Wellbeing Educator – Alcohol and Other Drugs

Job Description:

Amherst College invites applications for the Wellbeing Educator – Alcohol and Other Drugs position. The Wellbeing Educator – Alcohol and Other Drugs is a full-time, year-round position, starting at $61,545 per year. Given Amherst’s distinction as one of the most diverse liberal arts colleges in the country, the successful candidate will demonstrate the ways in which they bring value to and will work towards supporting a broadly diverse community.

Working as part of the Residential Engagement and Wellbeing Team (REWT), the Wellbeing Educator (WBE) will work as part of a multidisciplinary team to build on and advance the connection of our highly diverse student body to their environment and each other.   This team is part of the larger structure in student affairs that is working to center wellbeing in the living and learning environment of Amherst College.  The REWT bases its work in the tenants of the Okanagan Charter for Health Promoting Colleges and Universities. The WBE works at all levels of the socio-ecological model and utilizes a public health approach rooted in social justice to improve the health and wellbeing of our campus community.

Under the direction of the Associate Director of Health and Wellbeing, the (WBE) works as part of a team to advance a culture of wellbeing by developing, implementing, and assessing a theory-based, evidence- and trauma-informed, comprehensive campus-wide strategy to improve wellbeing. The REWT Wellbeing Educators have focus areas in sexual respect, alcohol and other substances misuse and prevention, sexuality and safer sex, and related topics related to skill development and environmental change.  Other topics prioritized by the REWT  include sleep, body image, belonging, connection, and coping mechanisms.  Working together the WBEs create offerings and initiatives that are supportive of and build skills to enhance wellbeing, reduce harm, and build a positive campus culture.  The WBEs will design health promotion initiatives that are responsive to the intersectional identities and needs of our diverse student population and recognize the many factors that influence their collective abilities to maintain and access health.  The WBEs’ work should foster students’ ability to achieve a balanced, self-aware, and health-enhancing state that allows for full engagement in their collegiate experience.

The work of the REWT is to create opportunities for our community to engage with and understand the intersections and connections of identity(ies), social justice, and culture and how they impact health and wellbeing. This work is rooted in addressing the needs of historically marginalized populations.  We take a broad view of wellbeing and incorporate the dynamics of a diverse community and address intersections of identity including, but not limited to, gender, race, economic status, and gender and sexual identity.  The REWT collaborates with a variety of campus partners to enhance student experiences on campus in shaping their education beyond the curriculum. In addition, the WBEs supervises peer educators who provide education and skill building programs to the Amherst College Community.

This position contributes to the creation of a campus community that centers wellbeing and promotes a culture of respect, self-awareness, and healthy decision making.  The work encourages and supports our students to grow and learn academically, socially, and emotionally.  In collaboration with other members of the REWT and other campus partners, the WBEs will respond to emergent health concerns and crisis situations.