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Search for an Indigenous Counsellor, Student Wellness Services

UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY

2500 University Drive NW Calgary, AB T2N 1N4

The University of Calgary (UCalgary), located in the heart of Southern Alberta, both acknowledges and pays tribute to the traditional territories of the peoples of Treaty 7, which include the Blackfoot Confederacy (comprised of the Siksika, the Piikani, and the Kainai First Nations) as well as the Tsuut’ina First Nation, and the Stoney Nakoda (including Chiniki, Bearspaw, and Goodstoney First Nations). The university recognizes that the City of Calgary is also home to Districts 5 and 6 of the Métis Nation of Alberta. By virtue of the signing of Treaty 7 in 1877, the university recognizes that we are all treaty people. The City of Calgary is home to diverse community. Together, we share this land, strive to live together, learn together, walk together, and grow together “in a good way.”

ii’ taa’poh’to’p – THE UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY INDIGENOUS STRATEGY

Together in a Good Way: A Journey of Transformation and Renewal

In the spring of 2016, The UCalgary set out to build the Indigenous Strategy (ii’ taa’poh’to’p) by gathering stories and perspectives from Traditional Knowledge Keepers, cultural advisors, agencies, and communities. The strategy was adopted in November 2017 with a foundation in transformation, renewal, and shared ethical space. It includes 27 recommendations that address ways of knowing, ways of doing, ways of connecting, and ways of being, touching on all aspects of the university. The university is enacting the strategy’s directions through an Elders/UCalgary leadership Circle of Advisors, the UCalgary Indigenous Strategy Implementation Committee and its seven sub-committees, Circle of Indigenous Scholars, and the ii’taa’poh’to’p Student Circle of Advisors, as well as several other Faculty based committees and action plans.

ii’ taa’poh’to’p guides UCalgary on its path of transformation and communicates its commitment and responsibility for truth and reconciliation. The strategy is and will remain a living document within the institution, whereby progress will be monitored, and content and direction will be renewed through a process of evaluation and evolution.

The Path to Reconciliation

The clear and compelling imperative for the development and realization of UCalgary’s Indigenous Strategy is based on an authentic foundation of compassion encouraged through intercultural learning opportunities that promote awareness, education, and understanding. Building knowledge and understanding of Indigenous perspectives, worldviews, histories, cultures, and belief systems is essential to enabling and realizing steps towards true reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. UCalgary is committed to a position advanced by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that educational institutions have a profound responsibility in initiating, securing, and sustaining reconciliation.

Student Wellness Services

The University of Calgary Student Wellness Services is the collaboration of Student Health, Mental Health Services, Student Accessibility Services, and Health Promotion to provide wellness in body, mind, and spirit to support academic success and personal wellness. We support the University of Calgary by providing integrated and expanded health and wellness services promoting the physical, mental, and spiritual well-being of students within a supportive community. The Mental Health Services’ mission is to support positive mental health by providing students direct care and connection to accessible services through collaboration and consultation with other campus and community partners.

Position Description – Indigenous Counsellor

As part of our commitment to ii’ taa’poh’to’p, Student Wellness Services at the University of Calgary invites applications for a tenure-track Indigenous Counsellor (Instructor) position. This hiring initiative was developed in accordance with Section 10.1 of the Alberta Human Rights Act. This position is only open to qualified Indigenous scholars (First Nations, Métis, or Inuit). Candidates will be required to provide verifiable evidence of their Indigenous identity/citizenship.

Reporting to the Associate Director (Counselling) in close consult with the Vice Provost (Student Experience), the Indigenous Counsellor position will focus on supporting Indigenous students through an Indigenous lens of wellness grounded in Indigenous ways of knowing, doing, being and connecting. Additionally, the Indigenous Counsellor will work closely with the Associate Director (Counselling), the Vice Provost (Student Experience) to increase the intercultural capacity within Student and Wellness Services. In consultation with the Associate Director and Vice Provost (Student Experience), the counsellor will explore cultural parallels in professional practices, policies, and procedures (ways of doing) to decolonize access, processes and approaches to wellness services and holistic wellbeing that may marginalize Indigenous Peoples.  Aligned with the priority of increasing access to wellbeing support to Indigenous students, the Indigenous counsellor will provide individual counselling as well as deliver group programming, as needed, to University of Calgary undergraduate and graduate students, with a specialization and approach grounded in Indigenous wellness frameworks. This position will also provide cultural advice and professional mentorship/guidance to other key Student Wellness positions supporting Indigenous students. 

Overall, the Indigenous Counsellor must work effectively with a diverse inter-professional Wellness Services team and build strong relationships with Indigenous students, faculty, other Student and Enrolment Services units and external stakeholders. These Academic positions are also required to contribute scholarly professional knowledge through research projects, oral and written publications, and presentations that inform the counselling practice through an Indigenous epistemological lens. To further support inclusivity and support transformative reconciliation in line with the TRC (2015) calls to action, the Indigenous Counsellor will research, share, and implement wise practices in Indigenous approaches to counselling in large institutional and/or educational settings. This position will also develop workshops and resources to further the intercultural capacity of their professional colleagues within the Student Wellness, Access and Support Services and across Student and Enrolment Services.

The successful candidate will hold a graduate degree in Counselling Psychology, Clinical Psychology, or Clinical Social Work (designation as a Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC) will not be considered for this position) with at least five years related counselling experience, particularly with Indigenous community members and/ or within Indigenous organizations. They will possess knowledge to support and promote Indigenous approaches to wellness, Indigenous knowledge systems, and culturally informed models of practice grounded in Indigenous ways of knowing, doing, connecting and being. Eligibility to register with Alberta College of Social Workers or a Professional designation as a Registered Psychologist is required, and previous academic scholarship in Indigenous areas would be an asset.

To explore this opportunity further, please send your Cover Letter and CV in confidence, with the subject line “Indigenous Counsellor” to: [email protected] 

All applicants must self-identify as an Indigenous scholar (First Nations, Métis, or Inuit) in their cover letter and be prepared to provide documented verification of their Indigenous identity.

About The University of Calgary

UCalgary is a global intellectual hub located in Canada’s most enterprising city. UCalgary is a bold and spirited institution, recognized as one of Canada’s top-five research universities, grounded in innovative teaching and learning, and fully engaged with the community it serves and leads.

UCalgary recently unveiled its Ahead of Tomorrow strategic plan, which articulates a 7-year vision out to 2030. It's a bold vision that reflects our ambition to increase access to future-focused education, to maximize the impact of our research and innovation, to put the community at the centre of all that we do, and to make our operational processes clearer, simpler and better than any other university. 

Despite its youth, at only 57 years of age, UCalgary is already one of the nation’s leading research universities. It has five campuses in Calgary, one in Qatar, a University Innovation Quarter in Calgary, and five research stations in Alberta, BC, and the Yukon. UCalgary is a global intellectual hub for high-quality research and scholarship, one where students thrive in programs made rich by research, hands-on experiences, and entrepreneurial thinking, grounded in innovative learning and teaching; it is fully integrated with the community it both serves and leads. As a Comprehensive Academic and Research University, we aim to produce the next generation of leaders who experience the best possible training in acquiring and creating new knowledge. 

These foundational values and commitments enable excellence, discovery, creativity, and innovation across the research ecosystem. With over 28,000 undergraduate students, 8,000 graduate students, 575 postdoctoral fellows/associates (postdocs), and 1,800+ faculty actively engaged in transdisciplinary discovery, creativity, and innovation across 14 faculties and schools, and supported by 3,200+ staff, we deliver over 250 degree and non-credit programs – undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees, postdoctoral training, and continuing and professional education programs. We increasingly attract domestic students from within Alberta and across Canada, and our knowledge and experience are enriched by international students from over 119 countries. 

With over $545M in annual research revenue and more than 50 research institutes and centres, UCalgary has become known as a research powerhouse in Canada. The scholarly environment at UCalgary encourages our students, faculty, and staff to take on the tough challenges facing our society and to draw expertise from across all our domains to develop evidence-based solutions. We integrate research into graduate and undergraduate curricula, equipping students with transferable problem-solving skills tested in experiential and work-integrated learning scenarios to increase employability and opportunities for professional advancement. 

UCalgary benefits from the ongoing support of our community, which rallies behind the university, recently completing the third-largest fundraising campaign in Canadian history, surpassing $1.4B.  

UCalgary is a large and complex institution that drives tremendous value with an annual consolidated budget of more than $1.6B, it is among Calgary’s largest employers, and generates over $16B annually in economic impact to the province.  Two-thirds of the university's 220,000 alumni live and work in the Calgary area, effectively building a city of leaders and those dedicated to improving quality of life and prosperity.

UCalgary has been recognized for six consecutive years as one of Alberta’s Top 75 Employers (2017–2022) and Canada’s best diversity employer (2017–2022). 

To learn more, visit ucalgary.ca.  You can also view the academic and research & innovation plans, as well as the Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility, Indigenous, mental health and sustainability strategies. 

About Calgary

Recently ranked the 2nd most liveable city in North America and 7th in the world (2023) by The Economist Intelligence Unit, and possessing one of the youngest populations of major cities in Canada, Calgary is home to world-class attractions, sporting amenities and public infrastructure that supports a healthy lifestyle, making it a great place to raise a family (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnh-WugziiiHwMT44-sVwrA). Situated where the Canadian plains reach the sunny foothills of Canada’s majestic Rocky Mountains, Calgary is a major urban centre surrounded by an area of profound beauty with an awe-inspiring mountains, lakes, rivers and gorgeous prairie. 

Consistently rated by the United Nations as the world’s best country to live in, Canada is the world’s second largest country by total area and is one of the most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations. Canada ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic freedom, and education.

The University of Calgary’s comprehensive benefits and pension program is designed to promote a productive level of health and well-being to staff members. Salary and benefits are commensurate with qualifications and experience, at the Counsellor (Instructor) level. For salary and benefits information, please refer to Schedule A of the Collective Agreement (pg. 146) at: www.ucalgary.ca/hr/tucfa-ca . 

The University of Calgary recognizes that a diverse staff/faculty benefits and enriches the work, learning and research experiences of the entire campus and greater community. We are committed to removing barriers that have been historically encountered by some people in our society. We strive to recruit individuals who will further enhance our diversity and will support their academic and professional success while they are here; in particular, we encourage members of equity-deserving groups (women, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, members of visible minorities and diverse sexual orientation and gender identities) to apply. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority. To ensure a fair and equitable assessment, we offer accommodation at any stage during the recruitment process to applicants with disabilities. Questions regarding diversity at UCalgary can be sent to the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion ([email protected]) and requests for accommodation can be sent to Human Resources ([email protected]).