Assistant Director, Mental Health Education and Flourishing Initiatives in Dayton, Ohio at University of Dayton

Are you a passionate educator, committed to helping college students strengthen their mental health through education and experiential learning? The Brook Center at the University of Dayton is hiring an assistant director, mental health education and flourishing initiatives, where you will work with peer educators, build out an intentional rest space, lead suicide prevention efforts, and deliver mental health education through presentations and programming across campus. Join our team to make a difference!

The assistant director, mental health education and flourishing initiatives will serve as a member of the larger integrative team within the Brook Center, which houses wellbeing and health promotion education, mental health education, LGBTQ+ education, sexual violence prevention education, and alcohol and other drug education. As a critical member of the Brook Center team, the assistant director, mental health education and flourishing initiatives will develop, implement, and assess campus-wide mental health education and flourishing initiatives. These initiatives will increase mental health literacy, reduce stigma, strengthen resilience, and increase flourishing. This critical position co-advises the Co-Pilots (our mental health and wellbeing peer educators), mentors student leaders, oversees the university’s suicide prevention program, and creates opportunities for students to harness their optimal mental health journey throughout their college experience. The assistant director will oversee the day to day operations of the WELL (the Wellness Experience Learning Lab), an innovative space where students will put their learning into action and incorporate intentional moments of rest into their weekly routine using state of the art wellbeing technology, and create intentional programming to support student engagement.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES [%]

Mental Health Promotion and Suicide Prevention Education, Programming, and Training: 45%
• Create, implement, and assess comprehensive, trauma-informed, evidence-based, educational programming that is applicable to traditional aged college students and has a high likelihood of achieving measurable improvements in mental health behaviors and/or student success. Education will be delivered through classroom presentations, partnering with student organizations, and delivering campus wide programming, and will be targeted to all students, with specific programs designed for specialty populations (specific student organizations, student groups with shared identities, students engaging in high risk behaviors, etc). Education should include valuable insights taken from theory and best practices, including public health, student development theory, inclusive pedagogies, social determinants of health, and the UD Step Care Model. Education topics include mindfulness, resiliency and adaptive coping, flourishing, goal setting, empathy skill building, grief and loss, supporting peers in distress, anxiety and coping strategies, depression understanding, suicide prevention, stress management, self-care, and other topics that the assistant director sees developing as a need across campus and in national trends.
• Manage, facilitate, and coordinate the REACH suicide prevention training program, including scheduling REACH trainings, advertising, managing complementary programming, facilitation, assessment, and building an intentional relationship with the national coordinators of REACH at Ohio State.
• Oversee the success of key programmatic mental health initiatives, such as Fresh Check Day, World Mental Health Day, Suicide Prevention Week, etc.
• Utilize findings from climate and wellbeing surveys to improve programming and target education toward topics that are most relevant for UD students
• Stay up to date on national trends, best practices, and relevant research across disciplines (public health, psychology, sociology, education, prevention, etc)
- Articulate and enact a vision of a campus community that values the mental health of all community members and strives to create a culture of wellbeing and belonging
-Closely collaborate with student organizations and campus partners (including faculty, Counseling Center, Student Health Center, and Student Care and Advocacy) to ensure that educational initiatives are consistent with student needs

The WELL (Wellbeing Experience Learning Lab) Education and Facility Management: 30%
- Provide strategic leadership and vision for the WELL, where members of the UD community can create intentional space to rest and recover. Through a collaboration with CORE, Inc, the WELL is a unique programmatic space, focused on flourishing and putting self-care into practice.
- Develop programming that supports the vision and mission of the WELL, including coordinating the orientation experience, marketing, programming the space (such as aromatherapy or sound bowl sessions), product sales, and continuously improving the Pathways™experiences.
- Hire, train, and supervise the WELL student staff
- Develop and implement the standard operating procedures for the WELL, including managing facility operations, working within Fusion and Connect2 to manage reservations, maintaining a cleaning schedule with the student staff, managing maintenance needs, overseeing risk management, and ensuring high customer service
- Manage the WELL budget, which includes revenue generation and programming costs
- Maintain a strong relationship with external partners, including CORE and the strategic vendors

Teaching/Advising: 15%
- Serve as the co-advisor for the Co-Pilots mental health and wellbeing peer educators, including serving as the co-instructor for UDI 402, their 1 credit hour mini-course. The advisor builds community amongst the team, supports the students as they offer peer health coaching and create educational experiences for their peers, individually mentors each student, and facilitates learning for the peer educators.
-Serve as the advisor for our mental health related student organizations, including but not limited to: active minds and sprouts.

