Job Description

Position Overview

Since 2008, African Leadership Academy (ALA) has sought to identify, develop, and connect the most promising young leaders on the African continent. Our learning community serves 260 young leaders aged 16-19. Students spend two years at the academy engaging with the knowledge, skills, habits, and mindsets that will accelerate their ethical and effective leadership trajectories. ALA is a learning community committed to leadership development through authentic practice, academic rigor, and intentional community. ALA also seeks to become a learning organization, invested in deliberate continuous improvement.

African Leadership Academy seeks to appoint an Educational Psychologist or Counselling Psychologist who will directly work with the Head of Student Wellbeing. The Educational Psychologist works daily with the counselling team to support the mental and academic well-being of students. The Educational Psychologist will work closely with other members of the Diploma Program such as the Year Head, faculty advisors and parents. This is an ideal role for someone with 1-3 years of experience, strong therapeutic skills, proficiency in administering learning assessments, excellent report-writing skills, and personal organisation. Interested candidates must be registered with the HPCSA and have completed their internship. Experience with working within a school environment and experience working in a boarding school is an added advantage.

Expected Responsibilities:

Provide Therapy:

• Provide therapeutic interventions to clinical and other serious mental health cases.
• Make recommendations regarding cases to the Head of department and Deans.
• Communicate in a structured way with parents and or teachers where necessary about students of
• concern
• Grief, Crisis intervention and trauma support

Educational Psychologist Responsibilities:

• Preventative, developmental, and supportive interventions with
• adolescents in their context (including behavioural and emotional difficulties).
• Identify the assessment and tools most appropriate for the demographic they are serving.
• Identifying difficulties through:

• Observations and interviews.
• Psychometric evaluation
• Informal assessments.
• Consultation with role-players.
• Case conceptualization.
• Child and adolescent psychotherapy:
• Planning psycho-therapeutic interventions.
• Providing therapeutic support and monitoring of challenges.
• Report writing.
• Feedback to parents and teachers
• Mental health workshops
• Psychoeducational workshops for staff, parents and students.
• Individual Education Plans (IEP) through multi-disciplinary team collaboration.
• Group Screening
• Psychoeducational and concession assessments (identification and assessment process for the provision of examination concessions)
• Facilitation of training workshops for teachers
• Staff consultation, support, and guidance. This includes:

• Forming a collaborative relationship with educators to address the needs of
• Support and guidance to educators on IEPs and other matters relevant to the well-being of
• the learner.

Other responsibilities:

• Teach one Wellness Class
• Attend academy-provided professional supervision.
• Other duties as required by the Head of Department

Profile of Ideal Candidate:

• A Masters degree in educational psychology or counselling psychology or equivalent is required
• 2+ years experience
• HPCSA registered.
• Up-to-date CPD compliance
• Previous School Counseling Experience: Ideally, candidates should have experience working in a school setting, and understanding the unique challenges students face in an academic environment.
• Experience with Diverse Student Populations: Experience working with a diverse student body and an understanding of cultural sensitivity.
• Experience with academic and concession assessments

Counselling Services:

• Provide medium to long-term individual therapeutic interventions to students.
• Keep accurate clinical records of all interventions provided to students.
• Provide psychosocial support in times of crisis (students, family or school)
• Provide preventative and health promotion as well as emotional learning opportunities to students.

Key Skills:

• Counselling Skills: Strong abilities in individual and group counselling, focusing on students' psychosocial well-being.
• Assessment and Evaluation: Proficient in conducting psychological assessments to identify students' needs and challenges.
• Communication Skills: Excellent communication skills to interact effectively with students, staff, and parents.
• Crisis Intervention: Ability to handle and respond effectively to crises and provide necessary support.
• Collaboration: Capacity to work collaboratively with other professionals, including teachers, administrators, and parents.

Supervisory Skills: Experience in supervising and mentoring educational psychology interns would be advantageous.

Location: ALA Campus, Johannesburg, South Africa

Reporting to: Head of Student Wellbeing

Start date: May 2024

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