Director of Counseling Center

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Reporting directly to the Executive Director of Student Health and Wellbeing, the Director of Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) is responsible for the delivery of professional, developmental, preventive, and remedial psychological services within an integrated student health model that reflects the values and traditions of Jesuit Catholic higher education in the College of the Holy Cross' residential liberal arts context. The Director provides clinical, administrative, and strategic leadership for the College's counseling center, which serves the mental health needs of all currently enrolled Holy Cross students. Responsibilities include establishing and maintaining the ethical, legal, and performance standards required for clinical services and appropriate accreditation.
The position has responsibility for the overall administration and coordination of CAPS's resources and activities — including clinical service delivery, crisis response, staff supervision and development, budget management, and campus-wide consultation on student mental health — and will ensure coordinated and seamless delivery of care and education to students through robust professional partnerships and collaborations with Student Health Services, Student Accessibility Services, and Student Wellness Education.
As a department leader within the Division of Student Development, the Director works collaboratively with students, staff, faculty, and campus partners to promote students' academic success and personal growth by working with colleagues across the division and the College to foster the conditions that enable and shape student learning, formation, flourishing, and success. The Director represents CAPS and student mental health issues to the broader college community.

Job Description

Major Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership (30%)

• Set priorities and objectives for the promotion of counseling services that support student mental health, wellbeing, and flourishing, including the delivery of professional, developmental, preventive, and remedial psychological services.
• Lead and oversee the design, implementation, and continual assessment of a coordinated suite of clinical services, therapeutic practices, group offerings, and outreach initiatives aligned with professional standards and in support of the College's mission and strategic priorities.
• Serve as the clinical leader for mental health within an integrated student health model, partnering with the Directors of Student Health, Student Accessibility Services, and Student Health Promotion to design shared protocols, referral and warm hand-off pathways, coordinated care conferencing, and consistent communication practices that ensure students experience seamless, coordinated care rather than separate services.
• Align CAPS systems and structures — including scheduling, triage, stepped-care models, and documentation — to support integrated care delivery and equitable access while establishing and maintaining necessary ethical, legal, and performance standards for services.
• Engage partners beyond the department in meaningful partnerships that support the College's designation as a health-promoting campus, and consult with and advise members of the College community, including Class Deans, faculty, Residence Life, Athletics, and others, on student mental health issues.
• Using evidence-informed analysis, including outcome monitoring instruments (e.g., CCAPS-34) and national benchmarks established by organizations such as the Association of College Counseling Center Directors (AUCCCD) and the Center for Collegiate Mental Health (CCMH), forecast needs and advance the development, alignment, and coordination of initiatives and interventions to meet institutional priorities.
• Remain informed of best practices within college counseling and integrated student health by connecting with professional networks, and contribute to improving practice within higher education.
• Maintain CAPS’ accreditation with International Accreditation of Counseling Services (IACS), including preparation of self-study materials and coordination of site visits.
• Demonstrate leadership in managed change, including assessing the department, contributing to the development and revision of policies, procedures, systems, and communications, using technological advances to enhance efficiencies, and motivating staff to embrace integrated practice.
• Prepare and submit CAPS  annual report and present to senior administration and the Board of Trustees as required; participate in College committees, task forces, and policy formation related to student mental health and wellbeing.

Supervision, Training, and Staff Development (25%)

