Specialized Behaviour Support Worker

Halton District School Board; Burlington; On-site; CAD 62,000 - 73,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee & Family Benefits

Professional Development

Job summary

Halton District School Board is seeking a Specialized Behaviour Support Worker to join our special education team across multiple Burlington-area schools. This full-time temporary role runs 10 months per year, immediately through December 18, 2026, with pay between $61,848.00 and $73,028.00 per year per the collective agreement.

The successful candidate provides intensive behavioural and social-emotional support, coaching staff, and ensures student safety with dignity.

Qualifications

• Two to three year College diploma and/or Undergrad degree in a related field.
• 5 years experience working with in-risk children/adolescents/teens and/or individuals with developmental disabilities.
• Experience using evidenced-based intervention techniques, including co-regulation strategies, attunement strategies, and de-escalation techniques.
• Experience working with students from diverse cultural and racial backgrounds.
• BMS Certification

Responsibilities

• Work directly with students using supportive intervention strategies and de-escalation techniques.
• Model, coach and debrief intervention and de-escalation techniques with core team staff.
• Coordinate containment and crisis interventions with decision making around class evacuations and supervision.
• Support transfer of skills and strategies with the school team.

Skills

Co-regulation

De-escalation techniques

Verbal communication

Team collaboration

Education

College diploma

Undergrad degree in related field

Tools

Google Workspace

Job description

Specialized Behaviour Support Worker

Position: 1.0 Full Time Temporary Specialized Behaviour Support Worker

Location: HDSB Schools[Burlington, Halton Hills (Acton & Georgetown), Oakville, Milton]

Term: Immediately up to and including December 18, 2026

Pay Rate: $61,848.00 - $73,028.00 per year as per the collective agreement

Salary step would be determined based on previous experience

Work Schedule: 10 Months/year

The Halton District School Board (HDSB) is one of the fastest growing school districts in Canada. Together, our 10,000+ staff serve more than 66,000 students in more than 100 schools in the communities of Burlington, Halton Hills, Milton and Oakville. We are seeking a Specialized Behaviour Support Worker to join our special education team.

For temporary long-term occasional (LTOs) positions, once hired, applicants have first consideration for permanent opportunities. A comprehensive Employee & Family Benefits plan applies to those in positions longer than 90 consecutive days.

Benefits of working as a Specialized Behaviour Support Worker with the Halton District School Board:

• Direct opportunity to impact student wellbeing
• Opportunity to work in a Board where collaboration, inclusion, and innovation are fostered
• Professional Development / Mentorship provided
• Opportunity to actively engage and learn collaboratively with peers
• Opportunities to participate in a variety of ongoing ad-hoc committees and teams

Position Summary:

The successful candidate will work in a variety of schools in one of three geographical areas or have school-based behaviour classroom or alternative education classroom responsibilities. Specialized Behaviour Support Workers are members of a school based resource team and provide support to school staff on the behavioural, social and emotional needs of students.

Reporting directly to the Supervisor of Special Education, the Specialized Behaviour Support Worker offers intensive support to students with complex developmental and behavioural needs, often those with multiple diagnoses. The role supports a unique population of students who are struggling to experience success at school, due to the frequency or severity of their challenging behaviour. The Specialized Behaviour Support Worker provides coaching and modelling to school staff to enhance their capacity to support the physical safety of students in a respectful and student-centred way. In other circumstances, they may be assigned to support staff and students within a self-contained classroom.

Responsibilities will include:

• Work directly with students utilizing supportive intervention strategies (e.g. teaching skills) and de-escalation techniques; Provide person-directed supports and services to students with challenging behaviour and/or developmental disabilities in a manner that is respectful and fosters self-determination and empowerment whenever possible;
• Work directly with core team staff to model, coach and debrief intervention and de-escalation techniques fostering the independent use of these techniques; Inform and guide decisions around appropriate interventions that will be implemented by core team staff;
• Coordinate, lead and model containments and crisis interventions including supporting decision making around class evacuations, durations of containments and continuous visual supervision room use; Model post crisis debriefs with student and facilitate staff debriefing with administration;
• Work collaboratively with the school team to support the transfer of skills and strategies;

Minimum Qualifications:

