Military and Family Life Counselor - Short Term Assignments or On Demand

About the Role

The Assignment Ready Counselor (ARC) provides coverage in short-term, surge, and on-demand situations for military needs such as post-deployment events or to cover absences of existing counselors. The Summer ARC counselor position covers assignments from May 15th through September 15th, coinciding with the school summer break.

With minimal guidance and oversight, the ARC delivers the full breadth of Adult or Child and Youth Behavioral (CYB) counseling services to military service members and their families at military installations. These services may include non-medical counseling, training/health and wellness presentations, consultation with parents, personnel at child daycare centers and schools, and consultation with installation command regarding behavioral health issues.

ARC CYB counselors may be assigned to DoDEA schools, community schools, youth programs, summer camps, and on-demand assignments. CYB counselors must have experience working in a school setting to qualify for backup roles in schools. ARC adult counselors may support MFLC services in military community and readiness centers, as well as on-demand and surge assignments. Counselors work closely with installation and military branch Points of Contact (POC) to ensure the program is delivered within scope and meets installation needs.

Responsibilities

• Provides non-medical, short-term, solution-focused counseling directly to adults, children, and youth of service members, including assessment, brief counseling, consultation, action planning, referral to resources, and follow-up.
• Supports staff and personnel of child development centers (CDCs), DoDEA and community schools, youth programs, and summer camps, as well as providing parent training and guidance.
• Delivers training and health and wellness presentations, participates in health fairs, and other base/installation activities.
• Enters counselor activity data daily via smartphone or web application to ensure accurate reporting while maintaining confidentiality and anonymity.
• Quickly builds rapport with service personnel, clients, family members, students, parents, and co-workers.
• Adapts to new working conditions, varying location rules, and adjusts working style to align with each environment.
• Works effectively with minimal instruction and guidance, and listens carefully to provided instructions.
• Participates in regular in-services/training, Quality Improvement committees, or other contract activities with minimal notice.
• Engages and communicates effectively with military members, spouses, or children to accomplish job functions, including responding to emergent situations in any physical location on a military installation or school setting.
• Complies with site-specific requirements for military installations, such as current immunizations or vaccinations.
• Creates a presence on the installation where service and family members feel comfortable approaching the counselor and recognize the program as confidential; for CYB counselors, establishes a presence in child and youth settings.
• Abides by line-of-sight protocol when working with children.
• Establishes and maintains working relationships with community resources and provides appropriate linkages.
• Partners with POC to deliver Adult and CYB services in a manner that addresses installation/facility needs.
• Develops excellent working relationships with installation/facility POCs.
• Manages duty-to-warn and restricted reporting situations according to DoD protocol and staffs cases with Regional Supervisor/Regional Director.
• Communicates with Regional Supervisors and participates in regular individual and group supervision, sharing information on trends and issues at assigned installations.
• Responds to critical incidents and special requests as directed by the POC and approved by the OSD program manager.

Requirements

• Master’s Degree from an accredited graduate program in a mental health-related field or social work.
• Willing to accept assignments of undefined periods, including weekends, with short notice.
• Ability to cover full-time assignments of varying lengths, from a weekend to two weeks.
• Advanced knowledge of brief therapy and solution-focused counseling methods.
• Prior military service, military family member status, or strong familiarity with military culture is desired.
• For CYB positions, must meet Magellan MFLC CYB criteria for experience with children and youth, and specialty in child and adolescent development/psychology.
• Current licensure that meets state, commonwealth, or customer-specific requirements as an independently licensed behavioral health clinician (e.g., LPC).
• Valid in-state driver’s license.
• Ability to prove U.S. citizenship and fluency in English.
• Ability to quickly traverse short and/or long distances within a base, including indoor and outdoor locations, rugged or uneven terrain, and varying weather conditions.

Pay

This is a Service Contract Act (SCA) covered position. The pay rate and health and welfare allowance are specified in the applicable wage determination agreement.