School Counsellor - Alrayana Charter School

Aldar Education are currently seeking an outstanding School Counsellor for Al Rayana Charter School in Abu Dhabi for immediate start.

Al Rayana Charter School is an American curriculum, mixed gender primary school located in a state of the art building in the heart of Abu Dhabi. We strive for excellence in all that we do through our high expectations and commitment to ensuring that we provide high quality learning opportunities for our students. Our vision is to create “A sustainable and innovative learning community, where we nurture our learners through Collaboration, Leadership and Creativity”. This vision is supported by the Al Rayana Learner and Teacher DNA which is at the heart of the school community.

This is an exciting opportunity to join the highly successful Aldar family of schools and to help shape the future of Abu Dhabi’s leading school group.

The successful candidates will be closely aligned with our core values and ethos and possess a genuine understanding and appreciation of the values of the region.

Minimum Qualification

• Bachelor of Counselling
• Department of Community Development (DCD) License in Counselling

Job Specific Knowledge & Skills

• Strong interpersonal skills with both students and parents
• Demonstrable organizational skills
• Strong desire to help others and should be able to inspire respect, trust, and confidence
• Must possess high emotional and physical energy to handle the array of problems addressed
• Highest levels of confidentiality and professionalism.

The School Counsellors will assist students with personal, family, educational, mental health, or career problems. The counsellors will advocate for students and work with other individuals and organizations to promote the academic, career, personal, and social development of the student.

Guidance Counsellors will help students evaluate their abilities, interest, talents, and personalities to develop realistic academic and career goals. Counsellors use interviews, counselling sessions, interest and aptitude assessment tests.

Personal Mental Health Counsellors will provide psychological support and deliver therapeutic and supportive interventions to support students manage social and emotional challenges, both to individuals, in small target groups and utilising whole school initiatives to promote wellbeing.

Main Responsibilities

• Help students enhance personal, social, and academic growth and wellbeing
• Monitor the progress of individual students
• Make contact with parents to discuss student behaviour or support needs
• Take steps to prevent bullying and support victims of bullying
• Help students develop job search skills, such as resume writing and interviewing techniques
• Help students understand and deal with social, behaviour, and personal problems
• Deliver therapeutic intervention based on the need of the individuals and provide referral to external services as needed
• Emphasize preventive and developmental counselling to provide students with life skills needed to deal with problems before they worsen and to enhance students’ personal, social, and academic growth.
Provide special services such as conflict resolution classes; identify cases of domestic abuse and other family problems that can affect a student’s development

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Note: Duties will fall within the professional qualifications and expertise of the counsellor, depending if the post requires Guidance Counsellor and/or Mental Health Counsellor provision.

Career Counselling:

• Works with students regarding career options and provides appropriate information to students regarding careers.
• Assists in providing students with information for career exploration and selection to assist them in making appropriate academic course selections relating to their interests.
• Maintains an appropriate library/database relating to various careers for students to utilize in their career explorations.
• Coordinate access to university affairs and with university applications.

Personal Mental Health Counselling:

• Works with individual students and groups of students in regards to appropriate social, emotional and development issues.
• Maintains an awareness of cultural influences regarding social development of adolescents and delivers culturally sensitive therapies.
• Monitors students who may be at risk in regards to social and emotional issues and makes appropriate referrals for interventions outside of school in consultation with parents.
• Promotes wellbeing of students via whole school and community awareness initiatives.
• Works closely with the pastoral team and safeguarding leads.