Santa Hires a Health and Wellness Director

Self-care is like refilling the pitcher from which you pour. If you do not care for yourself, you may begin to dry up, crack, and crumble. As career coaches, we demonstrate compassion for our clients daily. We listen to their stories of job loss, stress over finding new roles, daunting job searches (and “ghosting”), and more. We must be careful not to carry these burdens home with us.  As people, we may care for a spouse, children, a home, aging parents, friends, sick or disabled family members, and more. 

Self-care does not necessarily mean spending money and buying things. It may mean taking up a hobby or completing a hobby project, such as a crossword or jigsaw puzzle, woodworking, car maintenance, sewing, crocheting, crafts, or reading.

For some, it means walking briskly, joining an exercise class, or taking up dance lessons. For others, it may mean cooking, decorating, or cleaning and organizing. Disorganization and clutter can contribute to stress. Some people like vacuuming and seeing the neat lines it leaves across the carpet – it can be very fulfilling.

Some people need to be alone, others need to hang out with a friend, and yet others need to be at a party with many people. Some people need to binge-watch a favorite TV program or movie to destress.  

Self-care is essential to mental and physical health and overall well-being.

As you may remember, throughout the year as Santa’s head career coach and employment specialist, along with the Grinch who serves as the North Pole’s Chief Motivational Officer (CMO), we manage hiring, talent management, training, onboarding, and more for Santa, the Elves, Flying Reindeer, and operations for Toy Making, Cooking Making & Baking, Gift Wrapping, Delivery, and much more. 

As operations ramp up considerably in December, the Elves and Santa often become stressed to meet the holiday deadlines. The thousands of Elves at the North Pole become tired and overwhelmed by the end of the year. As such, Santa decided to pursue hiring a wellness coach for the North Pole community. 

We developed a position description and a goal to identify a practitioner with multiple qualifications, spanning nutrition, exercise, and therapy. 

Before we posted the position publicly on job boards, we reached out to our networks to see if anyone in our networks had the required credentials. The Grinch took the position description home to Whoville, where he met with his dear friend, Cindy Lou Who. As it turns out, she had exactly the credentials we sought for the North Pole’s Health and Wellness program. However, we needed to determine whether she was willing to move to the North Pole and provide the services Santa and his community require. 

Cindy Lou Who’s résumé was spot-on for the position we sought to fill and up to date. We invited Cindy Lou to the North Pole to meet Santa and the management team, discuss the Health & Wellness Director position, and see if we could convince her to accept the position and move to the North Pole. 

We sent Santa’s sleigh with some of the Flying Reindeer in-training to transport Cindy Lou from Whoville. At the North Pole, we greeted her with Mrs. Claus’ cookies, hot chocolate to warm her after the cold ride, and provided hospitality. We introduced her to the management team, including Directors for Toy Making, Cooking Making, Delivery, Gift Wrapping, and Flying Reindeer operations. We toured her through the toy-making facility to meet many of the Elves. 

After the tour, we met with Cindy Lou to hear her impression of the need for a Health & Wellness program at the North Pole. 

Fortunately, Cindy Lou was very interested in accepting the position at the North Pole as the Health & Wellness Director and Head Coach. She was accustomed to living in cold, snowy conditions. Santa and I negotiated a favorable compensation package for her. She returned one month later to begin Operation Health & Wellness for the Elves. 

Cindy Lou was very qualified for the position, and she started strong by designing nutritional programs and menus, instituting regular exercise and stress reduction activities, including meditation and reading. She also introduced many exercise programs and activities, including group dancing, workouts, Elf Olympics, team and individual sporting events, including dog mushing and skiing, ice skating and hockey, curling, and more. 

Within six months, the Elves collectively lost hundreds of pounds; there were 20% fewer visits to the doctor; and morale was elevated by 32% across all operations, driven by increased productivity. 

As always, Best Wishes for a very joyous holiday season and a prosperous New Year – Coach Diane

Keep an eye out for Santa: Track my flight path this year with NORAD (North American Aero Space Defense Command) at: noradsanta.org or Norad.mil

SANTA TWO How am I flying? Complement or Concern Call: 1-800-NORTH-POLE NPDOT

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JOB VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT / POSITION DESCRIPTION

Reference Code: Operation Health & Wellness

Job Title: Health & Wellness Director

Location: North Pole

Position Description

Santa is seeking a Mental Health and Wellness  Director / Counselor / Therapist / Coach to heal the minds and bring wellness to the bodies of the Elves and others at the North Pole. Applicants should be able to provide compassionate and personalized client experiences. 

About Our Ideal Candidate

We seek a head coach/director or counselor who loves what they do, knows why they do it, and has skills and tools in evidence-based practices, with training in proven modalities. The new head coach/director will need to appreciate the joy of the holidays and have a passion for serving thousands of Elves working at the North Pole who experience exhaustion at the end of the year following on-schedule toy delivery services globally.

