Personal Counselor

Location

Kodaikanal | India

Job description

Overview: 

Kodaikanal International School is a 120-year-old dynamic international school with a rich history of holistic education, offering the IB continuum of the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP) and the Diploma Programme (DP) to our learners. Our beautiful school and community are nestled in the Palani Hills of Tamil Nadu, South India.

At KIS, we empower our students to navigate through life’s challenges to achieve their true potential. We follow an inquiry-based approach that promotes critical thinking, learner agency and a dedication to serving others. We recognize the importance of a meaningful, relevant and engaging curriculum that connects students to real-world contexts for their learning. We are keenly aware of the need to adapt our teaching and learning model to respond to the needs of our students in a world of fast-paced change.

Role:

This position is a full-time role. The Personal Counsellor is responsible to provide school-wide support and best-practice mental health counselling at an international residential school. Counselling includes: diagnosis and treatment and/or external referral medical treatment and medications when necessary. All members of the KIS professional community are expected to fully support a residential-school ethos and environment.

About Kodaikanal International School

KIS Vision Statement: We strive to be a school the world needs: Our graduates will be transformative leaders, caring humans and thoughtful ambassadors for a just, sustainable and peaceful world.

KIS Mission Statement: Kodaikanal International School (KIS) is committed to empowering young people from diverse backgrounds with vision, knowledge, compassion and cross-cultural understanding. We are a community that welcomes everyone and seeks our purpose in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.

KIS Values: Accountability, Appreciation, Concern for Others, Consistency, Context, Cooperation, Integrity, Openness, Performance, and Reverence.

We are seeking colleagues who are driven by:

• a strong belief in KIS’s guiding principles;
• the IB philosophy;
• service and action;
• a focus on trust, relationships and community.

Our learning environment is characterized as:

• inquiry-based learning;
• fostering agency in our learners;
• transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary;
• service-oriented;
• diverse, safe and inclusive.

Safeguarding Statement

KIS is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people in our care. We support the rights of the child and will act without hesitation to ensure a child-safe environment. We also support the rights and wellbeing of our staff and volunteers and encourage their active participation in building and maintaining a secure environment for all participants. Teachers at KIS must follow the guidelines of the school’s protective behavior policies and protocols, including reporting any situation that might constitute a health and/or safety hazard to students or school employees.

Qualifications & Experiences

Preferred Qualifications:

• Clinical psychologist or counseling psychologist, preferably licensed, with a minimum of 5 years of work experience, preferably with adolescents.
• Proficient in counseling skills and techniques and adopting and implementing appropriate and specific solutions and goals.
• Knowledge of the personal, developmental, and academic needs and challenges facing children and adolescents, and all aspects of children’s emotional and psychological health.
• Experience in a residential-school setting, or experience working with residential schools (preferred).

Preferred Skills and Dispositions:

• Proven ability to work successfully in a diverse and inclusive environment;
• Ability to communicate effectively with students, parents, teachers and others;
• Understanding and awareness of the challenges faced by learners in a multicultural environment;
• Dedication to student learning;
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills;
• Strong organizational skills;
• Team player with ability to delegate and coordinate work;
• Willing to work creatively with available materials/ resources;
• Able to create and teach interdisciplinary lessons;
• Capacity to support the goals and mission of KIS through his/her personal philosophy.

Reports to: Dean of Religious Life
Coordinates with: Counselors, Coordinators, departmental leaders and colleagues, secondary teachers.
Time Period: Initial 2-year contract, potential extensions after initial contract.

Responsibilities

Instruction

A KIS Personal Counselor:

• Along with the Dean of Religious Life, responsible for planning and implementing comprehensive and effective Social and Emotional Learning and Living (SELL) programs at KIS.
• Responsible for promoting the school’s child protection and welfare policies and serving as the school’s Child Protection Officer.
• Counsel students on a one-on-one basis for mental-health concerns and personal issues and provide group counseling when appropriate.
• Meet and consult with administrators, Learning Resource staff and other teachers, students, parents, the school doctor, consulting specialists and residential parents to resolve student and staff issues and concerns.
• Diagnose and address presenting or underlying concerns (and disorders).
• Referrals to external mental health care providers for evaluation as required, including recommendations for medical leave.
• Document and maintain confidential, concise and accurate case files and records of all counseling sessions, including therapy plans for students.
• Understand and maintain confidentiality in a school setting while communicating effectively and proactively with students, parents/guardians, and staff.
• Establish and lead programs that address important student issues, including bullying and cyberbullying, substance abuse, socialization, and anger management.
• Train and supervise Student Peer Counsellors.
• Provide training to KIS staff on topics relating to the position.
• Support and advise residential parents on handling student concerns and behavior; facilitate residential parent discussions on relationships, discipline, sexuality, and other relevant topics.
• Respond to student emergencies as necessary (including weekends and after-school and evening hours).
• Responsible for ensuring that school policies and procedures relating to counseling are followed; help with policy content development.
• Consult with the administration regarding student discipline issues; handling staff and student issues and concerns; and decision-making for critical cases.

School Community

A KIS Counselor is expected to support the holistic development of the child. The Counselor:

• Understands and supports the diversity of the school community and students’ backgrounds;
• Works in a positive, cooperative and supportive way with students, parents, co-workers and other stakeholders;
• Communicates regularly with students, residential parents and students’ parents on matters of school business;
• Engages in and supports activities that help promote school spirit and sense of community;
• Promotes opportunities for developing community involvement throughout the wider community;
• Recognizes the importance of service learning to our community and promotes this with students and the wider community;
• Support the residential life of the school by chaperoning activities, clubs, field trips, camp, long weekend field day and other activities and serves as an advisor to a group of students.

Other

• Supports, promotes and enforces the ethos of KIS as defined in the mission and vision statements, guiding principles and strategic plans;
• Promotes a positive attitude about the school with all members of the school community;
• Implement decisions made in department- and school-committee meetings, as relevant to the department;
• Follow the guidelines of the school’s protective behavior policies and protocols and personal data protection policies and procedures, including reporting any situation that might constitute a health and/or safety hazard to students or school employees, and reporting any personal data breach.
• To respect the confidential nature of discussions at staff meetings and other contexts in which sensitive information is likely to be communicated; particularly in terms of interaction with students;
• The counselor is expected to perform other appropriate duties as assigned by the Dean of Religious Life, or Principal.

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Salary