Manager, Counselling Services

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Job Requisition ID:

2026-01457

Time Type:

Full time

Employee Group:

Staff

Job Category:

Medical Health and Wellness

Employment Type:

Permanent

Department:

Campus Wellness - Counselling Services

Hiring Range:

$113,285.63 - $141,607.03

Posting Information:
This posting is for an existing vacancy.

The internal posting deadline for this position is Thursday, July 30 at 11:59PM.
There is a qualified internal in the role.

Job Description:

Primary Purpose

Reporting to the Associate Director, Counselling Services (AD), the position of Manager, Counselling Services (MCS) encompasses supervisory responsibilities of a multidisciplinary team of approximately 10 members each, along with administrative and clinical responsibilities for the department which assists in enabling Campus Wellness to accelerate its journey to achieving wellness for all.

This position will help lead their team to use inclusive, integrative, anti-racist, anti-oppressive, and trauma-informed approaches in all aspects of client-care and employee management, centering employee safety and engagement alongside client-centeredness. The services provided by the Counselling team focus on campus community mental health, psychological wellness, and safety at the University of Waterloo (UW). This is vital for the personal and academic success of UW’s members. The Manager, Counselling Services will employ a participatory style of leadership to fortify a culture of caring and achieve cohesion within their team and in all interactions across Campus Wellness. They are pivotal in working with their teams to create a transformative, future-ready service in a world changed by a racial reckoning, a mental health awakening, and a global pandemic.

The incumbent will work closely with other members of the department leadership team to ensure programs offered to students are contributing to the vibrant student experience and the wellness of our campus community. This position is responsible for effectively managing staff, policies, processes, and programs involved in the provision of counselling services.

The MCS performs their duties conscientiously and responsibly, adheres to high personal standards of behaviour with students, colleagues, members of the University community and clients of the University, community colleagues and resources, and in a manner consistent with the ethics and responsibilities of their own profession.

Key Accountabilities

Multidisciplinary Team Management and Coaching:

The MCS provides leadership in the development and facilitation of multidisciplinary service delivery teams who provide mental health treatment & services on campus. They demonstrate skill in the following areas:

• Meeting individually with team members for monthly supervision with an emphasis on clinical consultation, case file reviews, and professional growth & development
• Managing and coaching an allocation of clinical staff, providing a supportive environment that encourages productivity, staff success, as well as efficient and healthy workload management.
• Engaging in effective & equitable recruitment selection procedures and standards
• Focusing team effectiveness on University of Waterloo goals, and Counselling Services’ values of Community, Care and Growth
• Overseeing the professional training and development of team members, including an emphasis on counsellor development through the career path.
• Leading with a collaborative, relationship based, growth mindset
• Facilitating staff annual performance appraisals and addresses performance management needs of staff

Relationships/Partnerships:

Cultivating and stewarding strong working relationships and partnerships, including:

• Working closely with others within Campus Wellness and other relevant stakeholders on and off campus to help provide the best programs and services to the students
• Taking a collaborative approach to developing strategies that strive to achieve the institutional vision of a vibrant student experience
• Creating partnerships with wellness service providers on campus to contribute to a comprehensive wellness strategy for the campus community

Clinical Responsibilities:

• Conduct routine clinical file audits to ensure adherence to ethical and standard practice guidelines
• Provide on call support to counselling services staff working evening hours, as a part of a management on call rotation (Flexible work hours provided should a call be received in the evening)
• Facilitate monthly clinical supervision meetings with all direct reports The MCS provides clinical mental health services with individual clients as back up support for direct service staff, and/or maintains a reduced clinical load to allow them to meet their administrative, managerial and coordination responsibilities. It is expected that no more than 25% of the MCS’s is devoted to clinical service delivery to allow for an emphasis on staff development at both an individual and team level.

Coordination of Specific Responsibilities:
Each MCS oversees the coordination of and is responsible for one or more areas of Counselling Services. These coordination responsibilities for this manager include:

• Coordination of Mainstream Counselling: The MCS maintains thorough knowledge and expertise in best evidence-based counselling practices and ensures these practices are well designed, implemented and evaluated to fit the needs of Waterloo students. The MCS sets targets for service delivery and collaborates with their management peers to ensure day-to-day processes for counselling services are followed, reviewing data and appointment scheduling patterns to ensure services remain responsive, timely and of high quality. The MCS ensures procedures around student clients who are seeking a change in clinicians are being followed. They respond to requests from professionals and others both within Campus Wellness as well as from the broader University community and beyond, regarding counselling services, students in distress, crises, wait-times for services & other related queries.
• Coordination of Internship/Practicum Student Training: The MCS maintains thorough knowledge and expertise in the area of graduate student supervision and training for those entering a mental health field, and ensures these practices are well designed, implemented and evaluated. The MCS is responsible for coordinating recruitment, orientation, supervision, and evaluation of all undergraduate and graduate-level trainees. They respond to all inquiries regarding training. They oversee and coordinate all efforts of those providing supervision for trainees. The MCS also determines which clients are seen by practicum students/interns providing counselling services.

Required Qualifications

Education

• Completion of a master’s degree in a mental health field is necessary. PhD in a related field is beneficial.
• Registered or eligible to be registered in a regulated mental health profession within the Province of Ontario.

Experience

• Experience providing intake services and mental health crisis intervention.
• Ability to make quick decisions and problem solve in high pressure/high risk situations.
• Experience conducting clinical consultation & debriefing sessions.
• Process review/continuous improvement experience
• Formal management or supervisory experience with oversight of direct reports
• The provision of clinical supervision for mental health counselling professionals
• Management of direct service mental health teams including counsellors, mental health case managers, mental health nurses and/or crisis workers.
• Working in environments with multiple, unpredictable & regularly changing priorities.
• Progressive clinical and administrative experience with a background highlighted by mental health and student development expertise.
• Experience working with late adolescent early adulthood population and/or in a student-focused post-secondary environment is an asset but not required.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities

• Competencies will include strategic thinking, leadership, human resource management, organization, and communication
• Clinical practice with high acuity clients
• Compassion Fatigue and Trauma Informed mental health care
• Thorough knowledge of the Mental Health Act of Ontario
• Demonstrated experience applying learning in the areas of equity, diversity, anti-racism, inclusion and/or accessibility to their leadership practice, program and/or strategy development.
• Experience in facilitation required.
• Demonstrated ability to contribute to and thrive in a collaborative environment and to apply a positive team approach when working with colleagues.
• Exceptional communication, use of emotional intelligence and relationship building skills.
• Demonstrated ability to support cross functional teams and build consensus. Sensitive to the diverse perspectives of stakeholders and works with them to resolve differences.
• Ability to engage in challenging conversations with tact.
• A clear Vulnerable Sector Check is required

Equity Statement

The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is coordinated within the Office of Indigenous Relations.

The University values the diverse and intersectional identities of its students, faculty, and staff. The University regards equity and diversity as an integral part of academic excellence and is committed to accessibility for all employees. The University of Waterloo seeks applicants who embrace our values of equity, anti-racism and inclusion. As such, we encourage applications from candidates who have been historically disadvantaged and marginalized, including applicants who identify as First Nations, Métis and/or Inuk (Inuit), Black, racialized, a person with a disability, women and/or 2SLGBTQ+.

Positions are open to qualified candidates who are legally entitled to work in Canada.

The University of Waterloo is committed to accessibility for persons with disabilities. If you have any application, interview, or workplace accommodation requests, please contact Human Resources at hrhelp@uwaterloo.ca or 519-888-4567, ext. 45935.