Early Childhood Assistant (ECA)

Give Me A Break Childcare; Hamilton; Hybrid; CAD 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

Give Me A Break Childcare, a new licensed centre on Hamilton Mountain, is hiring Early Childhood Assistants to work alongside RECEs in our toddler and preschool rooms.

You will supervise, care for and play with children 18 months to 6 years; support meals, toileting, hand hygiene and outdoor play; and help create inviting environments. This is a founding-team role with opportunities to grow toward RECE registration.

Qualifications

• Experience with young children in child care or similar settings.
• Warm, patient and respectful approach with children.
• Ability to follow policies, plans and schedules.
• Current or soon-to-be First Aid with infant/child CPR.

Responsibilities

• Supervise, care for and play with children 18 months to 6 years alongside RECEs.
• Support daily routines: meals, toileting, hand hygiene, rest, outdoor play.
• Help set up inviting environments and open-ended materials.
• Move between toddler and preschool rooms as needed.
• Greet families and pass routine information to the RECE.
• Keep attendance, cleaning and incident records accurate and on time.

Skills

Experience with young children

Warm, patient and respectful

Ability to follow written policies and

First Aid/CPR certification

Education

Early Childhood Assistant (ECA) certificate

Knowledge of How Does Learning Happen?

Job description

Give Me A Break Childcare is a new licensed centre opening late fall 2026 at 976 Stone Church Rd E on Hamilton Mountain. We offer full-time, part-time and on-demand care for children 18 months to 6 years, with hours that run into the evening and across the weekend, so families with real-life schedules have somewhere to turn.

Our program is grounded in Ontario's How Does Learning Happen? and inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach. You would be joining the founding team, helping shape the rooms, the routines and the culture from day one.

Early Childhood Assistants work alongside our RECEs in the rooms: supervising, caring, playing and keeping the day running. Both positions are full-time, and you would move between our toddler and preschool rooms as the day needs. It suits ECE students, people working toward registration, and anyone who wants a permanent role in a licensed centre.

Hours

• Full-time, 35 to 40 hours a week.
• Those are paid hours. The daily meal break is unpaid, and you are free to leave the site.
• Shifts between 7:30 am and 6:00 pm, Monday to Friday.
• Some evening or weekend shifts as our on-demand care grows.

What you will do

• Work alongside RECEs to supervise, care for and play with children 18 months to 6 years
• Support daily routines: meals, toileting and diapering, hand hygiene, rest and outdoor play
• Help set up inviting environments and open-ended materials
• Move between the toddler and preschool rooms as assigned, and get up to speed on each one quickly
• Follow allergy, medication and individualized plans exactly as written, within your training
• Greet families warmly and pass routine information along to the RECE
• Keep attendance, cleaning and incident records accurate and on time

What you bring

• Experience with young children in a child care, early learning, school, recreation or community setting
• A warm, patient and respectful way with children
• Ability to follow written policies, individualized plans, schedules and direction
• Standard First Aid with infant and child CPR from a WSIB-approved provider, current or completed before your start date
• Availability for a full-time weekday schedule, and for the occasional evening or weekend shift

Nice to have

• Early Childhood Assistant (ECA) certificate
• Working knowledge of How Does Learning Happen?
• Experience in a licensed child care centre

Conditions of employment

• A Vulnerable Sector Check completed before your start date, with ongoing offence declarations as required under the Child Care and Early Years Act
• Health and immunization documentation as required by Hamilton Public Health
• Completion of GMAB's orientation, including our policies, program statement, allergy and anaphylaxis procedures and emergency plans

What we offer

• A founding-team role, joining before the doors open
• A small team, working directly with the Supervisor
• Permanent full-time hours, not casual shifts
• Support for your professional learning, including toward RECE registration if that is where you are heading

Start dates are set with each successful candidate ahead of our late fall 2026 opening. The Supervisor starts first and helps build the rest of the team.

Give Me A Break Childcare is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applications from people of every background, and accommodations are available on request at every stage of the recruitment process.