Educational Psychologist at Nova Pioneer

ABOUT THE ROLE

• Nova Pioneer is looking for an Educational Psychologist to start in January 2023! As the Educational Psychologist, you will have the opportunity to help craft a vision and strategy for student wellness and academic counselling development in our schools. You will be required to travel to the different campuses in the Nova Pioneer South Africa network, however, your primary base will be at our Ormonde Campus.

Your key responsibilities will be to:

Counseling Services:

• Provide short to medium-term individual therapeutic interventions to students from Grade R to 13 (caseload to be shared with 2 intern Psychologists)
• Provide parent consultations, including intake and feedback sessions, to parents in the primary school who are referred to you
• Keep accurate clinical records of all interventions provided to students
• Be available to consult with teachers in classroom-based support of students who are been referred to you
• Provide psychosocial support in times of crisis (students, family or school)
• Provide preventative and health promoting and emotional learning opportunities to groups of students

Team Management:

• Manage all members of the Nova Pioneer South African psychosocial team, including coaching, mentorship, and performance reviews
• Provide weekly 1:1 clinical supervision to 3 HPCSA-registered intern psychologists
• Manage the hiring process for new psychosocial team members when the need arises
• Manage the hiring process for intern psychologists on an annual basis
• Provide regular opportunities for professional development of psychosocial team members, as well as opportunities for team and connection across campuses
• Manage the psychosocial team budget, ensuring adequate assessment and play therapy equipment and clinical recording keeping stationery
• Participate in professional development activities to improve knowledge and skills as team leader and professional 

Organisational Leadership:

• Model, live, and lead the Nova Pioneer Culture
• Work closely with School Leaders and Deans of Students in identifying and monitoring students in need of psychosocial support 
• Work closely with School Leaders and Deans of Students in promoting whole school wellness and in promoting mental health among teachers and students
• Provide leadership and collaborate with other educators in the school-wide integration of best practices in counseling and guidance 
• Implement appropriate and prevention-oriented group activities to meet student needs and school goals
• Plug-into the life skills program as guided by the Director of Schools, Heads of Schools, and Deans
• Assist teachers, parents/guardians, and other stakeholders in interpreting and understanding student wellness data
• Provide workshops to teachers on topics of student wellness
• Adhere to laws, policies, procedures, and ethical standards of the school counseling profession
• Conduct a yearly audit to review the counseling needs and trends in the school, and the extent to which the program in the school is effective in its implementation, based on the data collected and analyzed 
• Prepare the results of such analysis in a manner that makes it possible to share the information with different stakeholders: pupils, teachers, network, parents, and guardians 

ABOUT YOU

• You are an HPCSA-registered educational, counseling, or clinical psychologist 
• You are passionate about students' welfare and want to help them tackle life's different challenges
• You have 4+ years of experience in school-based counseling
• You ideally have a Bachelor of Education Degree with a Master's in Educational Psychology
• You have experience in school counseling children and young adults
• You are deeply care about the welfare of young people and are able to demonstrate empathy and understanding of their challenges inside and outside of the classroom
• You are adept at communicating with parents and aneffort to support them and their children
• You are results-driven, goal-orientated, and student-focused and take ownership of your work