Student Services provides a comprehensive welfare and support service for students, ranging from immigration advice to financial assistance and specialised counselling and support. It also organises the front door information service to the students named the ASC (The Advice and Support Centre), provides the pastoral support in halls of residence through 10 teams of Wardens and takes responsibility for all student discipline. 

Students in distress or crisis will come to the Eden Court building on the Scores and will be seen at first by a Support Adviser (SA) who will be assessing their issues before referral on to other internal specialist advisers, wardens or counsellors or externally to GPs or voluntary agencies.  We require a full-time Assistant Director to manage the Support Advising (SA) team providing first response to students focusing on short term interventions.   The SA team (7 members) also responds to others caring for students in distress, flatmates, friends; they take referrals from staff, from parents and from members of the public who have concerns about a particular student.   This role manages that team’s response but also offers support to their decisions and intervenes to decide on complex cases where a decision is required at a more senior level.   This person will be the one contacted when an emergency arises in the student community and where an immediate response is required on the part of the University.  Along with the Assistant Director (Counselling) will be responsible for all monitoring systems of students at risk, including self-certification and academic alerts overview and will co-ordinate the SA team’s work with the Projects officer and the Students’ Association to organize upstream events for mental health in the student body to encourage well-being.  

Although the role will be primarily a daytime one (Monday to Friday), there will be the necessity to do some out of hours work on occasion during term time. Student Services operates extended hours including opening on Saturdays. The successful applicant will be required to work flexibly in line with these hours taking a share of the Management team overview whilst operational staff are consulting.  The role is part of the Management team of the unit, alongside 4 other Managers and reports to the Director of the Unit, Dr Chris Lusk.   The successful applicant will have primary responsibility for the SA team, but will also cover as a second backup for the manager who runs the Money Advising and International Advisors and so some basic training will be given in these specialist fields.   They will also be expected to be the second for the Counselling team if their manager is unavailable when advice is required.  

As the Assistant Director (Acute Advising) you will come from a professional background of psychiatry, mental health social work, and will be qualified to degree level with supporting qualifications or equivalent in the field of mental health work.  The role requires initiative, attention to detail, accuracy and the ability to deal with students, staff and external stakeholders, including parents, in a clear cheerful and professional manner.  You will have extensive experience of working in a busy, first response, setting (e.g. medical, social work, etc.)  with a  multi-disciplinary context, have experience of working with young people , with experience of students proving an advantage.  You must be willing to share information with your colleagues within this unit in a professional co-working context. An ability to remain calm under pressure and to prioritise work is vital. This person will have to work in a fast paced environment and should be sufficiently resilient and robust to rise to this challenge with a flexible approach and a sense of humour.

For further information please contact Dr Chris Lusk, Director, 01334 462021 or email clusk@st-andrews.ac.uk.

The University of St Andrews is committed to promoting equality of opportunity for all, which is further demonstrated through its working on the Gender and Race Equality Charters and being awarded the Athena SWAN award for women in science, HR Excellence in Research Award and the LGBT Charter;  http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/hr/edi/diversityawards/. 

Please quote ref: AD1653SB

Closing Date:  27 November 2015

Further Particulars: AD1653SB FPs.pdf
 
Student Services
Salary: £38,511 - £47,328 per annum
Start: January 2016 or as soon as possible thereafter