Director of Student Wellness

Description

St. Michael's Prep in Austin, TX has engaged DovetailED to lead a search for a Director of Student Wellness to start in January 2027 or sooner. Interested candidates should review the Opportunity Statement and submit a cover letter, resume, and list of references as a consolidated PDF to Zack Lehman, President at DovetailED Talent Sourcing, at [email protected], and Victoria Jones, Recruiter, at [email protected]. 

Position Type: Full-Time, 12 month

Reports to: Head of Upper School

About St. Michael's Catholic Preparatory School

St. Michael's Catholic Preparatory School (SMP) is a Pre-K through Grade 12 independent Catholic

school in Austin, Texas, dedicated to forming young people intellectually, spiritually, and morally

within the Catholic tradition. Grounded in Catholic Social Teaching, SMP cultivates a community

where academic excellence, faith formation, and the dignity of every student are held together as a

single mission. Guided by our Portrait of a Graduate, we prepare students not only for college but for

lives of purpose, service, and integrity.

SMP seeks colleagues who share a commitment to the whole child — mind, body, and spirit — and

who bring both professional excellence and a genuine care for students and families to their work

each day.

About the Position

SMP is seeking an experienced Director of Student Wellness to join our administrative team. The

Director will be the senior administrator responsible for supporting student wellbeing and balance

within the Upper School (Grades 9–12). This is a role for every student, not only those navigating a

specific challenge: the Director will champion a healthy rhythm of academic, spiritual, social, and

personal life, helping students build the habits and perspective to thrive under the ordinary

pressures of Upper School — workload, sleep, activities, relationships, and expectations — while also

ensuring thoughtful support is in place for students who need more. The Director will lead the

Upper School's counseling team, set the vision for proactive wellbeing programming, and coordinate

closely with the Health Office on matters of physical health. This is a full-time, exempt (salaried),

in-person, 12-month (year-round) position reporting to the Head of Upper School or designee, in

close partnership with Upper School faculty and staff.

Primary Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

• Provide strategic leadership in support of student wellbeing and balance within the Upper

School (Grades 9–12), with programming designed to reach and benefit the entire student body.

• Set the vision and long-range priorities for a healthy, sustainable Upper School experience —

helping students balance academics, extracurriculars, faith life, rest, and relationships — while

ensuring appropriate support is available for students who need additional care.

• Lead the Upper School counseling team and integrate wellbeing and student support services to

promote a sense of belonging, balance, and academic success, in a manner consistent with

SMP's Catholic mission and Portrait of a Graduate.

• Coordinate with the Health Office and school nurse on matters of physical health that intersect

with student wellbeing, ensuring aligned, whole-person support without duplicating clinical

medical oversight.

• Build trusting, collaborative relationships with all stakeholders, demonstrating partnership across

counseling, academics, athletics, and family life.

• Collaborate regularly with Lower School and Middle School counselors to ensure a coherent,

developmentally aligned continuum of student wellness programming across all divisions, so

that the wellbeing language, expectations, and support students experience in the Upper School

build naturally on what came before.

• Design, implement, and continuously improve wellbeing and balance curricula and

programming grounded in Catholic Social Teaching, appropriate to each developmental stage

and intended for all students.

• Attend weekly Upper School Educational Leadership Team meetings.

Student Care and Support

• Serve as a visible, approachable presence for the whole student body — building rapport and

trust so that wellbeing is framed as a shared, everyday priority.

• Monitor school-wide patterns that affect student balance, such as workload, schedule, and

extracurricular demands, and partner with academic and activity leaders to make adjustments

that support healthier routines.

• Provide direct support to students navigating more significant challenges, including consultation

with families and, where appropriate, outside mental health providers, while keeping such

support in proportion to the broader, universal focus of the role.

• Serve as a point of contact for elevated parent/guardian wellbeing concerns and, when needed,

more serious situations requiring additional care or outside referral.

• Work closely with student support teams on individual student needs, including consultation

regarding student learning plans and accommodations related to wellbeing factors.

