Behavior Specialist

Leaps Services LLC; Palm Desert (CA); On-site; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Training & development

401(k)

Competitive salary

Employee discounts

Flexible schedule

Job summary

LEAPS Services LLC seeks a Behavior Specialist to provide direct behavioral support, consultation, staff development, and program guidance. The role maintains an assigned caseload across Hub, community, vocational, and camp environments, partnering with Neuroaffirming Program Specialists and families to strengthen service quality.

The position emphasizes person-centered, neuroaffirming practices, developing practical strategies, and leading staff trainings to improve outcomes for self-advocates

Qualifications

• Master’s degree or higher in a relevant field.
• BCBA credential or pursuing BCaBA; experience with neurodivergent individuals.
• Experience providing staff training and behavioral support planning.

Responsibilities

• Develop individualized behavioral strategies and support recommendations.
• Model interventions and support approaches with self-advocates.
• Coach Specialists through difficult or unfamiliar situations.
• Coordinate with Neuroaffirming Program Specialists on progress and changes.
• Maintain caseload management, observations, and documentation.

Skills

Behavioral observation

Staff coaching

Training development

Documentation

Communication

Professional judgment

Leadership

Education

Master’s degree in Applied Behavior Analysis, Psychology, Special Education, Behavioral Science, Education, or related field

BCBA credential OR actively pursuing BCaBA certification

Job description

Benefits:

• Paid time off
• Training & development
• 401(k)
• Competitive salary
• Employee discounts
• Flexible schedule

Behavior Specialist

Classification: Full-Time, Salaried

Professional Level: Behavior Specialist – Advanced Program Support

This is a professional-level position responsible for direct behavioral services, assigned caseload management, behavioral consultation, staff coaching, team training, program observation, documentation, and collaboration with Neuroaffirming Program Specialists. Candidates are expected to enter the position with demonstrated experience supporting neurodivergent individuals and/or individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including individuals with more complex behavioral support needs.Compensation within the established range will be determined by relevant education, years of experience, specialized behavioral training, leadership and staff-development experience, and applicable professional credentials.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Behavior Specialist is responsible for providing direct behavioral support, consultation, staff development, and program guidance to strengthen the quality of services provided by LEAPS Services.This is a hands-on position. The Behavior Specialist will maintain an assigned caseload and is expected to work directly with self-advocates across the LEAPS Hub, community settings, vocational programming, social programming, camps, and other service environments as appropriate.

The Behavior Specialist works collaboratively with Neuroaffirming Program Specialists, Inclusion Assistants, Program Leadership, families, caregivers, and other members of the support team. The position is designed to strengthen the newly restructured Specialist model by providing additional expertise in understanding behavior, identifying support needs, developing practical strategies, and helping team members implement those strategies consistently. The Behavior Specialist is also responsible for developing and facilitating team training. Training should be based on the actual needs observed within LEAPS programs and should provide staff with practical strategies they can apply during everyday interactions with self-advocates.

LEAPS uses a neuroaffirming, person-centered approach. Behavioral support should focus on understanding the function and context of behavior, strengthening communication and self-advocacy, teaching meaningful replacement skills, increasing independence, and creating supportive environments rather than relying solely on compliance-based approaches.

ASSIGNED CASELOAD

The Behavior Specialist will maintain an assigned caseload of self-advocates requiring behavioral support, consultation, skill development, or additional program oversight. Caseload responsibilities include becoming familiar with each self-advocate's goals, strengths, communication style, support needs, known triggers, environmental considerations, and current strategies.

The Behavior Specialist will be expected to:

• Work directly with assigned self-advocates on a consistent basis.
• Conduct observations within natural environments, including the Hub and community.
• Identify behavioral patterns and potential contributing factors.
• Assess environmental, communication, sensory, social, and skill-based needs that may influence behavior.
• Develop individualized behavioral strategies and support recommendations.
• Model strategies directly with the self-advocate before expecting staff to independently implement them.
• Monitor whether strategies are effective and make adjustments when necessary.
• Maintain appropriate documentation regarding observations, interventions, recommendations, and progress.
• Participate in family/caregiver communication when behavioral consultation or collaboration is necessary.
• Coordinate with the assigned Neuroaffirming Program Specialist regarding progress, concerns, and changes in support needs.

DIRECT SUPPORT WITH SELF-ADVOCATES

Direct work with self-advocates is an essential function of this position. The Behavior Specialist must be comfortable entering programming, working alongside the team, and demonstrating strategies in real situations.

Direct support may include working on:

Emotional regulation and coping skills

Supporting self-advocates in identifying emotions, recognizing escalation, requesting support, taking appropriate breaks, and developing individualized regulation strategies.

Communication and self-advocacy

Teaching ways to communicate wants, needs, boundaries, discomfort, frustration, and requests for assistance.

