Director, Wellness and Student Support

Director, Wellness and Student Support

Louisiana State University invites applications for the position of Director of Wellness and Student Support. Located in the Student Health Center (SHC) and reporting to the Executive Director, the Director is responsible for providing strategic leadership for the unit: ensuring the design, delivery, and assessment of effective wellness coaching, health promotion, nutrition counseling, and interpersonal violence advocacy and support. They lead efforts to enact education and outreach that promotes resilience, reduces learning barriers, and supports student retention and success for a campus of approximately 37,000 students. The Director supervises five full-time staff: an Associate Director (Lighthouse), an Assistant Director (Health Promotion), a Wellness Coordinator, a Dietician, and an Office Coordinator.

The Director serves as a key member of the SHC Senior Leadership Team and the Division of Student Affairs Strategy Council. They play a pivotal role in the SHC collaborative care model and will advance the divisional priorities of commitment to quality, communicating a sense of home, and designing with everyone in mind.

GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THIS POSITION:

• Provides leadership and develops strategy for the successful enactment of SHC's wellness and student support initiatives.
• Supervises staff who deliver education focused on prevention and health promotion and who provide student support through coaching and advocacy for victims of interpersonal violence.
• Provides direct student support through coaching and case management.
• Manages and makes key decisions about resources, including oversight of a budget of approximately $1 million, to ensure alignment with SHC and institutional objectives and to maximize efficiency and effectiveness.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR LEADERSHIP:

Champion and Expand Coaching Initiatives

Coaching is a recommended strategy within collegiate health models to enhance students' ability to navigate challenges and build skills that support overall wellness. The Director will have the opportunity to serve as a champion for coaching as a key strategy to improve student wellbeing and success at LSU and beyond. Coaching services at LSU have been historically misunderstood and underutilized. As a result, engaging with campus partners to help them understand the outcomes of coaching and become champions of these services, thereby directing more students to utilize coaching, is a top priority. Ultimately, within the first year, the Director will be challenged to develop a plan to build out the model of coaching to expand to more, including the use of virtual platforms and possibly more staff, with additional resources.

Expand Prevention and Health Promotion Efforts

There are two critical areas for innovation and growth: (1) creating an intentional and focused approach for educational initiatives to prevent harm and mitigate the impact of high-risk behaviors and (2) developing a better strategy for improving communication focused on health-related messaging. By connecting Wellness and Health Promotion with the Lighthouse Program, that provides interpersonal violence prevention, support, and advocacy, the Director will unite staff with a shared goal of designing, implementing, and assessing prevention and health promotion efforts tailored to student needs. This also requires us to engage with campus partners invested in our work to create synergy around addressing shared concerns such as high-risk drinking, effective intervention in difficult situations, and ending interpersonal violence.

ATTRIBUTES OF THE SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE:

• Able to identify and advance departmental goals while fostering meaningful staff engagement and buy-in.
• Proactively elevates and scales programs effectively leveraging available resources and navigating constraints.
• Shows determination and strategic vision needed to build out effective models of practice, with a commitment to advancing and scaling coaching to maximize impact.
• Engages as a leader beyond the department and the SHC, playing an active role in the Division of Student Affairs and broader campus-wide initiatives.
• Demonstrates strong relationship-building and partnerships skills, utilizing thoughtful and effective approaches to engage stakeholders, cultivate collaboration, and achieve shared outcomes with those whom you have no positional authority.
• Dedicated to being part of a SHC team invested in integrating all aspects of health to better serve students.

ABOUT THE DIVISION OF STUDENT AFFAIRS PRIORITIES :

Three priorities guide our work in the Division of Student Affairs. Foremost, we maintain a commitment to quality which is rooted in the belief that LSU students deserve our best effort. Every interaction we have with students should communicate care, relevance, polish, and attention to detail. We work to ensure every space, place, and staff-to-student interaction communicates a sense of home to students. Finally, we design programs, services, events, and experiences with everyone in mind.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Leadership & Administration 40%

Provides leadership and operational oversight of the unit to ensure the provision of wellness and health promotion and Lighthouse services that adhere to professional standards and best practices in college health, including overseeing the delivery of wellness coaching, health promotion, nutrition counseling, and interpersonal violence advocacy and support. Provides leadership, support, and supervision to a team of an Associate Director, Assistant Director, Wellness Coordinator, Office Manager, and Dietician. Serves on committees/teams at the departmental, divisional, and university levels.

Direct Student Support 30%

Coaches and supports student individually on wellness matters and provides frontline advocacy. Conducts coaching and well-checks and participates in the utilization review process as appropriate. Plans, implements, and evaluates culturally sensitive, theory-based health education presentations and outreach events. Leads educational initiatives to promote wellness. Crafts educational content for social media platforms and the departmental website.

Quality Control & Compliance 10%

Supports overall SHC quality improvement and accreditation activities, including policy development and updates, benchmarking, studies and peer review. Employs data to direct resources and drive practice. Ensures the unit meets all standards set forth by state law, federal mandates, and accrediting bodies.

Strategic Resource Oversight 10%

Serves as a good steward of all resources. Provides financial and administrative direction, which includes oversight of a budget totaling approximately $1 million, and schedule development to maximize student access. Directs budget planning, forecasting, and resource allocation for the unit to ensure that optimal and timely use of funds is consistent with departmental goals and university regulations.

Care Coordination, Collaboration, and Other Duties 10%

Actively partner with internal and external stakeholders to deliver a seamless, holistic care model. This involves working closely with the Student Health Center's leadership, Enrollment Management, and academic faculty to identify at-risk students and ensure they are connected to wellness coaching and essential resources. Additionally, cultivate and maintain strategic partnerships with community health providers and local agencies to streamline student referrals and bridge gaps in specialized care. Other duties as assigned by the Executive Director includes but is not limited to efforts that support broad divisional and institutional efforts, and other special projects.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree with 7 years related experience OR Master's degree and 5 years related experience.
• Demonstrated leadership experience, including a minimum of three years of direct supervisory experience, including training and evaluation, and financial management.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master's degree
• Expertise in young adult development and experience working with college-age population; experience working as part of a collaborative, multi-disciplinary healthcare team; five or more years of direct supervisory experience.
• Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) or Certified in Public Health (CPH)

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS/EXPECTATIONS:

Due to the nature of the position and/or position responsibilities, this position shall be subject to drug/alcohol testing in accordance with University Policy Statement 67.

This position has access to/directly handles cash. Financial history/credit check required per FASOP HR-04.

This position may be required to report to campus in times of emergency and/or closure per PS-18.

Ability and willingness to work some evening and weekend hours.

NOMINATIONS, APPLICATIONS, AND INQUIRIES:

Applications will be accepted online on the LSU Careers website. Please direct all nominations and inquiries for the position to Keena Smith, Executive Director of the Student Health Center, at keena.smith@lsu.edu. The search committee will begin reviewing applications immediately and will continue to accept applications and nominations until the position is filled. Requested application materials include a letter of interest or cover letter; resume or curriculum vitae; and the names, telephone numbers, and e-mail addresses of at least five professional references. All applications, nominations, and inquiries will remain confidential. Salary will be competitive and commensurate with qualifications. An offer of employment is contingent on a satisfactory pre-employment background check.