Overview
The Mental Health Counselor and Cultural Organizer position is a part of the Hamre Center for Health & Wellbeing within the division of Student Affairs. As part of the integrated Hamre Center team, the mental health counselor provides short-term individual and group therapy and prepares timely documentation/reports. Additionally, this role collaborates closely with our medical team as appropriate due to the center's integrated model of care.
This position builds collaboration and coalition across the Division of Student Affairs and the college, working with departments and organizations that support students with diverse and relevant intersecting cultural identities.
Key components of this role’s success are measured by averaging a caseload of about 19 students per week during weeks that the college is in session, timely documentation, effective outreach, equity and access, and alignment with Hamre Center and Student Affairs strategy.
This is a full-time role that works 39 full-time weeks, 38.75 hours/week from mid-August to mid-May and 12.5 hours per week from mid-May to mid-August. Upon successful onboarding, counseling staff are eligible for up to 20% remote work.
About the Department:
The Hamre Center for Health & Wellness is an integrated center with medical, counseling, operations/administrative, and health promotion/sexual respect teams who value a public health approach. Our team of directors is highly collaborative and operates in a distributed leadership model, in conjunction with our executive director. We care deeply about meeting our students where they are developmentally and partnering with them in decision-making about their care. Inclusion, access, and culturally responsive care are hallmarks of our Center; as such, we do not bill students for clinician time. We also value supporting the personal sustainability of our staff. We are active in developing the next generation of learners working in college health and regularly host counseling interns, an adolescent health fellow, medical residents, and medical assistant students. Additionally, Princeton Review recently ranked Macalester as #1 in Best Student Support and Counseling Services.
Counseling Department
The Counseling Department is a group of six individuals with intersecting identities and various therapeutic educational backgrounds who have a commitment to equitable health and healing for our student population while balancing a sustainable and collaborative work environment with each other. We use an integrated health approach with our Medical, Operations, and Health Promotion teams while uplifting continued education around clinical practice and community engagement with campus partners and community stakeholders. This team is proud of our 95%+ student satisfaction every semester for the past three years.
Responsibilities & Qualifications
- 60% Provides short-term, individual, and group mental health counseling. Provides referral guidance and consultation services to students, parents/families (with ROI), and the larger campus community as appropriate. This includes crisis response coverage such as same-day appointments and contribution to campus-wide incident response at the discretion of the Director of Counseling and the Executive Director.
- 20% Prepares appropriate and timely documentation and reports.
- 10% Participates in the Division of Student Affairs and other campus committees as assigned. Provides collaborative community education programming, trainings, outreach, and engagement services.
- 5% Ongoing professional development.
- 5% Completes other responsibilities as assigned. Participates as an active member of the team. Participates in department and college activities and supports implementation of shared goals and initiatives. Provides backup support to other team members.
Qualifications:
- Master’s degree required. Must be fully licensed (or license-eligible) in the state of Minnesota for practice in stated counseling-related field (e.g. LICSW, LMFT, LPCC, LP, ATR).
- Preferred qualifications include experience working in a college counseling center and/or with adolescents and emerging adults, comprehensive knowledge of culturally-responsive, evidence-based, and theory-driven mental health practices, including but not limited to, short-term therapy models, assessment, crisis intervention, individual and group counseling, trauma-informed care; experience with a wide range of intersecting identities, understanding of historical and intergenerational trauma, somatics, and emphasis on the impact of systemic oppression on macro to micro scales. Experience working with common challenges college students face, including substance use, body image, disordered eating, homesickness, academic concerns, and all types of relationships. Additionally, experience in coalition building, facilitation, curriculum development, community organizing, and healing justice practices are highly encouraged.
Compensation:
$58,647.00-$62,514.00 Annually
Benefits
At Macalester, we are proud to offer excellent comprehensive employee benefits. Here are some highlights:
- 10% employer contributions to the retirement plan
- Outstanding vacation and sick time packages, plus an additional 10 holidays
- Competitive health, dental, vision, and life & disability insurance
- Generous employer contribution to Health Savings Account
- Tuition assistance which pays between 75% - 90% of eligible tuition for employee dependents at select institutions
- Free primary care for most services through Nice Healthcare when enrolled in a Macalester health plan
- Access to the athletics fitness facility, wellness coaching, and activities
These are just some of the great benefits Macalester has to offer! To see our full benefits packages and options, please visit our Benefits Page
Satisfactory completion of a criminal background check is a condition of employment.
Application Guidelines
For best consideration, please submit your cover letter and resume through theMacalester Employment Opportunities webpage by October 19th, 2026. Cover letters are required from every applicant. We will not accept applications after this date.
Jaclyn Howard
Talent Acquisition Manager
jhoward3@Macalester.edu
Macalester College does not discriminate on the grounds of sex, gender identity, race, color, national origin, age, religion, creed, disability, marital status, familial status, pregnancy, genetic information, membership or activity in a local human rights commission, veteran status, sexual orientation, status with regard to public assistance, or other categories protected by law. For additional information, see Macalester College's full Notice of Nondiscrimination.