, academic, managerial, or professional field. Knowledge permits the employee to develop new or substantially modified approaches that diverge from standard methods to improve administrative and/or line operations. Knowledge also permits the employee to plan steps and carry out multi-phase projects requiring problem definition and modified techniques, to coordinate work with others, and to modify methods and procedures to solve a wide variety of problems. Knowledge requirements may include evidence of the ability to manage programs and/or lead and direct other professionals. Knowledge requirements for jobs at this level typically include a level of education beyond the Bachelor's degree with comprehensive related work experience, frequently including substantial administrative or supervisory experience, and knowledge of higher education processes, policies, and procedures. Alternatively, this level may require a professional or clinical specialty beyond the Bachelor's with moderate related work experience. The knowledge requirement at this level may also include a terminal academic degree with an appropriate level of leadership and/or administrative experience.

Factor 2: Supervisory Responsibility

Level 4.0 - 470 Points: Supervision of (a) a moderate number of operative, administrative support, or paraprofessional employees who do not exercise a full range of supervisory responsibilities over other full-time employees, (b) a small number of professional employees who exercise limited supervision of others, or (c) large numbers of student workers or graduate assistants, or some equivalent combination of the above. The incumbent performs a full range of supervisory responsibilities including performance reviews of subordinates. The incumbent is responsible for training, planning, and directing the work of permanent employees, and generally controls hiring decisions. Supervisory responsibilities consume moderate amounts of work time and may include general work planning tasks.

Factor 3: Interactions with Others

Level 4.0 - 500 Points: Interactions with others are somewhat unstructured. The purpose may be to influence or motivate others, to obtain information, or to control situations and resolve problems. Interactions may be with individuals or groups of co-workers, students, or the general public, may be moderately unstructured, and may involve persons who hold differing goals and objectives. Individuals at this level often act as a liaison between groups with a focus on solving particular unstructured problems. Interactions at this level require considerable interpersonal skill and the ability to resolve conflict.

Factor 4: Job Controls and Guidelines

Level 3.0 - 500 Points: The employee operates under general supervision expressed in terms of program goals and objectives, priorities, and deadlines. Administrative supervision is given through statements of overall program or project objectives and available resources. Administrative guidelines are relatively comprehensive and the employee need only to fill in gaps in interpretation and adapt established methods to perform recurring activities. In unforeseen situations, the employee must interpret inadequate or incomplete guidelines, develop plans, and initiate new methods to complete assignments based on those interpretations. Assignments are normally related in function, but the work requires many different processes and methods applied to an established administrative or professional field. Problems are typically the result of unusual circumstances, variations in approach, or incomplete or conflicting data. The employee must interpret and refine methods to complete assignments. Characteristic jobs at this level may involve directing single-purpose programs or performing complex, but precedented, technical or professional work.

Factor 5: Managerial Responsibility

Level 4.0 - 1500 Points: Work involves the primary accountability for a smaller department, program, or process. Work activities involve managerial decisions that directly affect the efficiency, costs, reputation, and service quality of the department, program, or process. Work affects a limited range of professional projects or administrative activities of the University. Work activities have a direct and substantial impact on the department. While work activities do have some effect on the efficiency and reputation of the cost center, departments, programs, or processes at this level represent a relatively minor function within the cost center. Employees in jobs at this level may have responsibility for developing budgets, distributing budgeted funds, and exercising the primary control over a relatively small budget.