Core Candidate - Nature-Based Transpersonal Counseling
Position Title: Core Candidate – Nature-Based Transpersonal Counseling
# of Positions to Fill: 1
Department/Program : MTC Wilderness 12060
Remote Work Authorization: Hybrid On-Site/Remote
Campus Location: Nalanda Campus
Reports to: Dean Graduate School of Counseling
FLSA Classification: Exempt/Salaried
FTE: 100% (40 hrs/week)
Compensation: $55,000 - $70,000 commensurate with experience
Application Deadline: 6/18/25 or until filled.
Job Summary
Graduate School of Counseling (GSC) seeks to fill a full-time core faculty position in the Nature-Based Transpersonal Counseling (NBTC) concentration beginning July 1, 2025. The position includes administrative duties for the NBTC concentration, the Graduate School of Counseling, and the university, including but not limited to recruitment and admission, networking within the field of Wilderness Therapy and ecopsychology, assessment, and active engagement in the leadership of the TWT concentration.
Qualified applicants must be able to demonstrate consistent success in negotiating the pedagogical, clinical, research, administrative, and collaborative responsibilities of a faculty appointment within the degree concentration, within the Graduate School of Counseling (GSC), and within the structure of the university at large.
Job Duties & Responsibilities
• Teach 20 credits each academic year (approximately 10 each semester) in the Nature-Based Transpersonal Counseling (NBTC) concentration and potentially in other degree concentrations of the university. May include compensated administrative duties such as concentration Chair of NBTC.
• Attend and actively participate in all programmatic and school-wide meetings, as well as cocurricular events sponsored by the NBTC concentration.
• In concert with the NBTC leadership team, develop and conduct plans for assessment, community building, and ongoing curriculum development.
• Participate in the administrative operations, including but not limited to admissions interviews and events of the NBTC concentration.
• Engage in professional development that includes pedagogical approach, contemplative education, transpersonal education, and diversity/inclusivity.
• Hold regular office hours and meeting with students as needed outside of class time.
• Serve on and actively participate in appointed university committees.
• Understand and adhere to the policies, procedures, and protocols outlined in the Faculty and
Employee Handbooks.
• Contribute to the advancement of the counseling and NBTC fields through
professional involvement such as conference presentations, original research, and publications.
• Complete additional concentration and university duties as assigned.
Required qualifications:
• An earned graduate degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling or a related field.
• Licensed at the professional counselor (LPC) or equivalent level.
• Demonstrated understanding of the dynamics of privilege and oppression and the impact these have on equity, access, and opportunity in higher education/the workplace.
• Commitment to co-create an inclusive community and actively participate in related professional development, including openness to feedback and on-going self-examination.
• Three or more years of clinical experience as a counselor/psychotherapist and an understanding of the counseling field and those it serves.
• Teaching experience at the graduate level that is informed and enriched by clinical practice.
If applying for the rank of Core Candidate Associate Professor, the following qualifications are also required:
• Has achieved the rank of Associate Professor at another accredited university.
• Significant evidence of scholarly work such as professional presentations, publications, and/or a demonstrated interest in research.
• Demonstrated a record of exceptional institutional service and worked in leadership roles at a university.
Preferred qualifications:
• A doctoral degree or ABD from a graduate institution of recognized standing in counseling or counselor education from a CACREP-accredited program or have a related doctoral degree and have been employed as a full-time faculty member in a counselor education program for a minimum of one full academic year before July 1, 2013.
• Candidates will ideally have expert knowledge in at least one area of nature-based therapy, which may include but is not limited to wilderness therapy, adventure therapy, ecopsychology, ecotherapy, horticulture, animal assisted therapy, and/or earth-based rituals. Areas of expertise may also include food justice, environmental justice, climate change or natural disaster response and their clinical applications. This may include an ability and willingness to teach in backcountry settings, including being certified as a Wilderness First Responder.
• Preferred candidates will have a familiarity with mindfulness, especially in nature, and its application to counseling.
• Licensed or eligible for licensure in the State of Colorado at the professional counselor (LPC) and ability to hold ACS (Approved Clinical Supervisor).
Physical Requirements & Environmental Conditions:
Faculty members spend most of their time in their classrooms or in virtual meetings with some time in offices. In the classrooms and on campus faculty may experience interruptions, distractions, heat, cold, dust and/or dampness. As a faculty member, you may spend extended periods in front of students and speaking as well as:
• Reading academic texts and materials, student papers, etc.
• Operating personal computer and audio-visual equipment.
• Standing or sitting for hours at a time.
• Moving around campus for classes and meetings
Naropa recognizes the following holidays throughout the year: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Fall Break, 4th Thursday and Friday in November, and Winter Break, the last two weeks in December encompassing the Christmas holiday as well as New Year’s.
Naropa’s health and welfare benefits include the following: medical, dental, vision, FSA, HSA, employer-paid short-term and long-term disability, employer-paid life insurance and accidental death and dismemberment, an employer-sponsored pre-tax retirement savings plan, which includes up to 2.5% employer matching, and a variety of voluntary, employee-paid supplemental insurance plans.
A comprehensive benefits package is available to full-time employees who work a minimum of 30 hours each week. Employees who work 20 – 29 hours each week are eligible for only the employer-paid short-term & long-term disability, employer-paid life insurance & accidental death and dismemberment, and the retirement plan, which includes up to 2.5% employer matching.
Employees who work fewer than 20 hours per week are eligible to participate in Naropa’s retirement plan only, which includes up to 2.5% employer matching.
All regular full-time and part-time faculty and staff, including student workers, accrue sick leave benefits. Full-time and part-time staff positions accrue vacation and personal time. All leave accrual rates vary based on the position, hours worked, and years of service.
The University recognizes the importance of including its employees in its organizational mission and values and welcomes employees into the classroom to “touch the magic.” Specifically, regular employees are provided generous tuition remission opportunities for themselves and their family members.
Naropa University participates in the Council of Independent Colleges Tuition Exchange Program (CIC-TEP). CIC-TEP is a network of CIC colleges and universities willing to accept, tuition-free, students from families of full-time employees of other CIC participating institutions (full-time as designated by the employer/institution). Additional information can be found here: https://www.cic.edu/member-services/tuition-exchange-program.
Naropa University is an equal opportunity, non-discriminatory employer and Title IX is a federal civil rights law that prohibits gender discrimination, sexual harassment, sexual and relationship violence. This law applies to all students, faculty, and staff.