Child Life Specialist

Alberta Health Services; Calgary; On-site; CAD 60,000 - 80,000; Part time

Job summary

A healthcare authority in Calgary is seeking a Child Life Specialist to join the team at the Alberta Children's Hospital. This vital role involves providing therapeutic interventions and support for children and families facing hospitalization. The ideal candidate will have a bachelor's degree in Child Life or a related field, along with ACLP certification and clinical experience in pediatric healthcare. This is a part-time temporary position with a focus on delivering family-centered care through developmentally appropriate programming.

Qualifications

• Experience as a Child Life Specialist in a pediatric acute care setting.
• Clinical experience in emergency department and PICU.
• Experience prioritizing referrals from multiple program areas.

Responsibilities

• Plan, develop, implement, evaluate developmental and normalization activities.
• Provide therapeutic play programs to reduce stress and aid coping.
• Assist children in preparation for medical procedures.
• Facilitate special events and diversion experiences.

Skills

Non-pharmacological pain management techniques

Therapeutic group program facilitation

Teaching and delivering educational material

Functioning in a multidisciplinary team

Education

Bachelor's degree in Child Life, Education, Psychology or related field

ACLP Child Life certification

Job description

Your Opportunity:

The Alberta Children's Hospital (ACH) is a warm & vibrant workplace, with team members providing service to children & their families in inpatient units & ambulatory clinics. The Child Life Specialist, as part of the ACH site wide Child Life Service, ensures their clinical practice is patient/family centered, maximizes the child’s physical and emotional health through activities and interventions that are evidence based, research informed and aligned with program and clinic services. The Child Life Specialist is responsible for assessment and interventions which support children and their families with coping and adjustment in the hospital setting across emergency, inpatient, and outpatient services. This individual will have the skills required to utilize knowledge of infant/child/adolescent development, the impact of hospitalization on children, pain management and coping techniques, and the principles of family centered care in interacting and intervening with pediatric patients. The Child Life Specialist works as part of an interdisciplinary team providing therapeutic interventions in response to referrals and within the context of regular program offerings. This position will be supporting the Emergency Department, however work allocation can be subject to change based on operational needs.

Description:

As a Child Life Specialist, you will plan, develop, implement, coordinate and evaluate developmental and normalization activities including therapeutic play programs in order to further the social, emotional, intellectual and physical growth of children and adolescents. You will assess, research, plan, implement and evaluate appropriate play and developmental activities/interventions for children and families (both individual and in group settings). You will provide therapeutic play programs designed to reduce stress, help clients cope with hospitalization, promote development and independence. You will help prepare children for diagnostic, medical and surgical procedures through hospital play, demonstrations and discussions and introduce coping strategies and techniques to assist children and families during procedures. You will also provide diversion experiences and facilitate special events.

Job Details:

• Classification: Child Life Specialist
• Union: HSAA Facility PROF/TECH
• Unit and Program: Child Life, Allied Health
• Primary Location: Alberta Children's Hospital
• Location Details: As Per Location
• Multi-Site: Not Applicable
• FTE: 0.70
• Posting End Date: 31-DEC-2025
• Temporary Employee Class: Temp P/T Benefits
• Date Available: 05-FEB-2026
• Temporary End Date: 30-JUL-2027
• Hours per Shift: 10.83
• Length of Shift in weeks: 2
• Shifts per cycle: 5
• Shift Pattern: Days, Evenings, Weekends
• Days Off: As Per Rotation
• Minimum Salary: $39.62
• Maximum Salary: $52.76
• Vehicle Requirement: Not Applicable

Required Qualifications:

Completion of bachelor's degree in Child Life, Education, Psychology or other related field.

Additional Required Qualifications:

ACLP (Association of Child Life Professionals) Child Life certification required. Minimum 1-3 years of experience working as a Child Life Specialist in a pediatric acute health care setting. Clinical experience of working in emergency department and PICU required. Demonstrated skills in non-pharmacological pain management techniques used to assist children and youth. Demonstrated experience with procedural preparation and supporting children/youth through painful procedures. Demonstrated experience prioritizing referrals from multiple program areas/units. Experience planning and facilitating therapeutic group programs for children and youth. Volunteer training and supervision experience. Demonstrated ability to teach and deliver education material to families in an engaging and meaningful way. Demonstrated ability to function independently and within a multidisciplinary team environment. Demonstrated understanding of a Family Centered Care service delivery model. Clinical experience and education working with trauma, grief and loss.

Preferred Qualifications:

Medical Hypnosis training, demonstrating ability to apply techniques of medical hypnosis with children/youth in a variety of clinical settings within the hospital. Motivational Interviewing training.