Brook Center General Responsibilities: 10%
- Serve on relevant committees.
- Participate as a full member of the Brook Center, contributing to shared initiatives, and supporting all members of the team to celebrate shared success.
- Perform other duties as assigned by the executive director, student engagement and wellbeing
- Manage programming budget.
- Assess programming and maintain a commitment to constant improvement.
- Develop strong relationships to increase co-curricular opportunities with academic and other university departments and programs
- Work occasional nights and weekends, as needed

- Bachelor's degree in related field with 2 years of experience designing, implementing, or assessing mental health or wellbeing education programs through internships, practicum, assistantships, or professional experience OR a Master's degree in related field.
- Ability to plan, organize, and run educational programming both independently and through collaboration across departments.
- High attention to detail.
- Effective written and verbal communication skills.

While not everyone may possess all of the preferred qualifications, the ideal candidate will bring many of the following:

- Masters degree in College Student Personnel, Counseling, Psychology, Social Work, Public Health, or related field.
- 2 or more years of post-master professional experience designing, implementing, and assessing mental health education, health education, and/or prevention programs in a higher education setting.
- A thorough understanding of student development, health promotion, behavior change, and population-based theories and models.
- Ability to thrive in a team-based, educational environment that values high expectations, integrity, and leadership, while possessing positive attitude and enthusiasm.
- Demonstrated ability to respond to students in crisis and refer to appropriate resources.
- Exceptional presentation skills and verbal communication skills.
- Demonstrated ability to work successfully with a diverse community, recognizing different approaches and barriers to accessing mental health resources exist for various groups, and provide education from a non-judgmental perspective.
- Demonstrated experience using health promotion models to provide services and supports to underrepresented and underserved student populations in an effort to work toward a campus community where all members have equitable mental health and wellbeing related outcomes.
- Demonstrated experience in collaboration with diverse stakeholders (faculty, staff, students, local organizations).
- Demonstrated familiarity with the Jed Foundation Framework and their recommendations on equity in mental health, public health models, or mental health education topics.
- Certified in motivational interviewing.
- Demonstrated experience hosting the WELL on a university campus or experience with wellness in a destination hospitality setting.
- Demonstrated experience managing a budget and/or developing revenue driven programs.
- Demonstrated experience managing a facility and/or using Fusion, Connect2, or a comparable reservation system.
- Demonstrated ability to inspire others to share a vision, such as a campus community that values the mental health and wellbeing of all community members.
- Demonstrated experience with a traditional college age population for 1 or more years.
- Demonstrated experience with a peer education program.
- Demonstrated experience with learning outcome writing and learning design.
- Supervision and/or advising experience.
- Ability to handle confidential information, work independently, and work as part of a team
- Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES), Master Certified Health Education Specialist (MCHES), Certified in Public Health (CPH) designation, Certified in Prevention (OCPSA/OCPS/OCPC) or eligible to become certified.
- Demonstrated experience in working with content related to sexual violence prevention education, wellbeing education, alcohol and other drug education, and/or LGBTQ+ education.
- Respect and appreciation for our Catholic and Marianist values.

To apply please submit a cover letter addressing each minimum qualification and any applicable preferred qualifications that you meet.

Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. The University does not provide work visa sponsorship for this position.

Informed by its Catholic and Marianist mission, the University is committed to the dignity of every human being. Informed by this commitment, we seek to increase diversity in all of its forms, achieve fair outcomes, and model inclusion across our campus community. The University is committed to policies of affirmative action designed to increase the employment opportunities of individuals with disabilities and protected veterans in compliance with the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1973.