Lead Counselor-YCP

The Florida Department of Military Affairs is seeking a Lead Counselor for the Youth Challenge Program (YCP). The mission of the Florida Department of Military Affairs is to provide management oversight of the Florida National Guard and provide units and personnel ready to support national security objectives; to protect the public safety of citizens and to contribute to the national, state and community programs that add value to the United States of America and to the State of Florida.

The Florida Youth Challenge Academy's mission is to provide a highly disciplined and motivational environment, free from outside distractions, which fosters academics, leadership, development, personal growth, self-esteem, and physical fitness for qualifying high school dropouts.

The benefits include health insurance, life insurance, dental, vision, and supplemental insurance, retirement benefits, vacation and sick leave, paid holidays, opportunities for career advancement, tuition waiver for public college courses, training opportunities, and more. For benefit information available to State of Florida employees, go to

Conditions of employment include passing a pre-employment drug screening, participating in a direct deposit/electronic transfer program, being paid on a monthly basis, and being a cooperative agreement position. Candidates may be required to provide documentation to verify meeting minimum qualifications and must pass a Department of Juvenile Justice background screening/test, have a valid state of Florida driver's license, and obtain First Aid/CPR certification within six months of employment.

To be considered for this position, application must be fully completed, your responses to qualifying questions for this position must be verifiable by documentation provided through the electronic application process and clearly stated within the employment history.

Minimum requirements include a master's degree from an accredited college or university in psychology, sociology, counseling or related field and two years of professional experience in counseling, social work, human services, case management, or related field; or a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in psychology, sociology, counseling, or related field and four years of professional experience in counseling, social work, human services, case management, or related field; or an associate's degree from an accredited college or university with major coursework in psychology, sociology, counseling, or related field and six years of professional experience in counseling, social work, human services, case management, or related field; or a high school diploma and eight years of professional experience in counseling, social work, human services, case management, or related field. Must be licensed with the state of Florida as a counselor, LMHC, LCSW, LPC, or LPCC. Experience with DSM-5.

Preferred qualifications include bilingual in Spanish, knowledge of laws relating to children and families, minimum of two years of experience working with at-risk youth, and experience managing or supervising employees.

Duties and responsibilities include reviewing applications and sitting on interview panels for prospective cadets, providing individual and group counseling of cadets, developing and monitoring departmental policies and procedures, resolving difficulties between clients and other personnel, providing supervision to subordinate counselors, planning workloads, deadlines, work objectives, and time utilization with employees, evaluating employees, training and coaching employees, and developing and teaching curriculum for life skills and job skills.

Knowledge, skills, and abilities include knowledge of management principles, counseling techniques and practices, human and public relations, experience working with at-risk youth, professional ethics relating to counseling, and ability to manage and supervise a department in a fast-paced environment.