Behavior Specialist (Contractor)

By The Hand Club For Kids is a Christian, after-school program that emphasizes academic excellence while nurturing the whole child—mind, body, and soul. Located in Chicago’s most under-resourced neighborhoods, By The Hand helps children have abundant life. The culture is Christ-centered, people-focused, and results-oriented. Joining By The Hand’s mission means impacting the trajectory of generations by helping students succeed academically, practice personal accountability, and grow in their understanding of God and relationship with Jesus.

By The Hand is a not-for-profit, religious organization. Individuals employed at By The Hand perform ministerial roles, including sharing the Gospel, teaching chapel, leading Bible studies, discipling students, and modeling Christ-like behavior.

About the role

Behavior Specialists lead and provide direct care to a cohort of students to promote their behavioral, social-emotional, and spiritual development. They implement individualized behavior intervention strategies, provide behavioral coaching and support, monitor student progress, and collaborate with families, schools, and staff to help students achieve target behaviors. This position requires a compassionate, highly relational leader committed to youth development, behavior support, discipleship, and student success. This role reports to the Director of SEL.

Responsibilities

• Perform in a way consistent with the vision, mission, and culture of By The Hand, committing to excellence in all aspects of the operation.
• Model the cultural values of By The Hand Club For Kids in day-to-day behavior.
• Follow all policies outlined in the operational guide, including maintaining brand standards and 100% adherence to the Child Protection Policy.
• Adhere to the Student Behavior Policy and classroom management training to help students stay on task.
• Build positive relationships with parents/guardians and teachers to ensure the best care for each child.
• Seek independent learning opportunities to grow in skills.
• Provide strong mentorship (one-on-one or in small groups).
• Implement individualized behavior support plans and intervention strategies under the direction of the Director of SEL.
• Provide one-on-one and small-group behavioral coaching for students with social, emotional, and behavioral needs.
• Utilize evidence-based behavior management strategies, including positive reinforcement, prompting, modeling, de-escalation, and skill acquisition techniques to improve student engagement and self-regulation.
• Collect, analyze, and maintain accurate behavioral documentation, progress monitoring, and incident reports while ensuring timely submission.
• Collaborate with Site Leadership, Team Leaders, families, schools, and the Director of SEL to ensure consistent implementation of behavior support strategies across school, Club, and home environments.
• Reinforce communication, social, emotional regulation, adaptive behavior, executive functioning, and replacement skills through daily programming.
• Participate in ongoing supervision, coaching, and professional development related to behavior intervention, trauma-informed care, restorative practices, and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA).
• Maintain a safe, structured, and engaging environment while responding appropriately to behavioral crises using approved de-escalation techniques.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Education, Psychology, Social Work, Counseling, Special Education, Human Services, Ministry, or a related field.
• 2+ years working with youth in educational, behavioral health, youth development, or social service settings.
• Experience implementing Behavior Intervention Plans preferred.
• Current Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) certification preferred, or willingness to obtain certification within an established timeframe.
• Experience using Google Workspace and electronic documentation systems.

Skills

• Passion and commitment for urban student transformation, confidence to lead in challenging situations, and belief that all children can learn.
• Outstanding problem-solving skills with an orientation toward results, action, impact, and influence.
• Ability to work both as a team player and independently.
• Proven ability to work under tight deadlines and multitask effectively.
• Outstanding time management and communication skills.
• Demonstrated strong relationship-building skills with children and adults.
• Strong knowledge of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), trauma-informed practices, social-emotional learning, and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) principles.
• Ability to implement individualized behavior intervention plans with consistency and professionalism.
• Strong observation, documentation, and behavioral data collection skills, including quality note-taking.
• Ability to de-escalate challenging behaviors while maintaining positive relationships with students.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills when working with families, schools, and multidisciplinary teams.

Metrics

• Behavior support plans are implemented with fidelity for assigned students at least 95% of the time, as verified through observations and documentation audits.
• 95% of behavioral documentation and progress monitoring reports are completed accurately and submitted on time.
• Assigned students demonstrate a 25% reduction in behavioral incidents and at least 80% show measurable growth in targeted social-emotional competencies over the program year.
• 90% of required family, school, and multidisciplinary team communications and meetings are completed within established timelines, with positive collaboration documented.
• 100% of required SEL and behavior intervention training is completed by established deadlines, with evidence of implementation reflected in performance observations.

Pay

$25 per hour for 8 hours per week for 32 weeks per year.

Work Environment

This job operates in a professional office environment and routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, photocopiers, and filing cabinets. The role requires in-person attendance as agreed upon by your immediate supervisor.

Physical Demands

• Regularly required to speak and listen.
• Ability to stand, walk, climb stairs, and move around the classroom and site.
• Tasks include lifting, bending, and repetitive motions like keyboarding for prolonged periods.
• May require moving equipment from room to room and lifting up to 50 pounds.
• Must actively engage with students throughout the day, including participating in floor activities, transitioning quickly between locations, implementing approved behavior support and crisis intervention techniques, and safely assisting students when necessary.
• Must maintain active supervision during indoor, outdoor, transportation, and community-based activities.