Head, Psychology and Wellness
Why Your Role Matters
The Head of Psychology and Wellbeing provides strategic leadership for UNSW’s Psychology and Wellbeing Service, Student Support Advisor program, Complex Case Management Service, and mental health intake, triage and brief intervention services.
This leadership role is focused on designing and delivering scalable, evidence-informed services that respond to the increasing complexity of student mental health and psychosocial needs. With a strong focus on prevention, early intervention, coordinated support, and student belonging, the role plays a critical part in shaping how UNSW supports students to navigate challenges and progress successfully through their studies.
As a core member of UNSW’s clinical governance group, the Head of Psychology and Wellbeing provides expert oversight of student mental health and wellbeing services, ensuring alignment with best-practice standards, legislative requirements, and UNSW’s values.
The role reports to the Director, Wellbeing and has four direct reports.
Key responsibilities include:
- Lead the design, delivery, and continuous improvement of UNSW’s integrated mental health, wellbeing, and psychosocial support service model
- Provide expert leadership across clinical governance, quality assurance, service strategy, demand management, and risk-informed practice
- Lead University-wide policies, frameworks, standards, and procedures relating to student mental health, wellbeing, psychosocial risk, and support services
- Build and lead high-performing multidisciplinary teams, supporting workforce capability, shared care pathways, and collaborative practice
- Oversee inclusive, trauma-informed, and accessible services that respond to diverse student needs, including priority and under-represented cohorts
- Develop and oversee stepped-care pathways and coordinated support for students with complex, acute, or escalating needs
- Strengthen strategic relationships with Faculties, accommodation, internal services, and external providers to support preventative and early intervention approaches
- Lead the University’s approach to student mental health risk, critical incidents, behavioural risk, and complex psychosocial matters
- Use service data, demand trends, outcomes, and emerging risks to provide strategic advice to senior leaders and governance committees
About You
You are an experienced mental health and wellbeing leader with a strong track record in leading multiple complex services, managing risk, and building high-performing multidisciplinary teams. You bring clinical credibility and a passion to support students’ mental health and wellbeing.
You are confident working with senior stakeholders, navigating complex organisational environments, and shaping service models that are safe, sustainable, inclusive, and responsive to evolving student needs. You will bring:
- Tertiary qualification in a relevant discipline e.g. Registered Nurse, Occupational Therapist, Psychologist, Clinical Psychologist or Social Worker
- Full and current AHPRA registration or equivalent professional body
- Demonstrated experience in people leadership, including leading multiple multidisciplinary teams, driving team performance, and effectively navigating complex team dynamics within a high-demand service environment.
- Demonstrated experience leading mental health, wellbeing, psychosocial support, and/or complex case management services
- Proven capability in risk identification, escalation, clinical governance, and risk-informed decision-making within mental health or wellbeing service contexts
- Experience developing or improving models of care, policies, frameworks, procedures, or initiatives that improve service quality, access, and outcomes
- Higher education experience is not essential; however, experience working with young adults is highly regarded, along with an understanding of the issues facing tertiary education students and the factors impacting student mental health, wellbeing, belonging, and success
- Experience managing operational demand, resourcing, budgets, and team’s performance
- Ability to analyse service data, trends, and activity reports to inform strategy, reform, and service improvement
This is a full-time permanent role. Working hours are Monday to Friday, business hours. The role is mostly onsite (1 day work from home possible).
Candidates will need to have full working rights – this role is not available for sponsorship. All candidates will need to have a valid police check and working with children check.
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