• Supervise CAPS professional staff, including staff psychologists and counselors and administrative staff; indirectly supervise early career professionals and psychology trainees (predoctoral externs).
• Supervision includes oversight for recruitment, selection, onboarding, training, performance evaluation, retention, and ongoing coaching for professional staff to achieve departmental, divisional, and College priorities.
• Supervise, coach, and hold accountable both professional and training staff in the practice of integrated care,  including collaborative treatment planning with medical and accessibility colleagues, appropriate information sharing, participation in interdisciplinary case consultation, and shared responsibility for prevention and health promotion outcomes.
• Provide clinical supervision and training to psychology trainees and staff, either directly or through delegation to qualified licensed staff, and ensure that all clinical supervisors meet licensure and training requirements and that trainee supervision complies with professional training standards and Massachusetts statutes.
• Facilitate weekly psychologists' meetings, regular staff meetings, weekly staff training seminars, and supervision meetings, reinforcing ethical, multicultural, and clinically sound practice; attend and participate in other College and divisional meetings as appropriate.
• Design and deliver training curricula that prepare staff and trainees to practice within an integrated, multidisciplinary campus health system and to serve a diverse student body.
• Demonstrate exceptional supervision and management for staff across identities, skill sets, and experiences; communicate effectively with all direct reports and stakeholders to ensure robust, ongoing engagement and development.
• Build a cohesive team dynamic and hold team members to the highest professional and ethical standards, including adherence to industry standards for licensing, patient/client care, record keeping, and excellence in all work.
• In collaboration with the Executive Director and the Director of Strategic Operations, support ongoing professional development to ensure staff maintain licensure, as appropriate, and are prepared to meet students' changing needs, provide an inclusive environment for a diverse student body, and educate effectively in our Jesuit Catholic, liberal arts mission.

Clinical Practice, Crisis Intervention, and Emergency Services (25%)

• Provide direct psychological services, which may include individual psychotherapy, crisis intervention, consultation, and group therapy, and document clinical contacts in adherence with professional, ethical, and legal standards.
• Serve as a clinical resource for the most complex and high-risk cases, and provide support for crisis intervention and follow-up care, including participation in on-call rotation(s) and supporting after-hours crisis line (e.g., ProtoCall).
• Serve as the College's liaison to after-hours crisis service (e.g., ProtoCall), maintaining responsibility for contracts and partnership effectiveness.
• Serve as core member of the campus Threat Assessment Team (TAG), in partnership with the Associate Vice President for Risk & Compliance and the Associate Vice President & Chief of Police.
• Coordinate with the Department of Public Safety, Health Services, and community hospitals to ensure students receive timely evaluation, treatment, and follow-up care.
• Contribute to the College's postvention planning and response as consultant and coordinator.
• In collaboration with the Executive Director for Student Health and Wellbeing and the Associate Vice President/DOS, ensure that emergency response, crisis management, and after-hours response to student mental health concerns is reliable, predictable, robust, and fair; ensure these processes center students and their wellbeing and facilitate high levels of collaboration and consultation across stakeholder departments.
• Ensure coordination of timely responses to student mental health concerns, and provide timely updates to the Executive Director for Student Health and Wellbeing  and the Vice President on high-level matters, significant health and safety concerns, and barriers to student success and wellbeing.

Financial, Operational, and Administrative Management (20%)

• Ensure that financial practices, operations, and administration advance student mental health, wellbeing, and access in compliance with applicable law and the College's Jesuit Catholic liberal arts mission.
• Prepare and manage the annual operating budget and ensure fiscal responsibility; allocate resources across clinical staffing, training, professional development, and operations.
• Develop, implement, and maintain policies, procedures, technology, and systems that serve all students and the College's priorities.
• Assume responsibility for office technology, including clinical record keeping system, ensuring accurate record-keeping and data stewardship.
• Oversee CAPS’ outcome monitoring and clinical assessment practices to support data-informed clinical decision-making, and benchmark utilization and staffing against national data sources.
• Oversee maintenance and administration of clinical space and equipment in coordination with divisional and College partners.
• Collaborate with stakeholders across campus, including but not limited to Academic Affairs, Athletics, Finance, Facilities, General Counsel, Mission and Ministry, Public Safety, Residence Life, and Risk Management, as well as external partners including community providers, hospitals, and referral networks.
• Provide written reports, analysis, and documentation, as needed, to divisional and institutional leadership.
• Ensure that staff and programs maintain appropriate credentials and accreditation with appropriate licensing organizations.
• In collaboration with the Director of Strategic Operations, support maintenance of essential IT systems and vendor contracts, including the after-hours crisis line and clinical record keeping system.

