Counseling Director, Youth Empowerment Services

Posted by on January 02, 2012

Counseling Director, Youth Empowerment Services

Posted on: December 12, 2011

Full-time Position Available for a Counseling Director

Masters in Social Work Required

YESPhilly seeks to hire a Counseling Director to provide leadership to a team of counselor/case managers providing support to out-of-school youth, ages 17 to 21. The YESPhilly program helps students get their lives on track through a combination of counseling and case management, literacy and math classes, GED and college preparation, job readiness training and placement, enrollment in post-secondary training, and media arts engagement activities. The Counseling Director will provide supervision and clinical leadership to counselors, work with agency management to ensure coordination of services, oversee preparation of student records for audits, and serve as the counselor/case manager for selected students. While YESPhilly has a well established counseling program, we are looking for an individual who will help us further articulate our counseling model.

YESPhilly counselors work with every student and their family to provide the supports and develop the skills they need to face the challenges they meet. At YESPhilly students develop the habits and skills they will need to succeed in college and careers– responsibility, persistence, initiative, teamwork and goal-setting. Our program has an unusually high counselor to student ratio which gives us the capacity to assess and address each student’s individual goals, needs and barriers to success.

Specific duties include:

Supervise student assessment, goal setting, support plan development, student contacts, monthly progress reports, and home visits
Manage case review meetings
Manage student case loads among counselors
Identify professional development needs and opportunities for counseling staff
Provide leadership in addressing student disciplinary and supportive services
Develop counselors’ skills to help students to explore the source of their feelings, especially anxiety and anger that lead to negative and disruptive behaviors.
Develop counselors’ skills to assist students and families with identification of strengths and pro-social behaviors and to teach social skills and reinforce consequences of actions.
Develop counselor’s skills to help students and families prepare for transitions, especially as they affect family dynamics, schedules, responsibilities, and other feelings about the youth’s success.
Manage performance goals and contract documentation for counseling department
Assist management team in advancing YESPhilly’s work with the Department of Human Services, the Juvenile Justice system and other youth serving agencies and providers.
Participate in program activities including student orientation, assemblies and special events
Manage a small case load, including students contacts, documentation, and home visits

The Counseling Director reports to the Program Director and works collaboratively with all other department leadership, as well as the Data and Compliance Specialist.

In addition to MSW credentials, candidates must have a minimum of 5 years of counseling experience and supervisory experience; understand youth development, family systems, and a strong interest in working with at-risk youth as part of a team in an alternative educational setting.

All YESPHILLY employees are required to have child abuse, criminal background, and FBI fingerprint checks. A car is necessary for home visits; mileage reimbursement is provided.

Interested candidates should submit their resumes to:

Gary Paprocki,
YESPHILLY Program Director
Email: jobs@yesphilly.org

http://www.idealist.org/view/job/SJzgsTnZdNcp/