The Assistant Director serves as a key member of the Counseling Services leadership team and supports the advancement of the University’s mission by ensuring high-quality, ethical, and responsive mental health services for students. This role requires strong clinical expertise, leadership capacity, and the ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, dynamic higher education environment. The Assistant Director is responsible for supervising three professional staff and supporting Counseling Services operations, crisis response, clinical services, training, and outreach and will seek continuous and integrated improvements on all such matters and collaborating with campus partners to achieve Division goals.

Responsibilities include:

Supervisory leadership

• Provide supervision and leadership for mental health counselors and graduate intern trainees.
• Within designated scope of supervision, oversee the hiring, supervision and mentorship, training, and professional development of office team members to achieve division goals; this includes performance reviews on an annual basis.
• Assist the Executive Director, CHS with executive decision-making.
• Provide administrative direction for counseling services in the absence of the Executive Director.
• Develop and oversee graduate training experiences within the department.
• Ensure services are delivered in accordance with ethical, legal, and professional standards.
• Lead staff meetings within designated scope of supervision.

Clinical Services and Crisis Response

• Provide individual psychotherapy, group therapy, assessment, triage screening, and appropriate referrals.
• Respond to mental health crises on campus, including emergency and after-hours situations as needed.
• Provide crisis assessment and intervention services during office hours and on-call rotations, as required.
• Consult with students, faculty, staff, and parents regarding student mental health concerns.
• Ensure responsible care of Counseling Services clients through accurate and timely clinical documentation in accordance with professional guidelines.

Outreach and Education

• Deliver educational workshops and participate in proactive outreach programming for campus departments, student organizations, and community partners.
• Educate the campus community on mental health awareness, prevention, and available resources.

Department and Division Leadership

• Maintain open communication with the Executive Director to engage in issue-spotting, planning, and problem-solving.
• Assist with oversight of daily Counseling Services operations, including administrative policies and procedures.
• Coordinate the timely and accurate preparation of reports, budgets, and contracts.
• Assess campus needs, available resources, and national trends in college mental health.
• Proactively identify opportunities for innovation, growth, and continuous improvement.
• Participate in professional organizations and continuing education to remain current on trends, best practices, and licensure requirements.

• Perform other duties as assigned by the Executive Director.

Characteristics of a successful candidate:

• Integrity, empathy, sound clinical judgment, and professionalism, with the ability to inspire trust and confidence.
• Motivation to create a thriving, engaged, and safe campus environment that prioritizes student mental health and well-being.
• Ability to serve with agility in high-pressure and time-sensitive situations.
• Commitment to open communication, collaboration, and ethical practice.
• Demonstrated enjoyment in working with college students and supporting their academic, personal, and social development

Required Skills and Qualifications:

• Master's degree in psychology, counseling, social work or a related mental health discipline, and at least four (4) years of related experience as a full-time professional.
• Professional licensure in the mental health field in Tennessee, or licensure in another state with eligibility to obtain Tennessee licensure within six months of hire.
• Minimum of three (3) years of experience as a mental health clinician.
• Demonstrated experience working with a college student population.
• Demonstrated supervisory experience.
• Crisis assessment and intervention skills.
• Strong organizational, planning and problem-solving skills.
• Advanced oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze and assess data.

Preferred Skills and Qualifications:

Complementing the required skills and qualifications:

• Doctorate degree in psychology, counseling, social work, or a related mental health discipline, and at least six (6) years of related experience as a full-time professional, including supervising counseling interns.
• Experience with Solution-Focused Brief Therapy.
• Experience providing tele-mental health services.
• Excellent presentation, facilitation and training skills.

Physical Requirements:

Sedentary work: Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects.

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Austin Peay State University is a four-year public, doctoral-level university, with six colleges and four Chairs of Excellence. The University has an enrollment of over 11,000 students and is located in Clarksville, Tennessee, a community of an estimated 150,287 people located approximately 40 miles northwest of Nashville, TN.

Austin Peay State University is a proud supporter of hiring veterans. We hire veterans with equivalent experiences and pay grades from their military service, rather than requiring or preferring only college degrees. Please visit our website for more information on how veterans can qualify for additional employment opportunities at APSU: https://www.apsu.edu/human-resources/hiring-veterans/.

Austin Peay State University (APSU) prohibits discrimination in all employment, programs, and activities based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including pregnancy), disability, age, veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status. For Title IX inquiries or complaints, contact: Chief of Institutional Culture & Title IX Coordinator, LaNeeça R. Williams at williamslr@apsu.edu | 931-221-7690, Browning Building, Room 140, Clarksville, TN 37044. For other non-discrimination concerns, contact: Director of Institutional Culture & Title VI & Title VII Coordinator, Dr. Jo Baldwin at baldwinjapsu.edu | 931-221-7178 or Associate Director of Accessibility Compliance & ADA/504 Coordinator, Jayme Glover at gloverj@apsu.edu | 931-221-7160. View APSU’s full nondiscrimination policy at Policy 6:001.

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The Assistant Director, Counseling Services reports to the Executive Director, Counseling & Boyd Health Services (CHS). This position supports the daily functioning of clinical operations and provides administrative and clinical supervision and oversight for mental health clinicians. As a department leader, the Assistant Director collaborates in a cross-divisional and cross-institutional manner to support a holistic, student-centered approach to mental health and well-being that contributes to student success and retention.