Head of Wellbeing and Disability

Overview

Role Summary

Sitting within the Student Services department you will direct the college’s Wellbeing and Disability provision. You will be working with senior colleagues across the institution in defining KPIs and measures of impact to support and enhance the student accessibility service from pre-enrolment through to graduation. Co-creating with students, you will develop strategies and policies which reflect the changing needs of our student body and advocate for a range of events, interventions, projects, and activities to effectively empower our students. You will lead and review the formulation of college policies and procedures regarding students with disabilities, specific learning difficulties, mental health and counselling to ensure and maintain legal and contractual obligations under the Equality Act 2010 and Mental Health Act 2007. You will be responsible for providing advice to senior management and staff on all matters relating to the wellbeing and counselling support needs across the College and student community; and to support the Director of Student Services in any change management and development requirements to meet identified support needs. This role will also require you to be a primary point of contact for other services in the creation of non-academic information and you will issue it via the most appropriate methods.

Key responsibilities

• The Head Of Student Accessibility Services will be responsible for the management and oversight of the Disability Service, Counselling Service and Wellbeing Service (including Pastoral).
• To manage, lead and develop our Wellbeing and Counselling services, working closely with other College staff and external partners to develop strategies and implement agreed operational priorities in response to the internal and external environment.
• To contribute to the implementation of the relevant parts of the college’s strategic objectives in relation to the services and ensure these are translated into effective practice and procedures.
• To contribute to the college’s response to major changes or world events that impact on the mental health and wellbeing of the college’s students.
• To support the Director of Student Services by leading the strategic development of the services reflecting the changing funding environment of DSA and the increase in demand for wellbeing and counselling services.
• To support all teams in developing the wellbeing provision, building a robust and effective service that responds to the needs of our students.
• Be the senior point of contact for students and staff with issues relating to disability and mental health and support the teams as necessary.
• To set overall standards for the services and effective evaluation methodologies, assessing where closer working relationships can be established to identify ways to deliver an improved student experience.
• Work closely with the academic staff to ensure we have an appropriate fit for purpose approach to managing demand for student mental health support and response to individual crises.
• To work across the college to effect change in inclusive practices and policies for our disabled students.
• To ensure full and accurate casework data is recorded in compliance with professional standards and audit requirements.
• To ensure an effective and excellent standard of service is provided at all times to the college community.
• To develop policies in line with relevant institutional, professional and legislative and regulatory requirements relating to Disability, Mental Health and Counselling.
• To work closely with colleagues to ensure appropriate provision of advice in the review and management of Reasonable Adjustments as required under the Equality Act 2010.
• To take the lead in coordinating the college’s response to exceptional and complex student welfare cases and in critical incidents involving students, including ensuring that students obtain appropriate support.
• To work closely with the Director of Student Services in connection with causes for concern, Fitness to Study, Safeguarding and related matters to ensure that the policies and procedures are effectively implemented.
• To ensure coordination and communication between those responsible for delivering student services across the college, providing oversight of policy in relation to student wellbeing and disabled students alongside coordination of critical student cases.
• To respond to emergencies and consultation requests from other members of the service and the wider institution, regarding students who are experiencing mental health crises who may need referral/intervention.
• To promote institutional awareness of counselling, disability and Mental Health issues, and the Disability Discrimination Act legislation and Equality Act 2010.
• To represent the college as required at regional and national level.
• To take account of sector best practice within the UK and internationally.

Qualifications & Experience

Essential:

• Educated to degree level education or equivalent experience.
• To have received training on a range of disability and/or Mental Health Issues.
• Evidence of training and continuous professional development.

Desirable:

• Accreditation/ Registration with British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy BACP, UKCP or other relevant professional body.

Knowledge and Experience

Essential:

• Experience of student facing service delivery and working with students and staff at all levels.
• Understanding of the implications and requirements of the Equality Act 2010 and Reasonable Adjustments.
• Demonstrable leadership and people management experience in a relevant professional setting.
• Demonstrable success and impact from effectively leading, motivating and managing staff.
• Experience and understanding of complexities of delivering mental health support in Higher Education.
• Experience of creating reports and analysing data for decision-making.
• Ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines.
• Case working skills in compliance with confidentiality policies, professional standards and GDPR.
• Ability to respond quickly to changes in legislation and regulations and motivate others to engage.
• High attention to detail to produce work and documentation of high quality.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Excellent presentation and motivation skills.
• Strong IT Skills.
• Ability to think strategically.

Desirable:

• Experience of developing strategy for disability support and inclusive practice.
• Experience of implementing service changes relating to DSA funding and qualifications criteria.
• Experience in a Higher Education environment catering to widening participation.
• Management of a specialist service provision within Higher Education.
• Experience of leading change management in an organisation, influencing cultural change in teams and breaking down barriers to effective working.

What we offer

• Competitive salary and pension scheme.
• Generous annual leave entitlement and access to flexible working arrangements.
• Professional development opportunities, including training and career progression pathways.
• Employee wellbeing programmes and access to counselling services.

How to apply - application process

Please submit a CV and a supporting statement outlining how you meet the essential criteria and your approach to student success. Applications should be made via our online careers portal by the closing date. We are committed to recruiting a diverse workforce and welcome applications from all sections of the community.

We are committed to ensuring our workforce is reflective of our diverse student population, striving to increase the representation of age, disability, gender identity and expression, religion, race, sex, sexual orientation, and socio-economic background of our employees. We’re also committed to providing adjustments to those who may require support with the recruitment process - please contact the LCCA Talent Acquisition Team collegedivisionrecruitment@gus.global

Please note: For this opportunity, you must be able to prove you have the right to work in the UK - if in doubt please visit the following link Employers' right to work checklist GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Please note we are not a licensed sponsor.