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Executive Director of Counseling and Psychological Services

Employer
Northwestern University
Location
Illinois, United States
Salary
Salary Not specified
Date posted
Aug 28, 2020

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Position Type
Administrative, Student Affairs, Counseling, Health Services
Employment Level
Administrative
Employment Type
Full Time

Northwestern University seeks an innovative, experienced, and collaborative leader as its next executive director of Counseling and Psychological Services.

Northwestern is a comprehensive research university that is deeply interdisciplinary across multiple schools and units. Committed to excellent teaching, innovative research, and the personal and intellectual growth of its students in a diverse academic community, Northwestern provides a rigorous yet empathetic academic environment with a robust mixture of theory and practice and an emphasis on top-tier research, new knowledge, creative expression, and practical application. Northwestern's innovative, collaborative and multidimensional community delivers an impact that is rare in higher education. The university's main campus is based in Evanston, Illinois, on the shore of Lake Michigan, with additional campuses located in downtown Chicago and Doha, Qatar. One of only four U.S. universities ranked in the top 20 across all graduate education categories and in the top 10 overall, Northwestern is proud to enroll 21,000 students (8,200 of whom are undergraduates) across its twelve schools and colleges with more than 3,700 full time faculty members.

A key priority of the Northwestern Division of Student Affairs is to expand upon existing student wellness programs while delivering services and influencing policies that promote mental, physical, and emotional health, resilience, and wellbeing. As such, Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) serves as the primary mental health services provider at Northwestern with locations on the Evanston and Chicago campuses and is comprised of 25 professional staff in the areas of clinical services, sport psychology, psychiatry, outreach and education services, and training – including two postdoctoral fellowships and an APA-accredited doctoral internship. The CAPS team develops evidence-based treatment plans tailored to each individual's unique background and needs by working together with students, families, campus partners, and community providers. CAPS also emphasizes prevention and education through collaboration and consultation focused on the development of the skills and self-awareness needed to excel in a challenging educational environment.

Reporting directly to the vice president of student affairs, the executive director will provide vision and strategic and intellectual leadership for CAPS, while fully realizing synergies across Northwestern and extending into the local community. The executive director will offer adept operational and managerial oversight of a counseling center in a complex, decentralized institutional environment and demonstrate a deep understanding of the complexities and challenges in the daily lives of undergraduate and graduate students. The next executive director will model leadership and bring experience advancing institutional diversity, equity and inclusion; strengthening the organizational health within CAPS through cultural change management; and engaging and inspiring stakeholders within the unit, the division and across campus to organize programs and services that amplify and maximize the conditions for student success. 

The successful candidate will have a terminal degree in a mental health profession with licensure or immediate license-eligibility in the State of Illinois. The new executive director will also demonstrate at least seven years of experience as a licensed mental health provider, with at least of those four years of experience occurring in a university counseling center, and at least four years progressively responsible leadership and management experience leading a complex, cohesive and interdisciplinary team. 

A detailed leadership profile is available at www.wittkieffer.com.

Inquiries, nominations, and applications are invited. Applications should include, as separate documents, a letter of interest addressing the themes in this profile and a CV or resume. For fullest consideration, candidate materials should be received by October 5, 2020 via WittKieffer’s candidate portal. Confidential nominations and inquiries can be directed to: Jen Meyers Pickard, Ph.D. and Jessica Herrington at NorthwesternCAPS@wittkieffer.com

Northwestern University values diversity and is committed to equal opportunity for all persons regardless of age, color, disability, ethnicity, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, veteran status or any other status protected by law.

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