Social-Emotional Support Specialist

Position: Social-Emotional Support Specialist

Department: Child Development

Reports to: Inclusion Manager

Status:   Exempt          Non-Exempt  X

Summary of Position: 

The Social-Emotional Support Specialist provides direct support to children in classroom settings by teaching social-emotional skills and supporting children with challenging behavior. This position works collaboratively with teacher, administrators, and mental health providers to support children’s learning and safety.

Primary Responsibilities Include: 

• Provide direct one to one support to individual children in classrooms by teaching social-emotional skills, modeling strategies for teachers, and supporting children when they engage in behaviors that can be challenging to some adults. 
• Participate in meetings with staff to assist in planning for individualized learning strategies to build relationships, modify the classroom environment, and teach social-emotional skills.
• Create individualized visual supports to use, model, and share with teachers (e.g. visuals relating to schedules, expectations, rules, emotions, problem solving strategies, self-regulation).
• Individualize goals, strategies, and visuals to support children with developmental delays or disabilities.
• Model strategies from the Pyramid Model and other Social Emotional Frameworks.
• Provide and maintain a record of written classroom observation.
• Record and analyze data relating to children’s behavior and skill building. 
• Contact community partners to access external support as directed by supervisor.
• Perform other duties as assigned.
• Maintain confidentiality.

Knowledge/Experience/Skills Required: 

• Minimum of 3 years’ experience teaching or providing therapeutic, services to children 0-5 years old from low income, diverse cultural backgrounds.
• Knowledge and education regarding developmentally appropriate practices.
• Experience providing individualized support to children with developmental delays or disabilities (e.g., autism, speech and language impairment).
• Excellent oral/written communication and organizational skills.
• Ability to communicate using technology, develop reports, and track data.
• Willingness to travel to Child Development Centers located across San Francisco.
• Preferred: Experience working with young children in group or classroom settings.

Education Required:

• Bachelor’s degree  or equivalent amount of units to a major (24 units) in Special Education, Early Childhood Education, Social Work, Psychology, or a closely related field