• Two to three year College diploma and/or Undergrad degree in a related field (eg. Developmental Services Worker or Child and Youth Worker/Practitioner).
• 5 years experience working with in-risk children /adolescents/teens and/or individuals with developmental disabilities
• Experience using evidenced-based intervention techniques, including co-regulation strategies, attunement strategies, and de-escalation techniques
• Experience in working with children/adolescents from diverse cultural and racial backgrounds
• Experience working with students with dual diagnoses
• BMS Certification
• The physical ability to perform the demands of the position is required, for this reason short-listed candidates will be required to complete a post-employment offer screen, as a condition of employment, to ensure they are physically fit to perform the core responsibilities of the role. Results of this testing will be provided to the School Board, who will notify candidates of their results.
• A commitment to anti-oppression and anti-racism
• Strong interpersonal skills, and verbal communication skills
• Flexibility, patience, tolerance, enthusiasm, creativity and team-orientation
• Competence with Google Workspace and electronic record keeping
• A commitment to ongoing learning
• Excellent judgment, organizational and time management skills
• Authentic, resilient, dependable, reliable and have the ability to problem solve effectively
• Adherence to a high level of professional and ethical standards
• Experience working in a fast-paced environment
• Knowledgeable of local community resources
• Reliable transportation and the ability to work at a variety of locations throughout the day

Preferred Qualifications:

• Undergraduate degree in a related field (e.g. Child and Youth Care Bachelor's Degree; Disability Studies Bachelor’s Degree)
• Completed coursework in autism and/or applied behaviour analysis (ABA)
• Mental Health & Disability Management Certificate
• Experience working in a School Board setting
• Experience supporting individuals from a variety of lived experiences (socio-economic, cultural, etc.,)
• Lived experience as a member of an equity-deserving group
• Broad understanding of and an inclusive approach to relationship building with diverse stakeholders in the community and in schools
• Experience and/or interest in providing skills training to post-secondary students

Appointments are conditional upon:

• Provision of an original copy of a criminal background check with vulnerable sector screening dated within 6 months
• Completing a Post Offer Employment Test to ensure the successful applicant meets the physical requirements of the position
• Agreement to comply with the Board’s policies, procedures and code of conduct

Applicant Self Identification Questions:

As part of the recruitment and selection function, the HDSB will collect voluntary self identification data from applicants in accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code, HDSB’s Teacher Hiring Practices Administrative Procedure, HDSB’s Employment Equity Policy and Ontario’s Anti Racism Data Standards:

Personal information on this form is collected under the authority of the Anti-Racism Act, 2017, S.O. 2017, c. 15, in compliance with the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. M.56. In accordance with HDSB’s Employment Equity Policy, personal information collected on this form will aim to achieve an inclusive, diverse and representative workforce. It works to intentionally identify and remove barriers for equity-deserving communities at each stage of the hiring process. Encouraging diversity of the workforce in the school board is vital because the workforce should be reflective and representative of the community.

Although hiring policies must adhere to the qualification requirements set out in applicable Regulations (eg. Regulation 298, “Operation of Schools – General”) and any applicable collective agreement provisions, the Board recognizes the importance of the following when developing its selection and evaluation criteria:

valuing applicants’ additional experience, lived experience, skills, backgrounds and perspectives; and

granting first consideration, where the skills, ability, and qualifications of the applicants are relatively equal, to applicants who self-identify as members of historically under-represented communities.

We encourage you to respond to our voluntary applicant self-identification questions. This data will inform our understanding of the diversity of our applicant pool as well as the progress of applicants throughout the hiring process. This data will inform our goals, strategies and actions and our progress towards creating and sustaining an inclusive and equitable workforce. Any information that you provide in response to these questions will be referred to during the hiring process for this position, and will be shared with the hiring manager and/or committee members responsible for the hiring process.

The section includes questions from Ontario’s Anti-Racism Data Standards (Standards, 2017). The Standards were established to help identify and monitor systemic racism and racial disparities within the public sector. The Standards establish consistent, effective practices for producing reliable information to support evidence-based decision-making and public accountability to help eliminate systemic racism and promote racial equity (adapted from Ontario’s Anti-Racism Data Standards, 2017).

Questions about this collection may be directed to Dixon Mohammed - Manager, Recruitment, Selection and Staffing at [e-mail]

Accommodation:

Upon request, we will provide reasonable accommodations for candidates who have temporary or permanent disability, or who otherwise require accommodations based on the protected grounds highlighted in the Ontario Human Rights Code in respect to the recruitment and selection process.

Wellness:

The HDSB is committed to providing a respectful and healthy work environment.

The Halton Region has been growing fast and growth is projected to remain strong for the foreseeable future. The region's population is anticipated to almost double in size by 2051, from a current population of 596,637 to a projected population of 1,100,000 by 2051.

We thank all applicants for their interest in opportunities with the Halton District School Board. Contact will be made with applicants whose experience and qualifications most closely match the requirements of the position. Communication with short-listed applicants will ordinarily be made through the email address provided on the applicants’ Apply To Education profile page or through the applicants’ HDSB email address. Please ensure that contact information provided at the time of application is current.

First consideration for posted vacancies will be given to qualified applicants from the employee group in which the vacancy occurs.