Director of Services for Students with Disabilities - Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
Posted: Tuesday, January 8, 2019
Virginia Tech is a public land-grant university, committed to teaching, research, and outreach to the Commonwealth of Virginia, the nation, and the world. Building on its motto of Ut Prosim (that I may serve), Virginia Tech is dedicated to InclusiveVT-serving in the spirit of community, diversity, and excellence. We seek candidates who adopt and practice the Principles of Community, which are fundamental to our ongoing efforts to increase access and inclusion, and to create a community that nurtures learning and growth. Virginia Tech actively seeks a broad spectrum of candidates to join our community in preparing leaders for the world.
Reporting to the assistant vice president for student affairs (Health and Wellness), the director of services for students with disabilities will provide vision, leadership, and management for a comprehensive department that is responsible for the delivery of mandated services to students with documented disabilities. The director, as a member of the leadership team, assists the Division of Student Affairs in fulfilling its mission to foster a welcoming environment for all by leading the university's efforts to develop programs and services responsive to the needs of students. While providing visionary leadership and strategic direction to the department, this position articulates departmental mission and goals and establishes an inclusive, team-oriented work environment. The position oversees a budget of $650K and thirteen staff members. The director develops and initiates outreach programs in disability issues and personal development, provides venues for staff development, and manages the daily operations of the department. The director participates as a member of the emergency on-call crisis intervention team. The individual in this position is responsible for developing responsive, efficient, and effective client services, establishing effective monitoring systems to help ensure the highest quality care, developing innovative and responsive programs/services, and evaluating the utilization, effectiveness, and impact of those programs and services. The position engages actively with the student affairs leadership team to address emerging student trends, campus climate issues, and the needs of a variety of student communities. As a strong partner, the director coordinates and collaborates with key university and external constituencies, including but not limited to the five units within Health and Wellness, Legal Counsel, various other Division of Student Affairs departments and academic faculty to build strong relationships.
Applicants must have a master's degree in counseling, clinical psychology, social work, rehabilitation counseling, counselor education, or related field; successful candidates will have demonstrated experience supervising staff that provide counseling services and assistive technology to students with disabilities; demonstrated experience working with students with disabilities in a higher education setting, including health sciences programs; demonstrated experience conducting intake interviews and interpreting psycho-educational tests to determine accommodations and services; a full understanding of federal regulations including Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act, an ability to translate these regulations for a lay audience; must be skilled at communicating effectively with students, staff, faculty, parents, and the community; possess demonstrated experience working with a wide array of disability categories and a strong working knowledge of Interpreter and C-Print Captioning services/qualifications needed in a higher education setting; demonstrated experience in developing a systematic approach to assessing student learning outcomes and program effectiveness; demonstrated experience with fiscal budget management and best business practices with the ability to provide written justifications to support the need for staffing and program needs; demonstrated experience in general and crisis intervention counseling; demonstrated sensitivity, knowledge, and understanding of students of differing academic, socioeconomic, gender, cultural, disability, and ethnic backgrounds and sexual orientation.
Review of applications will begin January 11, 2019 and continue until the position is filled. A resume with an accompanying cover letter may be submitted via the Spelman Johnson website at www.spelmanjohnson.com/open-positions. Nominations for this position may be emailed to Jennifer N. Hiatt at [email protected]. Applicants needing reasonable accommodation to participate in the application process should contact Spelman Johnson at 413-529-2895.
Visit the Virginia Tech website at www.vt.edu
Virginia Tech actively seeks a broad spectrum of qualified candidates to join its community in preparing leaders for the world and encourages women, minorities, veterans, and individuals with disabilities to apply.
Virginia Tech does not discriminate against employees, students, or applicants on the basis of age, color, disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, veteran status, or any other basis protected by law.
