Position: Personal Counsellor, Senior School – Full-time (.6 Personal Counsellor / .4 Teacher)

Department: Student Life / Academics

Reports to: Associate Principal, Student Life / Principal, Senior School

Starting date: ASAP

Closing date: April 3, 2023

The Personal Counsellor is a member of a small team of counselling professionals who support a variety of pastoral care and educational needs of students in Grades 8 through 12. They also form part of our teaching faculty (subjects TBD) to form a full-time role, split 60% Personal Counsellor / 40% Teacher.

All employees at St. George’s School support and model our core values and competencies: empathy, integrity, humility, respect, responsibility, and resilience.

In order to provide the best possible learning environment for our highly diverse, multicultural student population, St. George’s actively seeks to recruit staff from groups that have been traditionally underrepresented in independent and international schools. BIPoC and 2SLGBTQ+ people and those with disabilities are warmly encouraged to apply, and invited to reach out for more information about our commitment to pluralism.

Responsibilities will include:

• Collaborating with Associate Principal Student Life in planning, evaluating, facilitating and revising the school personal counselling program.
• Supporting students on a caseload throughout the school day and providing individual and small-group sessions as needed in classroom settings.
• Enriching school-wide and community-wide initiatives and projects.
• Teaching psycho-education skills in whole class settings.
• Supporting the education of parents and teachers on well-being.
• Communicating the objectives of the personal counselling program to key education stakeholders.
• Providing individual and goal-oriented planning sessions to students in support of academic planning and success, career awareness, social/emotional development, family issues and making healthy choices.
• Promoting an understanding and appreciation of diverse populations and cultures.
• Engagement in school life through involvement and support in co-curricular programming, advisory and major school events.
• Adhering to laws, policies, procedures, and ethical standards of the BC School Counsellors’ Association.

Qualifications will include:

• Completed master’s degree in counselling psychology or equivalent.
• Minimum two years’ experience counselling youth.
• BC teaching certificate or ability to obtain one.
• Demonstrated capacity and interest in working with youth in grades 8 through 12.
• Strong work ethic.
• Innovative, flexible and collaborative.
• Able to organize and sequence activities.
• Experience assessing students’ particular social and emotional needs, knowing when to refer to other appropriate specialists and/or external expertise.
• Superior ability to build rapport, trust and relationships with students.
• Superior ability to garner confidence from a network of key stakeholders (i.e. parents, students, faculty members, external support services).
• Possess strong individual and group counselling skills.
• Skilled communicator, both verbal and non-verbal.
• Ability to employ a creative and balanced approach to assisting students and their parents.
• Thorough knowledge of school counselling theory and practice.
• Commitment to professional growth.
• Key competencies and EQ in self-awareness, self-management, empathy, social expertness, initiative and accountability. 

Interested applicants should email a cover letter and resume to: [email protected]