Social understanding and boundaries

Teaching appropriate greetings, personal space, consent, social boundaries, conflict resolution, and understanding expectations across different environments.

Transitions and flexibility

Developing strategies for changes in routine, unexpected events, transitions between activities, waiting, and navigating less-preferred tasks.

Community safety and participation

Supporting safe decision-making, community navigation, appropriate interactions, problem solving, and participation in community-based activities.

Vocational behavior and workplace readiness

Addressing behaviors that may interfere with employment readiness while teaching workplace communication, accepting feedback, task persistence, requesting assistance, professional boundaries, and problem solving.

Independent living and functional skills

Supporting routines, organization, task completion, decision-making, and other functional skills that contribute to greater independence.

SUPPORT OF THE NEUROAFFIRMING PROGRAM SPECIALIST ROLE

A primary responsibility of the Behavior Specialist is supporting the effectiveness of LEAPS' Neuroaffirming Program Specialists. The Behavior Specialist will serve as a behavioral resource to Specialists while maintaining clear role boundaries.Neuroaffirming Program Specialists remain responsible for overseeing their assigned self-advocates, monitoring goals, coordinating programming, communicating with families, and ensuring overall service implementation.The Behavior Specialist provides additional behavioral expertise when a self-advocate requires more individualized behavioral assessment, intervention, staff coaching, or support planning.

This collaboration may include:

• Reviewing behavioral concerns brought forward by Specialists.
• Observing self-advocates during programming.
• Helping Specialists identify what may be contributing to a behavior.
• Developing practical strategies that can be incorporated into daily programming.
• Modeling interventions and support approaches.
• Coaching Specialists through difficult or unfamiliar situations.
• Helping determine when environmental modifications may be appropriate.
• Supporting Specialists with behavioral goal development.
• Reviewing patterns and progress over time.
• Participating in collaborative case discussions.
• Providing guidance when existing strategies are no longer effective.

BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT & SUPPORT PLANNING

The Behavior Specialist will assist LEAPS in developing proactive, individualized behavioral support strategies. When behavioral concerns arise, the Behavior Specialist should examine the full context surrounding the behavior rather than focusing exclusively on stopping the behavior.

Areas considered may include:

• Communication needs
• Sensory needs
• Environmental conditions
• Task difficulty
• Social demands
• Changes in routine
• Access to preferred activities or items
• Escape or avoidance
• Attention or connection
• Emotional regulation
• Medical or physiological factors when relevant and appropriately referred
• Skill deficits
• Previous learning history
• Independence and autonomy

Recommendations should prioritize prevention, skill development, environmental support, communication, dignity, and meaningful replacement behaviors. When appropriate, the Behavior Specialist will develop written behavioral protocols, support plans, visual supports, response guidelines, or other resources that provide the team with clear and consistent direction.

TEAM TRAINING & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Developing the skills of the LEAPS team is a core responsibility of the Behavior Specialist. The Behavior Specialist will be expected to identify training needs through direct observation, staff feedback, incident trends, case discussions, and program needs.The Behavior Specialist will develop and facilitate trainings that are practical, interactive, and directly applicable to the LEAPS environment.

Training topics may include:

• Understanding behavior as communication
• Identifying the need behind behavior
• Neuroaffirming behavioral support
• Proactive versus reactive intervention
• Emotional regulation
• De-escalation strategies
• Personal boundaries and consent
• Responding to inappropriate social or sexual behavior
• Community safety
• Supporting communication differences
• Reinforcement and motivation
• Teaching replacement behaviors
• Environmental modifications
• Supporting transitions
• Staff response during behavioral escalation
• Documentation and objective behavior reporting
• Maintaining professional boundaries
• Supporting independence without creating unnecessary dependence on staff

Training should include opportunities for staff to discuss real scenarios, practice strategies, ask questions, and receive feedback.The Behavior Specialist may also develop written training materials, quick-reference guides, behavioral protocols, case examples, role-playing exercises, and other staff resources.

BEHAVIORAL SKILLS TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT

Training is not limited to formal meetings. The Behavior Specialist is expected to provide coaching while observing actual programming.When appropriate, the Behavior Specialist should model an approach, allow the staff member to practice the strategy, and then provide constructive feedback.The objective is to create a team that understands why a strategy is being used rather than simply following instructions. Coaching should strengthen staff confidence and independence over time.

CASE CONSULTATION & TEAM COLLABORATION

The Behavior Specialist will participate in collaborative case reviews involving self-advocates who require additional behavioral support.

During case consultation, the Behavior Specialist may review:

• Current concerns
• Patterns observed across environments
• Recent incidents
• Strategies currently being used
• Strategies that have or have not been successful
• Changes in routines or environments
• Staff consistency
• Family/caregiver observations
• Progress toward behavioral or functional goals
• Recommended next steps

FAMILY & CAREGIVER COLLABORATION

When appropriate, the Behavior Specialist may participate in meetings or consultations with parents, guardians, caregivers, and other members of the self-advocate's support system.The Behavior Specialist should communicate behavioral information in a respectful, understandable, and solution-focused manner.The goal is to create greater consistency between environments while respecting the self-advocate's autonomy, preferences, age, and individual support needs.