• Lead regular wellness team meetings with Upper School counselors to align on both universal

programming and support for students of concern; oversee re-entry plans for students returning

from a wellbeing-related absence.

• Support and consult with the Director of Athletics and coaching staff on healthy balance for

student-athletes, including workload, rest, and team dynamics.

Program and Operational Oversight

• Oversee the Upper School's counseling and wellness program, including supervision of Upper

School counselors, coordination of universal wellbeing programming, and collaboration with

families and outside providers when additional support is needed.

• Oversee counseling team scheduling and workload distribution to ensure both proactive,

all-student programming and responsive individual support are appropriately staffed.

• Develop and maintain a Student Wellness Program Manual and related operational

documentation, including wellbeing programming plans, referral pathways, and support

protocols for students who need them.

• Establish a regular cadence of cross-divisional meetings with Lower School and Middle School

counselors to share practices, coordinate on students transitioning between divisions, and

maintain a consistent, school-wide approach to student wellness.

• Own the oversight and ongoing development of a top-tier Upper School advisory program,

ensuring every student has a trusted adult connection and a consistent, structured space to

build balance, belonging, and reflection into their week.

• Design and refine advisory curriculum and structure in partnership with school leadership,

aligning advisory group activities with the broader wellbeing and balanced priorities of the

Upper School.

• Plan and lead ongoing training and support for faculty advisors, equipping them with practical

tools and confidence to guide meaningful advisory conversations, recognize when a student may

need additional care, and reinforce healthy routines.

• Regularly gather feedback from advisors and students to evaluate the advisory program's

effectiveness and drive continuous improvement.

Policy and Communication

• Develop, review, and maintain Upper School wellbeing-related policies and protocols, in

consultation with counseling staff and school leadership, in alignment with school-wide

practices.

• Ensure compliance with applicable state and federal requirements related to student support

services, mandated reporting, and confidentiality of counseling and student records.

• Ensure counseling and wellness records are accurate, secure, and maintained in accordance with

FERPA and professional confidentiality standards.

• Communicate proactively with school leadership, families, and employees in support of student

wellbeing, sharing practical guidance the whole community can use, in addition to updates on

protocols when a situation warrants it.

Education, Training, and Professional Responsibilities

• Conduct wellbeing-related training for employees as necessary, including how to support healthy

balance for students day to day and how to recognize when a student may need additional care.

• Maintain professional competencies through continuing education and engagement with

current trends and best practices in student wellbeing, healthy development, and balance.

Requirements

Qualifications

• Master's degree in Counseling, School Psychology, Social Work, Education, or a related field

required; doctoral degree preferred.

• Licensed or certified in a relevant field (e.g., LPC, LCSW, LMFT, Licensed Psychologist, or School

Counselor certification) preferred.

• 7–10 years of experience in student support, counseling, or wellbeing programming, with

substantial experience in a school-based setting; adolescent development expertise preferred.

• Demonstrated experience designing or leading proactive wellbeing programming for a broad

student population, not solely individual counseling caseloads.

• Experience developing or leading an advisory or mentorship program, including training and

supporting faculty in that role, strongly preferred.

• Prior leadership experience, managing counseling or student support staff, budgets, and

program operations preferred.

• Familiarity with school laws and regulations related to student support services, including

mandated reporting and FERPA.

• Collaborative leadership style consistent with SMP's mission and values.

• Strong oral and written communication skills, including the ability to engage warmly with

students, families, and colleagues on everyday wellbeing topics as well as more sensitive matters.

• Ability to work with a diversity of constituents, including students, parents, faculty, staff, and

administrators.

• Awareness, appreciation, and comfort supporting the wellbeing and balance of a diverse student

body, including racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic diversity with knowledge of best practices for

inclusive support consistent with Catholic teaching on the dignity of the human person.

• Prior experience with student information and wellness platforms preferred.

St. Michael’s Catholic Preparatory School is an Equal Opportunity Employer and offers equal

employment opportunity to all applicants for employment and all employees without regard to race,

color, religion, sex, gender, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information,

veteran status, military service, application for military service, or any other status protected by

applicable law.