Responsibilities and Job Description

• Develop and promote engaging nutrition, exercise, and mental health programs (nutrition is critical as the Elves enjoy Mrs. Claus’ cookies and hot chocolate year-round)
• Develop nutritional menus
• Manage, motivate, and supervise staff. Coordinate care and service with all key stakeholders (Directors of Toy Making, Cookie Making & Baking, Gift Wrapping, Flying Reindeer, and other operations at the North Pole, as well as Santa, Mrs. Claus, The Grinch, and others), and other resources as needed to serve the Elves best
• Provide superior client service and collaborate with an engaging team, including The Grinch, to meet and fulfill Santa’s mission
• Prepare and present varied training on exercise, nutrition, and mental health
• Evaluate mental health diagnoses, create and implement treatment plans, complete ongoing documentation, treatment plan reviews, and case notes according to company policy
• Use creative and evidence-based interventions to help clients achieve and exceed goals
• License as a mental health professional with requisite education
• Total commitment to providing the highest level of service, bringing unique ideas to the table to better serve our North Pole community
• Prefer candidates who leverage a holistic approach to wellness, nutrition, and exercise

Benefits

Sweet Benefits, Perks & Stocking Options

• All expenses paid Santa’s sleigh ride to the home of origin for a 2-month R&R from February to March
• 401(k) with 7% employer match. Multiple bonus programs, including profit sharing
• Lodging and meals, including Gingerbread, Candy Canes, and Mrs. Claus’ cookies and hot cocoa
• Nightly display of colorful flickering lights dancing across the sky
• Classes in Time Travel
• Flying Reindeer Rides
• One annual dental cleaning
• On-site fitness center and beautifully maintained walking paths across the frozen tundra and permafrost
• Tuition Assistance Program that covers professional continuing education

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CINDY LOU WHO

Whoville | 555-222-555 | [email protected]

Target: North Pole Health & Wellness Director 

QUALIFICATIONS

Licensed Counselor | Nutritionist | Fitness Trainer | Health & Wellness Influencer | Holistic Approaches 

Trauma-Informed Therapy | Marriage & Family Therapy | Strong Clinical Skills 

• Licensed marriage and family counselor with 10+ years of experience in evidence-based therapies. Committed to collaborating with clients to achieve therapeutic goals and increase client satisfaction through effective communication and engagement. 

• Care for people through health, fitness, nutrition, and therapy. Combined expertise in therapy, nutrition, and fitness to bring harmony to work-life balance and wellness to all clients. 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Family and Trauma Counselor | Rocky Mountain | Whoville | forever to present

• Conduct individual and family therapy sessions for a caseload of 25+ clients per week.
• Use Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and the Narrative Therapy Technique to help clients heal.
• Initiated effective outreach campaigns and community engagement efforts, increasing program participation by 42%, which led to hiring a new practitioner.  

Dietitian Nutritionist | Whoville Hospital 

• Spearheaded the development of nutritional plans for up to 500 patients. 

• Advanced dietary guidelines adherence by more than 47% meeting hospital regulations.
• Coached a nutrition team to create a weight management program using DropIt! This allowed for an average weight loss of 11% among new participants. 
• Leveraged the Healthier platform to provide nutritional counseling sessions to 65% more patients. 

Nutrition Educator | Whoville Community

• Current with health and nutrition news. Expert advisor to community officials and medical professionals. 
• Led nutritional assessment in underserved populations using proprietary dietary platforms. Identified nutritional deficiencies in 80% of cases.
• Built a nutrition training program for the community, correcting nutritional deficiencies in 45% of cases.
• Initiated a fitness campaign and step challenge. Introduced electronic monitoring for nutrition and fitness, including daily steps. Increased overall community steps by 18% by promoting health and wellness. 
• Trained healthcare professionals in using the electronic healthcare records system.

Certified Personal Fitness Trainer | Body Shop | Whoville  

• Provided personal training and nutrition guidance to clients. Supported clients to meet their overall health and fitness goals, including losing weight, creating balanced nutritional packages, cooking, and exercising.
• Designed group training programs in fitness and nutrition. Marketed, sold, and advanced class size to 10 people per class. Introduced six new class topics, selling out all sessions.
• Devised training programs using the functional movement system to help clients lose weight or gain muscle. 
• Coached and trained clients from 18 to 85 to improve their fitness level and movement patterns for other sports, including golf, tennis, biking, skiing, swimming, pickleball, and hiking. 
• Worked with clients with joint replacements and injuries. 

EDUCATION & CERTIFICATIONS

• MS in Marriage and Family Therapy | MS in Nutritional Sciences | BA in Psychology 
• Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LFMT) | Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP) 
• Certified Personal Trainer | Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS)
• Registered Dietitian | Certified Nutrition Coach