The Placement Exchange Job Board

Department: Counseling & Psych Serv
Salary/Grade: EXS/11

Job Summary:

Northwestern University’s Counseling & Psychological Services is seeking a full-time 12-month Associate Director for Community-Based Intervention based on the Evanston campus.

This position coordinates and conducts community-based education and services for Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS). They serve as an active member of the CAPS Leadership Team. The Associate Director ensures efficient and high-quality delivery, data collection and evaluation of outreach and education services; provides direct clinical services to Northwestern University students including individual and group therapy, initial assessments, crisis intervention, and clinical consultation.

The Associate Director provides clinical training and supervision to post-doctoral fellows and doctoral interns in psychology or other unlicensed clinical staff members, and provides administrative supervision.

This position requires some evening hours and occasional weekend duties. After hours duties typically include 1-2 weeks of on-call duties (as back up to the primary on-call counselor) per quarter. The Associate Director will also generally provide 2-3 evening or weekend community-based intervention events per quarter.

The starting salary for this position is $104,000 with additional consideration for candidates with substantial previous experience and/or expertise.

Department Overview:

CAPS is a unit within the Division of Student Affairs at NU and is highly utilized by students and other campus community members seeking consultation. CAPS has offices on both the Evanston and Chicago campuses. NU has a total student population of approximately 21,000 students across both campuses, with approximately 18,500 of these students attending classes in the Evanston campus. The Chicago office serves primarily graduate and professional students while Evanston office serves both undergraduate and graduate students. In addition to our clinical services, CAPS reaches over 10,000 NU community members through outreach and educational programming on both campuses. CAPS also has a training program, including an APA-accredited Doctoral Internship in Psychology at our Evanston office and a Post-Doctoral Fellowship on both campuses. CAPS is a learning organization, in that our strategic planning, priority setting, clinical services, and professional development are informed by local data collection as well as benchmarking with national trends and peer institutions. We have made a commitment to engaging in ongoing anti-racism work. This commitment is realized through our efforts to identify and disrupt aspects of white dominant culture embedded in our practices, processes, and structures. CAPS also identifies very closely with the vision, values and guiding principles of our umbrella organization, the Division of Student Affairs.

Department Website: http://www.northwestern.edu/counseling/index.html

About Student Affairs: By pursuing justice, equity, and belonging, Student Affairs cultivates student programs, services, and skills; disrupts barriers; and partners across Northwestern and neighboring communities to create an inclusive culture in which all students can thrive. Learn more about the Division of Student Affairs here: https://www.northwestern.edu/studentaffairs/about/strategic-plan/strategic-themes.html

Specific Responsibilities:

Administrative/Managerial (40%)            

• Serves as a member of the CAPS Leadership Team
• In collaboration with the Leadership Team and through antiracist lens, provides strategic planning, leadership, and oversight for all community-based intervention initiatives.
• Provides oversight and supervision to the CAPS liaison system, the Question-Persuade -Refer (QPR) suicide prevention program, and the Let's Talk program (in collaboration with Let’s Talk coordinator).
• Provides oversight to social media initiatives in collaboration with social media coordinator and Student Affairs Marketing
• Provides oversight for all scheduling and marketing of community-based intervention and educational programs
• Responsible for all data collection, analysis and reporting for the community-based intervention unit, including preparation of an annual report.
• Provides direct administrative supervision to assigned staff therapists (including social workers, licensed professional counselors, and psychologists).
• Engages in annual performance evaluation with assigned administrative supervisees.
• Strives to identify unit policies and practices that have a disparate impact on specific populations.
• Recommends policies and practices to advance an equitable, inclusive work environment and counter racism, sexism, and other forms of institutional bias.
• Forms respectful relationships with those representing diverse constituencies, and seeks regular input to better understand diversity, equity & inclusion issues and enhance recruitment efforts.
• Engages in on-going self-reflection and continues to advance their knowledge and skills related to social justice, racial equity, and cultural humility.
• Provides leadership in developing a model for student learning and well-being in relation to the mission and strategic plans of CAPS and the Division of Student Affairs and the University.

Clinical Services (40%)

• Provides culturally grounded services including brief individual and group psychotherapy, crisis intervention, case management, and initial assessment (in-person and Telemental health).
• Assumes after-hours on call responsibilities.
• Maintains timely clinical records of therapeutic and other client contacts.
• Consults with psychiatrists in conjunction with prescribing and monitoring psychotropic medication for psychotherapy clients.
• Consults with parents, physicians, faculty, academic deans, residence life staff, off-campus counseling services, other campus offices and students, when appropriate, and with appropriate authorization to provide quality care to students.
• Makes referrals to off-campus clinical services when appropriate.

