Psychometrist / Educational Psychologist at Emeris College

Overall Purpose of the Job:

• Psychometrist / Educational Psychologist is responsible for providing accessible and reasonable accommodations and recommendations through psychometric assessment, skills-based Psycho-educational workshops, and interventions. Through the enhancement of student experience, the Psychometrist / Educational Psychologist aim to provide holistic support, transformation, and the removal of barriers to promote equity, acceptance, respect, participation, and success of all students.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Intake and Psychometric Assessments

• Conducts assessments to support educational adjustments and educational services in support of learning and development. Assessments may comprise of cognitive abilities, intellectual abilities, personality and development status, career abilities and interest associated with learning and development.
• Evaluates and responds to student needs during intake and psychometric assessments, manages student behaviour during assessments and controls the testing environment to ensure validity of results.
• Ensuring psychological and neuropsychological scores are measured according to normative standards and clinical protocols using relevant statistical software packages.
• Actively participates in continuous professional development and remains up to date with empirical research to establish best practices for collaborating on the design and enhancement of high-quality and equitable student support services.
• Develop collaborative partnerships and engage with internal stakeholders to identify intake and assessment requirements in ensuring holistic support for students with learning, physical, psychological, and psychosocial barriers.
• Provide support to internal stakeholders to identify and manage assessment accommodation queries / applications.
• Identifies and evaluates students’ psychosocial and socioeconomic needs as they pertain to learning, physical, psychological, and psychosocial barriers.
• Ensure security of psychometric assessments batteries, test results, data collection protocol are maintained and adhered to, according to the HPCSA confidentiality standards.
• Ensure good practice in the use of psychometric tests, including test selection, test administration, scoring of tests, interpretation of test scores and accurate reporting of test results and providing feedback.
• Consult and engage with the Diversity and Inclusion Specialist on assessment accommodation applications, approvals, and feedback.

Individualized Educational Plans

• Development, monitoring, and evaluation of individualised educational plans tailored to the holistic support and development of students.
• Engage with various internal stakeholders (academic support staff and lecturers) and, when necessary, parents to ensure an effective and personalised support plan is in place for students with learning, physical, psychological, and psychosocial barriers.
• Advocate students’ needs by ensuring they have access to appropriate resources and accommodations.
• Identify, understand, and promote resilience and well-being of all students in their interactions with others in a range of contexts that support learning and development over the lifespan.

Tailored Interventions, Marketing and Awareness

• Develop and conduct psychoeducational skill-based workshops for internal stakeholders and students.
• Administer workshops tailored to the needs of the students on topics, including time management, study skills and soft-skills training for employment readiness.
• Implement workshops and training for internal stakeholders on topics, including assessment accommodations process and procedures, neurodevelopmental disorders/emotional regulation, and inclusive education.
• Promotion of communication collateral (workshops, campaigns, posters, and training) to ensure that all internal stakeholders and students are informed and cognizant of difficulties or challenges individuals may encounter / experience.

Holistic Student Support

• Develop and implement a holistic, multi-disciplinary student support system that ensures diverse, blended, and tailored assistance to address the individual needs of students.
• Design and implement student support strategies that incorporate the entire student life cycle, from broadening access to quality and affordable education, through articulation opportunities, to guiding future career prospects.
• Encourage and provide opportunities for students to actively participate and contribute to a positive and inclusive learning environment, while ensuring their actions align with the principles of access, redress, equity, and inclusion.
• Develop and conduct workshops with internal campus stakeholders to provide holistic student support, ensuring stakeholders are upskilled and equipped to assist and support differently-abled students both in and beyond the classroom environment.
• Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to ensure a holistic support approach to diversity, inclusion, access, and respect.
• Assist and ensure internal stakeholders effectively manage complex cases towards a holistic support intervention.

Monitoring, Evaluating and Reporting

• Manage, monitor, and ensure timeous response to all assessment accommodations applications on the Assist platform.
• Submit a detailed monthly report to the campus internal stakeholders (Head: Student Experience, Campus Head, Campus Deputy Head, Head; Academic) and the Diversity and Inclusion Specialist, outlining the common themes, assessments, awareness campaigns and skill-based workshops.
• Ensure student records, notes and comments are updated on the Student Information Management System.
• Refer clients appropriately to professionals in a range of contexts that include health, education, and social development.
• Provide Ad Hoc reports, when necessary and when required by Advtech and the institution.
• Ensure students and internal stakeholders are kept informed of assessment accommodation outcomes.

Competencies / Skills required:

• Advanced communication and interpersonal skills
• Collaboration skills
• Organizational and planning
• Analytical skills
• Problem solving

Minimum Qualification Requirement:

• Bachelor of Psychology (Bpsych) degree (Psychometry) registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) as a Psychometrist in Independent Practice.
• A master’s degree in educational psychology, registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) as an Educational Psychologist in Independent Practice will be advantageous.

Minimum Work Experience Requirement:

• A minimum of 2 years’ experience in inclusive education, psychometric assessments, individualised support and/or student support and/or student services preferably within a tertiary environment.
• 4 years’ experience in psychosocial assessments and psychoeducational skill-based workshops will be advantageous.