Associate Director of Student Wellness Services

Who We Are:

National Louis is a 135+ year old university that has been grounded in the values of innovation, access, excellence, and equity from its inception. As an institution, we believe in providing access to educational opportunity and that education is our greatest lever for social and economic mobility. We are a student-focused community that is committed to continuous improvement and superior student service. We believe that through education we are able to empower change and build healthy communities. Our hard-working community is based on collaboration and respect for all team members and students.

What You Will Do:

The Associate Director of Student Wellness Services coordinates resources to support students' mental health and wellness on all campuses (Chicago, Wheeling, Lisle, Tampa, Online). The Associate Director oversees the University's wellness services, including the coordination of student mental health support through contracted external counseling providers. This role serves as the primary point of contact for student crisis response, providing in-the-moment intervention, safety planning, and behavioral health consultation. In addition to crisis response, the Associate Director is responsible for ensuring students have access to high-quality clinical care through external providers and for facilitating referrals to appropriate services. The role also supports university-wide mental health education, prevention efforts, wellness trainings, and compliance with relevant federal and state mandates related to student wellness. As the designated Confidential Advisor, the Associate Director provides trauma-informed support for students impacted by sexual misconduct or other protected issues and helps lead institutional efforts around education, training, and awareness. This position contributes to a community of care by promoting wellness, advancing prevention strategies, and strengthening institutional capacity to respond to student mental health concerns across diverse modalities and campus communities.

Student Crisis Response & Wellness Support: Serve as the primary university staff member responding to student mental health crises. Provide short-term stabilization, risk assessment, and behavioral health consultation. Develop and implement safety plans, and coordinate follow-up care for students in distress. Oversee the university's wellness services, including crisis intervention protocols and triage systems that ensure effective response and support across all campuses.
• External Student Counseling Services & Referral Management: Oversee the University's relationship with any external contracted counseling services provider(s). Ensure providers deliver a high-quality clinical experience for students, including both in-person and virtual care. Manage referrals to long-term mental health providers, contracted providers and other community-based mental health resources. Track service delivery trends and evaluate effectiveness to ensure responsive, equitable student support. Maintain up-to-date resources and referral materials for the university community.
• Compliance, Training & Awareness: Serve as a key compliance support role related to mental health and student wellbeing, including responsibilities as the University's Confidential Advisor. Support institutional compliance with federal and state mandates such as the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act, Title IX, VAWA, and the Preventing Sexual Violence in Higher Education Act). Coordinate university-wide mental health education and prevention campaigns, awareness initiatives, and training for faculty, staff, and students. Provide safety planning, outreach, and education on wellbeing, violence prevention, and student support resources.
• Other Administrative Duties: Provide guidance and supervision to student workers and interns, aligning their work with departmental priorities. Manage the departmental budget, ensuring responsible and strategic use of resources to maximize impact. Develop and conduct assessment plans and reports. Serve as a member of the Student Affairs leadership team. Participate in university committees and campus-wide initiatives. Contribute to university and divisional annual planning efforts. Perform additional related tasks and responsibilities as assigned by university leadership, adapting to changing needs and strategic priorities.

• Master's degree in Counseling, Social Work, or a related field.
• Active license in the state of IL, LCPC or LCSW Required.
• 3+ years of professional mental health counseling experience.
• Demonstrated experience with various technology platforms, including but not limited to Microsoft Office 365, Microsoft Team, social media, etc.
• Preferred experience working in a college/university counseling center.
• Preferred experience with trauma-informed counseling.
• Planning: Develops the steps necessary to accomplish long-term goals. Identifies long and short-term goals and establishes realistic plans to reach them. Allocates required resources, allows for contingencies and ensures that plans fit with the larger needs of the organization. Sets milestones to measure progress along the way.
• Solving Problems: Takes a proactive approach to anticipating and preventing problems. When problems occur, defines those problems, investigates obstacles, gathers relevant information, decides whether solving the problem should be a group decision, generates and analyzes alternate solutions and arrives at a workable solution.
• Organizational Awareness: Understands the internal climate of the organization, including the most productive channels of communication, and makes use of the appropriate communication channels to achieve goals and objectives. Has learned about both formal and informal communication channels and understands when to stick to the formal hierarchy of reporting relationships. Understands unwritten protocols and the political aspects of how communication takes place. Avoids errors in judgment when selecting strategies for accomplishing tasks.

NLU Inclusion Statement:

National Louis University is deeply committed to serving its community, advancing access and equity, and ensuring that all individuals are welcomed and valued. We are dedicated to fostering a culture where diversity, equity, and inclusion remain at the core of who we are. These are more than just words to us: they are truly a way of life for the NLU community. We recognize that differences in abilities, age, ethnicity, gender (identity and expression), race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, and background bring richness to our work environment. We affirm diverse perspectives, innovative contributions, and authentic presentations of self from every member within the NLU community. We believe inclusion is grounded in the actions we intentionally take each day. Our goal is to inspire and empower NLU employees and community members to cultivate an environment where we collectively focus on uplifting and advancing our institutional culture.

At National Louis University, we offer our employees an innovative environment to work together and inspire the ideas that will make an impact. As our external environment changes, our employees are provided the opportunities and tools needed to grow both personally and professionally to remain successful. NLU employees and dependents are offered a wide range of benefits, including but not limited to, Health Insurance benefits, Retirement benefits, Paid Time Off and Educational Opportunities. Additional information regarding full-time staff benefits can be found here.

The salary range of the grade for this position is $63,288 to $91,768 annually. Compensation decisions are dependent upon the facts and circumstances of each position and candidate. Offers are based on multiple factors permitted by law, including but not limited to: budgetary considerations, job-related knowledge/skills, experience, market considerations, tenure and standing with the university (applicable to current employees), and internal equity.

Please Include the following along with your application:

• Resume (Required)
• Cover Letter (Optional)
• NLU Employees please also submit an Internal Posting Form