Featured job: Director of Studies (Senior Management) at Metanoia Institute

Professor Simon du Plock, Head of the Faculty of Post-Qualification and Professional Doctorates at the Metanoia Institute, tells me: ‘We’re looking for an ambitious counselling psychologist who has the skills to work cooperatively in a small senior team with responsibility for the day-to-day management of the DCPsych. The successful applicant will additionally act as a change agent to help refresh and redesign the programme ahead of our next BPS reaccreditation in summer 2019.'

The Institute, based close to Ealing Common in London, has trained people in the psychological therapies for over 30 years. It presently has around 1200 students and candidates on a wide range of part-time undergraduate and postgraduate courses, in areas ranging from counselling and psychotherapy to coaching and therapeutic writing.

Simon leads a Faculty that comprises four doctoral programmes – a Doctorate in Psychotherapy by Professional Studies, a Doctorate in Psychotherapy by Public Works, and, most recently, an MPhil/PhD, alongside the DCPsych.

The Director of Studies (Senior Management) role reports to Simon and the postholder will join a well-established staff team. The DCPsych programme has run successfully for 12 years, and currently has 160 candidates.

Simon explained the job’s core. ‘The incoming Director of Studies will work closely with me and with the Director of Studies (Research). The role we’re now advertising will lead on teaching and day-to-day management and, crucially, the postholder will also have the opportunity to bring their ability to be innovative and their professional vision to bear.

‘The ideal applicant will have some experience of programme management – not necessarily at doctoral level, but we want someone to whom this is not new territory.

‘The successful candidate will also have experience as a clinician. This will inform their teaching. We also want to recruit someone who is research active and, again, this will inform both teaching and programme management decisions.’

The Institute has a diverse range of students and candidates. ‘But it’s not like a huge university – colleagues at all levels get to know each other here. And the management team is extremely accessible. If you want someone’s opinion or to discuss something with them, you can easily access them.’

Simon returns to his view of the calibre of person Metanoia is looking for: ‘I think this is genuinely an opportunity for an ambitious person to influence the future of the DCPsych, and in the process help shape the profession of counselling psychology too. The right person really will find they can have a significant impact. And since Metanoia is growing, they will have the opportunity to join in our success. ‘

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