Student Counsellor

About Riyadh University of Arts

Riyadh University of Arts (RUA) is an institution focused on cross-cultural arts education and creative innovation. It aims to foster ideas that inspire progress and transform society through industry and academic collaboration, rethinking creative education, and creating an environment for global ideas to flourish. RUA's vision is to be a beacon of knowledge, integrating culture and arts, and empowering students while fostering creativity and cultural exchange. The university's mission is to cultivate an innovative educational environment in culture and arts, delivering programs that enrich both Saudi and global communities.

Role Summary

Riyadh University of Arts is seeking a Student Counsellor to join its Admissions, Registration, and Student Affairs team in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This full-time role requires 2-5 years of experience. The Student Counsellor will provide professional, confidential, and student-centred counselling and wellbeing support to RUA students, addressing personal, emotional, social, and academic challenges that may impact their wellbeing, learning, university experience, and personal development.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide confidential one-to-one counselling and wellbeing support to students.
• Assess student needs and provide appropriate counselling, support, follow-up, and referrals.
• Support students experiencing stress, anxiety, adjustment difficulties, interpersonal concerns, and academic pressure.
• Maintain appropriate and confidential student case records in accordance with professional standards and university policies.
• Identify students requiring specialist psychological, psychiatric, medical, or other professional support and facilitate appropriate referrals.
• Recognise and appropriately escalate safeguarding, crisis, and high-risk cases.
• Develop and deliver proactive wellbeing workshops, awareness activities, and self-guided resources.
• Support initiatives addressing mental health awareness, resilience, stress management, and healthy adjustment to university life.
• Contribute to programs addressing performance anxiety, creative pressure, perfectionism, confidence, critique, and resilience among students in creative disciplines.
• Work collaboratively with other specialists and academic colleagues while maintaining student confidentiality.
• Contribute to identifying emerging student wellbeing needs and improving RUA's support services.

Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate is empathetic, approachable, and professionally grounded. This role requires an understanding that effective university counselling involves both responsive support and proactive initiatives. The successful candidate will contribute to a culture where students feel comfortable seeking support early, develop greater resilience and independence, and have access to resources to thrive personally, academically, and creatively. Given RUA's focus on arts and cultural education, the role requires sensitivity to the experiences of students in creative disciplines, including performance pressure, critique, rejection, creative confidence, identity development, workload, collaboration, public performance, and the emotional demands of creative practice.

Experience and Qualifications

• Professionally qualified in counselling or a related field.
• 2-5 years of relevant experience in student counselling or wellbeing support.
• Demonstrated ability to provide individual support and case management.
• Experience contributing to preventative and proactive wellbeing initiatives.

Working at RUA

RUA serves as a platform for discovery, talent development, and a gateway for Saudi art and culture. As the first institution of its kind in the MENA region, RUA contributes to shaping Saudi Arabia’s cultural ecosystem and creative economy, aligning with Saudi Vision 2030.