Student Counsellor

• Be part of an industry-leading supportive and positive work culture
• 26 days’ annual leave, including one for your birthday
• Permanent part-time position based in Newcastle - 2 days a week

Role

We are seeking a compassionate and student-centric individual to join our team as a Student Counsellor. In this role, you will play a crucial part in ensuring the well-being of our students by providing comprehensive counselling and support services.

Your primary responsibility will be to offer on-demand counselling to students on personal and welfare matters, helping them navigate issues such as homesickness, academic challenges, and stress. You will also conduct group sessions as needed, fostering a supportive environment for students facing similar challenges.

Furthermore, you will advocate for student welfare by raising awareness among school staff about prevalent issues affecting our student population. Your role will involve maintaining accurate and timely student case notes in the Student Management System and ensuring confidentiality and professionalism in handling sensitive information.

If you are passionate about supporting students and have a background in counselling or related fields, we encourage you to apply for this rewarding opportunity to make a meaningful impact in our educational community.

Responsibilities

• Counsel students on demand about personal and welfare matters, identifying issues affecting students and develop responses to those issues
• Provide basic welfare counselling as appropriate for primary welfare issues (e.g. homesickness, low grades, stress etc.) to individuals or groups
• Provide advanced welfare counselling as appropriate for more serious welfare issues (e.g. depression, mental illness and self-harm)
• Provide referrals to appropriate outside agencies for significant health cases
• Raise awareness among school staff of issues/challenges facing the student populations
• Organise workshops for students and staff on welfare issues based on student needs 
• Establish and maintain links with ‘out of school’ sources of information and support services to assist students
• Keep accurate and timely student case notes updated in the Student Management System
• Identify trends in issues facing students and report to Student Experience/Services teams to inform student support practices at the schools

Requirements

To succeed in this role you will be empathetic, considerate, and sensitive to various cultures; commitment to quality; and the ability to work independently and take initiative, but also be an enthusiastic team player.

• Tertiary qualification in Psychology, Social Work, Counselling, or equivalent; combined with relevant work experience and a demonstrated commitment to the safety and wellbeing of students. (essential)
• Working with Children Check (essential)
• Awareness of and experience with cultural issues facing international students, and an ability to communicate effectively and sensitively regarding these issues
• Possession of appropriate people skills and an ability to apply people skills in a cross-cultural context
• Positive and supportive communication style with experience across a variety of key stakeholders
• Ability to plan, control, coordinate and manage activities with minimal supervision
• Excellent verbal and written communication
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office products and the ability to quickly learn new systems
• Being available outside standard business hours in exceptional circumstances such as critical incidents involving students
• Previous experience of volume caseloads within an educational capacity (desirable)

Applications close 19th November 2025

Kaplan and the University of Newcastle

Kaplan is one of the world’s leading providers of lifelong education, helping over one million students around the globe achieve their educational and career goals each year.

Kaplan International Pathways guides more than 20,000 international students to 35 partner universities around the world each year. The on-campus pathway college commenced delivery in Newcastle in early 2021 and is growing from strength to strength.

Join us at Kaplan and enjoy a great benefits package, our culture of inclusivity, and our support of our peoples’ personal, professional & academic development.

Background-Check Notice & Declaration

Kaplan and many of its major clients operate in highly regulated environments. This requires us to be proactive and diligent in relation to personnel background checks and to undertake thorough vetting of candidates for roles of this nature. To enable Kaplan to assess a candidate’s suitability for this role, each candidate will be required to answer pre-screening questions, and, if you receive a conditional offer of employment, you will be required to undertake the relevant background checks (unless Kaplan determines otherwise). These checks may include one or more of the following: verification of identity, working rights, criminal history, qualifications, and working with children clearance. If you are shortlisted, Kaplan will advise you which checks are required for this role and explain how you will undertake the checks. Kaplan is committed to handling your personal information appropriately. Please see the Privacy Policy at Kaplan.edu.au for information about how Kaplan may handle your personal information in connection with this application process. 

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