Behavior Specialist

Overview

Are you passionate about promoting social-emotional development and supporting children, families, and educators? Join our team as a Behavior Specialist, where you'll play a key role in delivering comprehensive mental health services and fostering inclusive, nurturing environments for young children. You’ll serve as a leader in implementing the Pyramid Model and Infant Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMHC) practices, working collaboratively with families, educators, and administrators to ensure children reach their developmental goals.

Key Responsibilities

As a Behavior Specialist, you will:

1. Case Management: Address behavioral and social/emotional screening concerns, coordinating follow-up meetings to support children, families, and staff.
2. Data Analysis: Collect, enter, and analyze data to monitor progress and improve practices.
3. Teacher Collaboration: Meet with teachers to review behavior incident reports and conduct child and classroom observations.
4. Reflective Practice: Use reflective strategies to provide individualized, constructive feedback to caregivers.
5. Model Best Practices: Demonstrate Pyramid Model techniques in classroom and home settings.
6. Behavior Plans: Develop, implement, and monitor behavior intervention plans following the PTR-YC model.
7. Relationship Building: Cultivate positive, strengths-based relationships with families, staff, and mental health providers.
8. Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Partner with teams to offer guidance and ensure comprehensive support across all child and family services.
9. Training and Development: Facilitate training sessions on social-emotional development and Pyramid Model practices.
10. Travel: Provide on-site support to families and staff at multiple locations.
11. Assessment and Standards: Achieve and maintain reliability in CLASS, TPOT, and TPITOS observations.
12. Compliance: Uphold confidentiality and adhere to governmental regulations and laws.
13. Other Duties: Perform additional responsibilities as assigned.

About Us:

At Centro de la Familia, we are not just educators, we are dream builders. Our warm, vibrant environment is designed to cultivate curious minds, explore boundless possibilities, and create lasting memories. We believe that every child is a unique story waiting to be written, and we take pride in walking alongside families as trusted partners in early learning and development.  Just as we nurture the potential of every child, we are deeply committed to supporting the growth and success of our staff. At Centro, you’re more than an employee—your part of a mission-driven family that values your voice, your expertise, and your well-being.  

Why Work with Us:

• Great Pay & Benefits – Competitive compensation and benefits to support your well-being.
• Growth & Training – Ongoing professional development, certifications, and career pathways.
• Mentorship & Support – Team-based guidance from experienced mentors and coaches.
• Work-Life Balance – Positive, respectful environment with support for healthy boundaries.
• Wellness & Belonging – Inclusive culture with wellness programs and team-building.
• Appreciation – Regular recognition of your hard work and dedication.

Why You'll Love It Here:

We are passionate about our work and the incredible children and families we have the privilege to support. We have been dedicated to Community and Family Engagement since 1975, have been operating Head Start Programs since 1991, and have experience managing programs in challenging, isolated, and underserved areas. Our curricula and programs are rooted in science, and we are committed to the professional growth of minority communities. Plus, our team includes bilingual and bicultural staff to ensure inclusive and culturally sensitive care. 

• Bachelor’s degree in psychology, social work, or a related field.
• Experience implementing the Pyramid Model or similar social-emotional frameworks.
• Familiarity with the Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Social Emotional screening tool.
• In-depth knowledge of child development, mental health consultation, and behavior management strategies.
• Experience working with children aged 0-5 in educational or therapeutic settings.
• Strong communication, consultation, and collaboration skills.
• Ability to analyze and report data to inform and improve practices.

Preferred:

Experience with Head Start Performance Standards and early childhood regulations.

Prior experience working with children and families from diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds.