Student Life Counsellor

Be the Spark! Join our passionate YMCA Academy team and help us to achieve great things in our community!

The Student Life Counsellor supports middle and high school students (grades 6-12) in achieving academic success and personal well-being through counselling goal-setting and career guidance. This role promotes a positive school climate by addressing students academic social and emotional needs while facilitating communication between students parents educators and community service providers. The counsellor leads initiatives focused on mental health conflict resolution and anti-bullying empowering students to thrive and reach their full potential in a supportive and inclusive environment.

In this role you will:

• Maintain accurate student records related to counseling sessions and interventions ensuring confidentiality and compliance with privacy regulations.
• Facilitate communication between students teachers parents and administrators to address concerns provide support and ensure student success.
• Collaborate with teachers and administrators to identify students in need of additional support and coordinate interventions and accommodations as necessary.
• Coordinate and oversee student counseling services to address academic social and emotional needs.
• Develop and implement programs and initiatives to promote positive behavior and prevent bullying fostering a safe and inclusive school environment.
• Develop and deliver workshops and training sessions for students parents and staff on topics such as mental health awareness navigating friendships and conflict resolution.
• Collaborate with community organizations and agencies to provide additional support services for students and families including referrals for mental health counseling and other resources.
• Complete all documentation required by YMCA Academy and the YMCA of Greater Toronto in a timely manner.
• Participate in YMCA Academy co-curricular and extra-curricular activities such as Jack Club Social/skills and after-school clubs.
• Ensure the health safety and well-being of all children youth and vulnerable people in YMCA Academy and programs.
• Participate in staff meetings educational conferences and teacher training workshops.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

You bring:

• Post-secondary education in social work counseling psychology or social work or equivalent experience and experience working with neurodiverse students.
• A masters degree in social work speech-language pathology or psychology demonstrating advanced knowledge and expertise in special education for neurodiverse students is an asset.
• Relevant professional experience working with students in a school such as teaching counseling or student advising.
• Comprehensive knowledge of student support services counseling techniques special education and Ministry regulations and best practices in student advocacy and intervention enabling informed decision-making and effective implementation of support strategies.
• Demonstrated experience and enthusiasm for working with youth with learning disabilities social/emotional needs and/or language processing challenges who are under-performing or disengaged from their learning process.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills to effectively collaborate with students parents teachers and administrators fostering positive relationships and facilitating productive interactions.
• Organizational skills and attention to detail necessary for managing student records coordinating services and implementing interventions.
• Excellent written communication skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively as part of a multidisciplinary team to support student success and address their diverse needs.
• Ability to work flexible hours including evenings and weekends to accommodate activities such as Parent/Teacher interviews Open Houses and Parent Socials.
• Excellent understanding of diversity inclusion and equity including the ability to identify and address barriers work effectively with diverse stakeholders and integrate equity into program design.

What you need to succeed:

• Commitment to the YMCAs Mission Vision and Values
• Focus on the health safety and wellbeing of all children youth and vulnerable people in YMCA programs including understanding legal and moral obligations related to reporting suspected child abuse to Child Protection Services
• YMCA Competencies: Accountable Relationship-Builder Improvement-Orientated Team Player & Leader Equity and Wellbeing Promoter

Why work for the YMCA

The YMCA of Greater Toronto is a charity that ignites the potential in people helping them grow lead and give back to their communities. We are committed to helping our employees reach their full potential and are recognized as a great place to work. We offer meaningful jobs and the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of individuals and the health of our communities. See what you can expect from the YMCA here.

Joining the Y means contributing to over 170 years of providing opportunities for people to shine through programs and services such as health and fitness licensed child care camps employment and immigrant services education and training and services for youth families and seniors. Learn more in ourstrategic plan Greater Togetherwhich outlines how we are focused on building communities where people feel healthier and more connected to their neighbours.

The YMCA of Greater Toronto is committed to Diversity Equity Inclusion and Belonging. We strive to remove barriers to employment and recognize that diverse staff who reflect the communities we work in enrich the experiences of our participants and our team. As an equal opportunity employer we invite applications from all qualified candidates including racialized people/people of colour Indigenous Peoples disabled people/people with disabilities and members of 2SLGBTQIA communities.

If we can make the recruitment process more accessible for you please let us know when we reach out about a job opportunity so we can work with you to accommodate your needs.

In keeping with our commitment to safety and child protection job offers are contingent on the successful completion of a Police Records Check. Within the first four months and every three years thereafter a Vulnerable Police Records Check is required. Learn more about these checks here.

The YMCA only considers applicants who are legally entitled to work in Canada. We thank all applicants for their interest however due to the volume of applications we receive we can only contact candidates who are selected for an interview.

Check out the next steps in our recruitment process and see what others are saying about working at the YMCA.