Director, Counselling

Position Details

Position Information

Position Title Director, Counselling & Psychological Services

Department/Unit Counselling & Psychological Serv

Location Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Posting Number S276-26

Employee Group DPMG

Position Type Regular, On-Going

Employment Type Full Time

Full-time Equivalency (FTE) 1.0

Salary Commensurate with education and experience

Classification ADM-09

Provisional Statement This is a provisional classification. Formal regular review classification procedures may be initiated at any time by the incumbent or supervisor after the incumbent has worked a minimum of six months in the role.

About Dalhousie University

Dalhousie University is Atlantic Canada’s leading research-intensive university and a driver of the region’s intellectual, social and economic development. Located in the heart of Halifax, Nova Scotia, with an Agricultural Campus in Truro/Bible Hill, Dalhousie is a truly national and international university, with more than half of our almost 21,000 students coming from outside of the province. Our 6,000 faculty and staff foster a vibrant, purpose-driven community, that celebrated 200 years of academic excellence in 2018.

Job Summary

The department of Counselling & Psychological Services is responsible for the leadership, management, renewal, and continuous improvement of counselling services for Dalhousie. Reporting to the Assistant Vice-Provost, Campus Living and Student Well-being, Student Affairs, the Director, Counselling & Psychological Services provides strategic, clinical, operational, and people leadership for Dalhousie’s counselling services within Student Health & Wellness. The Director ensures students have timely, inclusive, and evidence-informed mental health supports that promote well-being, academic success, and persistence.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide clinical supervision, consultation, and case guidance to counsellors and related staff, supporting sound clinical judgment, ethical practice, professional accountability, and the delivery of evidence-informed care.
• Provide consultation on complex, high-risk, or specialized cases and support clinical decision-making, risk assessment, and care planning across the counselling team.
• Lead continuous renewal, and optimization of the counselling service delivery model, ensuring services remain responsive to evolving student needs, emerging best practices, and organizational priorities.
• Build and sustain a high-performing clinical workforce through effective leadership, talent development, workforce planning, succession management, and the cultivation of a collaborative and psychologically safe culture.
• Drive innovation, assessment, and data-informed decision-making, leading strategic initiatives, outcome measurement, quality improvement efforts, and service transformation projects that strengthen institutional capacity and student outcomes.
• Serve as a key institutional leader and trusted partner, fostering collaboration across Student Affairs, academic and administrative units, health system partners, and sector organizations to advance a coordinated, care-first approach to student mental health and well-being.

Note

Due to operational requirements, the successful applicant is required to work in-person on campus.

Required Qualifications

• PhD in Psychology, or equivalent doctoral-level qualification, with registration or eligibility for registration as a psychologist in Nova Scotia, plus significant experience in clinical leadership and management in a related field.
• Significant senior leadership experience in clinical, counselling, mental health, or psychological services, preferably within a post-secondary, community health, or integrated health care environment.
• Demonstrated success leading multidisciplinary teams, including clinical supervision, workforce planning, talent development, and fostering high-performing, inclusive workplace cultures.
• Deep knowledge of clinical governance, ethical practice, confidentiality, risk assessment, documentation standards, and regulatory compliance.
• Proven experience designing and transforming service delivery models, including access pathways, intake and triage systems, stepped-care approaches, and capacity management strategies.
• Strong strategic, analytical, and relationship-building capabilities, with experience using data, assessment, and quality improvement methodologies to drive service excellence and organizational outcomes.

Assets

• Experience within a university or post-secondary student mental health environment.

Job Competencies

The successful candidate is expec