Minimum Requirements

• Terminal degree (Ph.D. or Psy.D.) in clinical or counseling psychology or counselor education from an American Psychological Association (APA) accredited doctoral program.
• Completion of an APA-accredited pre-doctoral supervised internship or equivalent supervised clinical training.
• Current, active licensure (or eligibility for licensure) as a psychologist, or equivalent appropriate license/certification, in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
• Minimum of seven years of post-licensure professional experience in a clinical and/or counseling setting, including at least three years in a supervisory capacity.
• Graduate-level academic training in diagnosis and assessment, counseling theory and practice, ethics, clinical supervision, diversity, and research methods.
• Experience delivering or leading mental health services within an integrated, collaborative, or multidisciplinary health care model, and demonstrated ability to build shared clinical practices across professional disciplines.
• Active engagement with current best practices and an awareness of emerging issues in college student mental health and integrated student health, including treatment modalities commonly used with this population.
• Evidence of creative, strategic thinking and proven ability to lead in a dynamic environment to facilitate organizational change and to deliver intended outcomes.
• Demonstrated success recruiting and supervising professional staff, and supervising clinical trainees, in a diverse environment with a critical understanding of clinical and public health issues; demonstrated experience in creating systems and structures that center justice and equity.
• Experience managing crises effectively and collaboratively.
• Demonstrated experience in personnel and fiscal management, including the ability to manage a departmental budget, and to hire, cultivate, and retain outstanding talent.
• Experience hiring, cultivating, supervising, evaluating, and retaining outstanding clinical staff  in a diverse environment with a critical understanding of clinical and public health issues.
• Demonstrated commitment to inclusive excellence, with the ability to build meaningful relationships and work effectively with students, faculty, staff, and external partners from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and identities.
• Experience with administrative duties and functions such as strategic planning, developing and implementing policies and procedures, budget planning and managing resources, and report writing.

Core Competencies

• Clinical Skills: Excellent clinical judgment and crisis-management skills, with the ability to manage complex, high-risk cases effectively and compassionately, exercising sound clinical judgment, professionalism, and sensitivity. 
• Professional Knowledge: Strong understanding of the developmental, emotional, and mental health needs of college students and the application of evidence-based prevention, intervention, and support strategies. 
• Professional Standards: Knowledge of current best practices, ethical standards, legal requirements, regulatory standards, and emerging trends in higher education mental health, college counseling, and clinical recordkeeping.
• Collaboration: Ability to build relationships, develop partnerships, and work collaboratively across departments and with external stakeholders to advance student well-being and institutional goals.
• Inclusion: Actively engaging with the values of the College by promoting a work environment that embraces belonging and demonstrates respect for the opinions and beliefs of others.
• Innovation: Performing one’s job with creativity and proactivity, improving procedures and problem-solving.
• Strategic Thinking and Problem Solving: Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to gather, interpret, and evaluate data and information from a variety of sources to identify core challenges, inform decision-making, planning, and recommendations. Ability to design lasting solutions that drive long-term goals.
• Communication: Excellent interpersonal, written, oral, presentation, and public speaking skills, with the ability to communicate effectively with students, faculty, staff, families, and community partners.
• Mission/Service Orientation: Focusing on service to others and contributing to the College’s collective mission.
• Personal Responsibility and Integrity: Taking ownership of one’s actions and accountability for one’s tasks and duties. Demonstrated commitment to maintaining the highest standards of personal and professional integrity, ethical practice, and respect for privacy and confidentiality.
• Supervision, Development, and Team Management: Demonstrated supervisory and leadership experience, including the ability to recruit, develop, mentor, and evaluate staff while fostering a collaborative, inclusive, and high-performing team environment in support the accomplishment of common goals.

Salary: The salary range for the Director of Counseling and Psychological Services is $ $128,000-$135,000 commensurate with experience & education.

Weekly Hours:

40

Annual Work Schedule:

Application Instructions

An updated resume and cover letter are required as a part of your internal application. In your cover letter, please reflect on how your professional and personal values align with the Mission of the College of the Holy Cross to form individuals of integrity and purpose who are committed to the flourishing of all.

Additional Information
To review our generous benefits options, please review our detailed information here or check out our Benefits at a Glance. 

The College also provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities during the hiring process in compliance with law. Please contact Human Resources for questions or to request an accommodation via email at [email protected], or by calling 508-793-3391. 

The College is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer and complies with all Federal and Massachusetts laws concerning Equal Opportunity in the workplace.

The College does not provide immigration sponsorship for staff positions. Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States without current or future employer sponsorship.