Training (5%)

• Provides consultation and supervision to trainees.
• Supervises and/or participates in training experiences for doctoral psychology trainees, includes review of videos and progress notes.
• Provides consultation to trainee(s), as needed.
• Provides crisis management consultation to trainee(s), as needed.
• Participates in the management and administration of training and supervision, which may include serving on the Training Committee, selection of doctoral interns and Postdoctoral Fellows, and providing input in the assignment of supervisors.
• Provides training to CAPS trainees about community-based intervention program development in consultation with the Associate Director for Training.

Community-Based Intervention Programming (5%)

• Conducts outreach and other student learning programs, as requested, including orientations and QPR.
• Maintains liaison relationships with other campus units or academic programs, primarily with Physical Therapy program.

Other Duties (10%)

• Attend and participate in regular CAPS staff meetings, case conferences, and in-service training.
• Participate in Student Affairs and/or other university committees, as assigned by the Executive Director.
• Performs other duties as assigned

Minimum Qualifications:

• Holds a completed Master’s degree in counseling, social work, or related field or a doctoral level degree (Ph.D., Psy.D., or Ed.D.) in clinical or counseling psychology.
• Currently licensed by the State of Illinois as a Clinical Psychologist, Clinical Professional Counselor, or Clinical Social Worker or currently meets all criterion for licensure including completion of required degree, completion of required post-degree supervision hours, and a passing score (by Illinois standards) on any applicable licensure exam.
• Minimum of 3-5 years (post-licensure) professional experience as a licensed mental health provider, or equivalent experience.
• Possess outstanding clinical skills and a well-integrated understanding of short-term therapy, crisis intervention, consultation, and developmental community-based intervention programming.
• One or more years of experience in training and supervision.

Minimum Competencies:

• Candidate’s must demonstrate strong culturally appropriate clinical skills and a well-integrated understanding of short-term therapy, group therapy, crisis intervention, community consultation, and outreach programming.
• Candidate’s must demonstrate a commitment to providing culturally appropriate and responsive services to clients with historically marginalized and oppressed identities related to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, ability, and socioeconomic status.
• Have thorough knowledge of clinical applications for contemporary issues in psychology and student affairs, especially as related to individual and cultural diversity.
• Strong commitment to an anti-racist workplace.
• Demonstrates comfort and skill with using basic computer software (such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and Outlook as well as other Windows based programs).

Preferred Qualifications:

• Currently licensed in the State of Illinois as a Clinical Psychologist, Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, or Licensed Clinical Social Worker.
• Experience partnering effectively and collegially on an inter-disciplinary team in a university counseling center or other mental health agency.
• One to two years’ experience with progressively complex administrative/managerial responsibilities in, cohesive, and interdisciplinary team.
• One to two years’ experience with administrative supervision of staff.  

Preferred Competencies:

• Knowledge/expertise in one or more of the following areas: working with LGBTQ, FGLI, BIPOC and/or international students; substance abuse and eating disorder assessment and treatment; empirically supportive treatment for anxiety, depression, and perfectionism.
• Strong consideration will be given to candidates who have experience/expertise in empirically validated treatment modalities and trauma informed care.
• Knowledge and experience with positive psychology, community psychology, and wellness theory.
• Knowledge and experience in public health approaches to promote mental health wellness.
• Strong creativity and problem-solving skills.

Required Application Materials

• Cover letter outlining your interest in the position and addresses how you meet the specific job requirements.
• A current CV

Benefits: At Northwestern, we are proud to provide meaningful, competitive, high-quality health care plans, retirement benefits, tuition discounts and more! Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/index.html to learn more.

Work-Life and Wellness: Northwestern offers comprehensive programs and services to help you and your family navigate life’s challenges and opportunities and adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles. We support flexible work arrangements where possible and programs to help you locate and pay for quality, affordable childcare and senior/adult care. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/work-life/index.html to learn more.

Professional Growth and Development: Northwestern supports employee career development in all circumstances whether your workspace is on campus or at home. If you’re interested in developing your professional potential or continuing your formal education, we offer a variety of tools and resources. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/learning/index.html to learn more.

Northwestern strongly recommends COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters for people who can obtain them as a critical tool for minimizing severe illness. More information can be found on the COVID-19 and Campus Updates webpage.

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About Northwestern University

Northwestern University is a major private research university with 12 academic divisions located on three campuses in Evanston, Chicago, and Education City in Doha, Qatar. We have approximately 2,500 full-time faculty members, 17,000 graduate and undergraduate students, and over 5,700 full and part-time staff. Northwestern University combines innovative teaching and pioneering research in a highly collaborative environment. It provides students and faculty exceptional opportunities for intellectual, personal and professional growth.

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