Title: Manager of Psychological Services

Type : Full-time permanent

Department: Inclusive Student Services

Number of Direct Reports and Titles: 4 direct reports - Autism Resource Team (professional level/clinical employees)

Number of Indirect Reports and Titles: 34 Supports professional development and training of other members of Psychological Services team.

Reports to: Senior Manager and Clinical Lead of Psychological Services

Requirements: Regular office hoursThe DDSB is committed to meetings its responsibilities under the United Nations Declarations of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and the Human Rights Code to provide inclusive and responsive services to all students without discrimination. The (this role) plays a key role in supporting leadership of services and strategies that promote the well-being of all students. This includes supporting an inclusive model of special education and mental health initiatives and resources, with a focus on identifying, preventing and addressing barriers to student learning and success.

Working with Senior Managers and Clinical Leads, (this role) provides leadership that centers the district commitments to disrupting barriers, structures and practices that impede the achievement and well-being of our learners. The team leads in collaboration with other district leaders to provide proactive and responsive supports for students and team leadership.

Co-leads departmental initiatives and provides consultation to senior management as required in collaboration with the Senior Manager and Clinical Lead including implementation and co-leading of Equity-based initiatives and ongoing training for staff. Carries out all of the functions and responsibilities of a Clinical Supervisor of Psychological Services. Carries out the five service functions of Psychological Services (consultation, assessment, direct service, crisis response and capacity building) and ensures that these are delivered in a professionally responsible manner that promotes student well-being and achievement and meets the standards and guidelines of the College of Psychologists of Ontario.Accountabilities PRACTICE WITHIN THE COLLEGE OF PSYCHOLOGISTS OF ONTARIO (CPO) STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES: Train staff new to Psychological Services team on the elements of the service model and related practices. Perform all job functions within the Standards of Practice and ethical guidelines set forth by the CPO, including supervision, record keeping, confidential maintenance of personal health information, obtaining of Informed Consent, selection of appropriate assessment measures, and mandatory reporting.

SUPERVISE: Provide clinical supervision to non-registered members of the Psychological Services Department and administrative supervision to those who are members of the College of Psychologists of Ontario (Psychologists and Psychological Associates) to ensure quality of service provision to students, parents, other professionals outside the DDSB, staff, and schools in the Board, as well as foster staffs professional development and meet practice standards set out in the Standards of Practice established by the CPO.

PROVIDE LEADERSHIP FOR CAPACITY BUILDING: Provide leadership with respect to capacity building at school, district, and regional levels by working with multidisciplinary teams from across the DDSB and/or Durham Region community to design and implement capacity-building programs and/or systems for DDSB staff and stakeholders and to improve the systems ability to promote educational practices that foster mental health, development, well-being and achievement within students. Provide professional development is to improve staffs ability to promote student mental health, development, well-being and achievement though supervision, direct teaching/guidance, co-facilitating with supervisees at workshops/training, developing and following through with supervisee goals for professional development, and attaining and maintaining certified status in required programs. Work with community partners regionally to provide capacity building to the larger system, including collaborative service planning for students with complex needs, building system capacity to support students who present with neurodevelopmental or mental health challenges, applied suicide intervention training, and/or consultation when a risk of violence has been identified.

PROVIDE DIRECT AND INDIRECT INTERVENTIONS: Provide direct and indirect psychological intervention to promote student mental health, development, well-being and achievement. Provide direct intervention to students one-on-one or in groups by performing the controlled act of Psychotherapy to treat serious disorders of cognition, mood, or emotional regulation that may impair a students functioning, providing skills training to improve student behavioral, social, and emotional functioning and psychoeducational support. Provide indirect intervention to teachers, support staff, parents/guardians, administrators, community professionals in order to inform their direct work with students by providing psychological interpretation of behavior, specific consultation related to recommendations for Special Education programs, service coordination between school and community-based psychological support services, and collaborating with community-based agencies to ensure coordinated service planning, transition planning, seeking access for students to treatment programs, and advancing advocacy for the needs of the students and families.

