MISSION

The Wellbeing School Counsellor provides direct, high-quality individual and group counselling support to students and employees within the International French School (IFS). Working under the clinical supervision and operational direction of the Wellbeing & Counselling Centre Manager, the Counsellor focuses on direct student case management, crisis response, cross-departmental collaboration, employee wellbeing support and the delivery of evidence-based mental health and wellbeing workshops.

The role requires a strong commitment to ethical practice, confidentiality, timely clinical data logging, and proactive caseload self-management. Employee support will be provided within the scope of the Counsellor's professional competencies, the Centre's procedures, and applicable confidentiality and safeguarding requirements.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Clinical Counselling & Caseload Management

Individual & Group Care: Conduct individual and group counselling sessions for students addressing diverse social, emotional, academic, and mental health needs.
Caseload & Capacity Management: Deliver 5 to 20 weekly clinical slots combining direct counselling and intensive case management utilizing a short-term model of 4 to 8 baseline sessions per student, with flexible extended support for high-risk cases.
Workload Optimization: Continuously monitor and self-assess we active cases to ensure a balanced, efficient, and manageable workload that prevents service backlogs.
Employee Wellbeing Support: Provide appropriate wellbeing and counselling support to IFS employees experiencing personal, emotional, work-related, or other wellbeing concerns, within the Counsellor's professional scope of practice and in accordance with the Centre's procedures.
Referral & Escalation: Assess employee and student needs and, where appropriate, facilitate referrals to external mental health or specialist services in consultation with the line manager.

Crisis Support & Safeguarding Compliance

Protocol Adherence: Provide immediate, timely response to active student crisis situations by strictly adhering to established school 2C protocols.
Multidisciplinary Collaboration: Co-support crisis management processes and collaborate dynamically with internal safeguarding networks and the Cellule de veille.

Faculty Collaboration & Workshops

Cross-Departmental Support: Partner across diverse IFS academic, medical, and administrative departments to identify at-risk students and implement tailored support plans, under the clinical guidance of the line manager..
Workshops: Propose, design, and conduct counselor-led in-class workshops and mental wellness training sessions for students, staff, and parents. All workshop content, schedules, and materials must be reviewed and approved by the line manager prior to delivery.
Cultural Sensitivity: Tailor preventative programs and workshop materials to respect and reflect the diverse cultural backgrounds of the IFS community, updating content annually for inclusivity in coordination with the line manager.
Preventive Wellbeing Programmes: Contribute to the development and delivery of preventive mental health and wellbeing programmes for both students and employees.

Data Collection, Systems, and Administration

Timely Documentation: Maintain accurate, highly confidential records of all counselling sessions, interventions, safeguarding concerns, and relevant incidents using the school's designated systems.
CPOMS & Incident Management: Accurately record, update, and monitor relevant student safeguarding concerns, wellbeing cases, incidents, and follow-up actions in CPOMS, in accordance with IFS procedures and established safeguarding protocols.
Deadlines: Upload standard case notes within 5 - 7 working days input high-risk and safeguarding cases must be recorded on the same day (within 24 hours), in accordance with applicable procedure.
Case Monitoring: Regularly review and update CPOMS records to ensure that actions, referrals, follow-ups, and case outcomes are appropriately documented and escalated where required.
Admin Support: Manage the Help-Counsellor calendar and monitor the shared center mailbox on a rotational basis.
Confidentiality & Data Protection: Maintain strict confidentiality when handling student and employee counselling information and ensure that all records are managed in accordance with professional standards, IFS policies, and applicable data protection requirements.

The precise list of responsibilities described above is only indicative and subject to change, according to the evolution and the needs of the department, and as required by the line manager.

REQUIRED SKILLS, EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATION

Education & Professional Credentials
Degree: Master's Degree or Bachelor's Degree with equivalent post-graduate qualification in Counselling, Psychology, Social Work, or a related mental health field.
Accreditation: Registered or eligible for registration/accreditation with a recognized professional body (e.g., Singapore Association for Counselling (SAC), APACS, SPS, or an equivalent overseas professional board).
Experience
Clinical Practice: Minimum 3 to 5 years of post-qualification clinical counselling experience, ideally within an international or localized K-12 educational setting.
Case & Crisis Management: Proven experience handling adolescent case management, participating in crisis response procedures, and operating within established safeguarding frameworks.
Community Delivery: Demonstrated experience delivering student mental health workshops and collaborating directly with parents, teachers, and student support teams.
Employee Wellbeing: Experience providing wellbeing or counselling support to employees or adults would be an advantage.
Technical Skills
Clinical Knowledge: Solid grounding in child and adolescent developmental psychology, Evidence-based Counselling therapeutic modalities, and ethical frameworks regarding student confidentiality.
Safeguarding & Data Management: Proficient in child protection and safeguarding guidelines, with practical experience using secure digital student safeguarding and incident-management systems, including CPOMS or similar platforms.

Office Tools: Functional capability in utilizing Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) for session planning, workshop creation, and baseline data collection.

Soft Skills
Collaboration: Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build safe, empathetic connections with students and collaborative relationships with faculty.
Clinical Judgment & Resilience: Sound clinical judgment, emotional resilience when managing sensitive or high-risk cases, and strict adherence to professional boundaries, confidentiality requirements, and internal school reporting channels.
Organization: Strong caseload self-management and organizational skills to handle documentation deadlines efficiently.
Language Skills: Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English. Proficiency in French would be an advantage.

WORKING CONDITIONS

Contract Type: Permanent (Full-Time)
Work Hours: 42 hours per week
Remuneration: Remuneration based on experience and the IFS salary scale
Benefits: Health insurance coverage for employees, along with other benefits as outlined in the Employee Handbook.
Leaves Entitlement: Entitled to school holidays in accordance with the official IFS school calendar, excluding two (2) weeks of school holidays designated as working periods. The employee is also entitled to medical leave and other leave benefits in accordance with the IFS Leave Policy and applicable Singapore employment regulations.

LINE MANAGER

Direct Supervisor: Wellbeing & Counselling Centre Manager, or any other person designated by the School.

Direct Reportees: Trainees or interns (if required), managed under the final oversight and clinical direction of the line manager.

WORKING RELATIONSHIPS

Internal Relationships: The role works closely with a wide range of internal stakeholders, including:
School Leadership Team (Principal, Directors, & Heads of School)
Teaching and Educational Staff
Safeguarding and Child Protection Personnel
School Nurses Team
Human Resources Department
Administrative Department (Admission, Parent Support, Legal, so on)
Students, Parents, and Guardians

External Relationships:
Mental health and healthcare professionals, including counsellors, psychologists, psychiatrists, hospitals,professional bodies and allied health providers.