Location:
Deerfield High School Position Title: Counseling Department Chair
Department: Counseling
Licensure: Professional Educator License (PEL)
Reports To: Principal & Assistant Principal
Building: Deerfield High School
Assignment: 10 Month Position
Calendar: 190 days (183 day school calendar plus 7 days)
Salary: Placement on Licensed Staff Salary Schedule Plus 17.5%
Counseling or Social Work Caseload Responsibilities: None
Deadline: 1/12/2024
Start Date: 8/5/2024
SUMMARY:
The Counseling Department Chair exercises direct supervisory and administrative responsibility for all staff and programs in the Counseling Department and promotes the safety and wellbeing of students.
SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:
The Counseling Department Chair is responsible for the smooth functioning of the total school program as it relates to members of the department. The Counseling Department chair carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization's policies and applicable laws. More specifically, the Counseling Department Chair supervises the following staff members within the department: Administrative Assistants, the College & Career Resource Center (CCRC) Specialist, the Learning Assistance Program (LAP) Coordinator, Postsecondary Counselors, School Counselors and School Social Workers. Program Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring recommendations and training employees; planning, assigning, and directing work; appraising performance; addressing complaints and resolving issues that arise.
QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and/or abilities required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE:

• Master’s degree
• Five years experience in school counseling or school social work
• Building administration experience preferred

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS:

• Candidates must hold a valid Illinois Professional Educational License (PEL) with Type 73 certification or School Support Personnel endorsement. Candidates must also hold a valid Illinois Professional Educator License (PEL) with General Administrative (Type 75) or Principal endorsement. Both licenses must be registered with Lake County ROE 34.
• Successful completion of the Illinois Teacher Evaluator Program by the start of the school year.
• Either Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LCPC) or Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) preferred.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Maintain a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and culturally responsive lens when collaborating with members of the Counseling Department, colleagues and parents/guardians to help advocate for students and to ensure that all students thrive from an academic, postsecondary and social emotional standpoint.
• Supervise and evaluate staff members within the department and provide feedback that validates and fosters staff members’ strengths and that encourages staff members to continue to identify and improve upon areas of growth.
• Meet regularly with Counseling Department staff members to assess their needs and students’ needs, generate new ideas, evaluate and improve existing procedures, and problem solve issues.
• Provide leadership to the department and collaborate with department members to establish short-term and long-term goals that strategically and systemically support students.
• Plan and facilitate department meetings, which include department-wide meetings and various team meetings.
• Collect, analyze and share data to help inform services that are offered to students by staff in the Counseling Department.
• Communicate regularly with school staff in regard to the philosophy, procedures and services offered by the Counseling Department and respond to any feedback that may be provided.
• Work collaboratively with other administrators and support building and district initiatives.
• Possess and employ the clinical & therapeutic skills necessary to respond to the range of social emotional and mental health needs of students.
• Assist with the coordination of crisis management efforts that arise for students. This includes providing the necessary advising related to student safety assessments; conducting student safety assessments when needed; coordinating the student threat assessment process whenever a threat arises; and providing staff with guidance related to mandated reporting.
• Recruit and hire new staff members in the department as needed.
• Provide related professional development to department staff members and to staff in the school as needed.
• Participate in professional growth opportunities.
• Assist with the coordination of articulation between the high school and sender schools.
• Manage aspects of the course registration process throughout the year.
• Assign school counselor intern and school social work intern to department staff members and provide any necessary guidance to staff members as they supervise interns.
• Co-plan the annual Warrior Welcome event for incoming freshman students and their parents/guardians.
• Serve and contribute as a member of building based teams and district based teams with the goal of working together to find multidisciplinary solutions to systemically support students.
• Facilitate and coordinate the processes related to the two Tier 3 problem teams, which each meet on a weekly basis.
• Develop and monitor the budget for the Counseling Department.
• Engage in the supplies and equipment procurement process.
• Monitor and make recommendations about facilities needed to ensure the success of the programming offered by the Counseling Department.
• Maintain the Counseling Department website.
• Undertake administrative responsibilities and other duties as assigned by the supervisor.

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• Effective oral and written communication skills.
• The ability to comprehend and follow written and verbal instructions.
• Mathematical and analytical skills, appropriate for the position.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with students, staff and the school community in a positive manner.
• Possess common sense, problem-solving skills and reasoning ability to appropriately deal with day-to-day instruction and supervisory situations.
• Ability to handle and maintain the confidentiality of employee, student and other sensitive District information per the district's confidentiality guidelines.
• Ability to perform duties with awareness of all district requirements and Board of Education policies.
• Possess a working knowledge of the federal and state Special Education regulations.
• The ability to set goals and establish methods for achieving these goals.
• The ability to work effectively with a diverse school and community population.

LANGUAGE SKILLS:
Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures or governmental regulations. Ability to concisely write reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals. Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of students, teachers, parents, administrators, and the general public.
MATHEMATICAL SKILLS:
Ability to work with mathematical concepts. Ability to apply concepts such as fractions, percentages, ratios, and proportions to practical situations.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT:
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, walk, sit, bend, write, type, speak, and listen. In addition, the employee may occasionally be required to bend, twist, reach and climb. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close, peripheral, and distant vision. Ability to work in an office environment, sitting, standing, light lifting, filing, operating office machines and computers.
The noise level in the work environment ranges from quiet/moderate to loud. The employee is frequently required to interact with the public and other staff. The employee is directly responsible for the safety, well-being, and work output of students.
The statements in this job description are intended to describe the general nature and level of the work to be performed by (an) individual(s) assigned to this position. They are not an exhaustive list of all duties and responsibilities related to the position. This job description will be reviewed periodically as duties and responsibilities change with business necessity and School Board Policy and procedures. Essential and marginal job functions are subject to modification.
The information contained in this job description is for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (A.D.A.) and is not an exhaustive list of the duties performed for this position. Additional duties are performed by the individuals currently holding this position and additional duties may be assigned.
Township High School District 113 uses the applicant tracking system from Frontline Education to manage employment applications online.