PROVISION OF ASSESSMENT SERVICES: Provide assessment services to children and adolescents in order to make data-informed recommendations and decisions to promote safety, mental health, development, well-being and achievement for students as well as staff and school safety by administering and scoring standardized assessment tools, rating scales, observational schedules, conducting structured and/or semi-structured diagnostic and clinical interviews with students, parents, teachers/educational staff, conducting classroom observation and/or training classroom staff to collect ongoing behavioural data, conducting behaviourally-focused assessments for the purpose of accessing Ministry funding to support very high-needs students in area schools, interpreting data and formulating cases, preparing formal psychological reports based on assessment findings, providing feedback to families, students, teachers, administrative/educational staff, providing assessment-based consultation to Special Education Team, and providing assessment-based consultation, with the consent of the family, to other community professionals outside the school district.

LEAD INITIATIVES: Lead initiatives within the Inclusive Student Services Department and DDSB, and provide consultation on matters relating to mental health, well-being, safety, and advancing student achievement when it is requested by the Senior Management Team, including participating on system or departmental-level hiring committees, and contributing to those hiring decisions, consulting to the Senior Management team about matters relating to violent incidents, threats of violence, crisis management, and/or safety planning, and/or providing a clinical lens for Senior Management team members when working through complex issues.

PROVIDE LEADERSHIP AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SUPPORT: Provide leadership and psychological support during crises, critical and traumatic events across the school Board. Communicate with Superintendents and Principals/Vice Principals, as well as the Senior Manager and Clinical Leads for Psychology and Social, and front line staff, provide psychological support by providing consultation and front-line support to students and staff within a prioritized and expedient time, providing communication to senior management about what is happening at the site(s) affected, providing data-driven recommendations in accordance with the CPO Standards of Practice to increase safety and lower risk, assisting with complex situations requiring a high degree of information gathering, safety planning, and debriefing, and responding to events at schools which receive direct services from Clinical Supervisors, as well as those schools who are typically receiving services from the Clinical Supervisors supervisees.Knowledge and Skills Knowledge of relevant legislation and practice standards/guidelines, including but not limited to Standards of Professional Practice of the College of Psychologists of Ontario, Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists, Regulated Health Professions Act (RHPA), Personal Health Information and Protection Act (PHIPA) as well as relevant sections of the Education Act, Child and Family Services Act (CFSA), Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), Criminal Code of Canada (CCC), Day Nurseries Act, Ontario Human Rights Code (OHRC), and Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA)

Ability to perform the controlled Acts of communication of diagnosis and provision of psychotherapy

Ability to work within the guidelines of the College of Psychologists and protect personal health information (PHI)

Management skills including a demonstrated ability to effectively motivate and lead staff.

Competence in administration, scoring, and interpretation of (standardized) assessment tools, in integrated case formulation, preparing and writing comprehensive/integrative psychological reports, and implementing evidence-based intervention techniques (e.g., Cognitive Behavioural Therapy)

Ability to provide clinical and administrative supervision for registered and non-registered (with CPO) psychological services staff and students/trainees

Competence in translating and communicating psychological data for the purposes of educational programming and promoting student mental health and development

Familiarity and ability to follow specialized procedures and protocols (e.g., Violence Threat Risk Assessment (VTRA), Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST), Behaviour Safety Plans (in Individual Education Plans), Traumatic Events Systems Response)

Computer literacy and familiarity with word processing, computer-based assessment and scoring programs, record-keeping software, case management software

Organizational and time-management skills required to manage and prioritize needs of supervisees, students, staff, and school systems

Ability to effectively communicate with supervisees, staff, students, and parents/guardians in an effective, empowering, professional, collaborative, and informative manner

Conflict resolution skillsEducation and Experience

Education Completion of Doctoral degree in Clinical, Counselling, and/or School Psychology from an accredited university. Clinical experience must include school aged children and adolescents, but preferably include adults. Areas of competency must include (at minimum) School, and/or Clinical or Counselling Psychology.

Registration as an autonomously practicing clinician with the College of Psychologists of Ontario is mandatory.Experience Clinical Training: Neurodevelopmental 3-5 years required

Clinical Training: Mental health 3-5 years required

School Psychology: Assessment and interventions 5 years required

Clinical Supervision and Management: 3-5 years required The DDSB is committed to equity and inclusion in the recruitment and hiring of qualified staff who reflect the diversity of our region. We encourage submissions from candidates who represent the various dimensions of diversity. We are committed to providing barrier-free and accessible employment practices in compliance with the Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). Should you require accommodation through any stage of the recruitment process, please make them known when contacted and we will work with you to meet your needs.

While we appreciate all applications received, only those to be interviewed will be contacted.