INCIDENT REVIEW & FOLLOW-UP

The Behavior Specialist may assist leadership with reviewing significant behavioral incidents. This may include reviewing documentation, speaking with involved team members, observing the self-advocate, identifying patterns, and recommending preventive strategies.Following significant incidents, the Behavior Specialist may be responsible for developing or updating staff guidance so that the team has a clear plan moving forward.

PROGRAM OBSERVATION

The Behavior Specialist will regularly observe LEAPS programming rather than limiting involvement to scheduled consultations.

Observation may occur during:

• Peer Connections
• Community Integration
• Vocational programming
• Enrichment activities
• Community outings
• Camps
• Group activities
• Individual coaching
• Transitions and unstructured periods

DOCUMENTATION

The Behavior Specialist is responsible for timely and professional documentation related to assigned responsibilities.

Documentation may include:

• Behavioral observations
• Case consultation notes
• Behavioral support recommendations
• Progress updatesIncident follow-up
• Staff coaching notes
• Training materials
• Behavioral protocols
• Data collection or progress monitoring
• Family consultation documentation when applicable

EXPECTATIONS OF THE POSITION

The Behavior Specialist is expected to be visible, accessible, and actively involved in programming.This position requires someone who is comfortable working directly with self-advocates and team members rather than functioning exclusively from an administrative or consultation role.The Behavior Specialist must be able to move between four important responsibilities:

Direct Support → Behavioral Consultation → Staff Development → Program Improvement

The successful Behavior Specialist should be able to recognize a concern, observe it directly, develop an appropriate strategy, model that strategy with the self-advocate, train the team to implement it, and evaluate whether the strategy is producing meaningful improvement.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Candidates for the Behavior Specialist position must demonstrate advanced education and professional preparation in behavior analysis and the support of neurodivergent individuals and individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Minimum qualifications include:

• Master’s degree in Applied Behavior Analysis, Psychology, Special Education, Behavioral Science, Education, or a closely related field.
• Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) credential OR actively pursuing Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst (BCaBA) certification.
• Demonstrated professional experience working directly with neurodivergent individuals and/or individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
• Experience supporting individuals with behavioral, communication, social-emotional, adaptive, or functional support needs.
• Knowledge of behavioral assessment, data collection, skill acquisition, reinforcement, antecedent strategies, replacement behaviors, and behavior-support planning.
• Ability to translate behavioral principles into practical, individualized strategies that can be implemented across natural environments.
• Experience providing staff training, Behavioral Skills Training (BST), modeling, performance feedback, or professional development.
• Ability to independently manage an assigned caseload while balancing direct services, observations, consultation, documentation, staff development, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate behavioral concepts clearly to team members, families, caregivers, and other professionals.
• Demonstrated commitment to person-centered, neuroaffirming, ethical, and dignity-centered behavioral practices.
• Ability to work directly with self-advocates across Hub, community, vocational, social, and other LEAPS programming environments.
• Ability to maintain professional boundaries, confidentiality, and all applicable ethical and organizational standards.

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE

Preference may be given to candidates who have experience developing or overseeing individualized behavioral support plans; conducting functional behavior assessments; supervising or mentoring behavioral support staff; developing organization-wide training; supporting adolescents and adults with developmental disabilities; and providing behavioral services within community-based, vocational, social-skills, or independent-living programs.

The ideal candidate will demonstrate the ability to move beyond traditional clinical environments and apply behavioral expertise within real-world settings while supporting autonomy, self-advocacy, meaningful skill development, and quality of life.

CORE COMPETENCIES

• Behavioral observation and analysis
• Relationship building
• Neuroaffirming support
• Staff coaching
• Training development
• De-escalation
• Communication
• Collaborative problem solving
• Documentation
• Professional judgmentAdaptability
• Leadership
• Community-based support
• Person-centered planning

ROLE SUCCESS

Success in this position will not be measured simply by whether behavioral incidents decrease.

Success should also be reflected through:

• Increased self-advocacy and communication.
• Greater independence among self-advocates.
• Stronger emotional regulation and coping skills.
• Improved participation in meaningful activities.
• Greater consistency among team members.
• Increased staff confidence when responding to behavioral needs.
• Clearer behavioral protocols and support strategies.
• Improved collaboration between Behavior Specialists and Neuroaffirming Program Specialists.
• Reduction in preventable behavioral escalation.
• Greater ability for self-advocates to participate successfully across Hub, community, vocational, social, and camp environments.

LEAPS SERVICES APPROACH

Our approach is centered on understanding the individual, identifying what their behavior may be communicating, teaching meaningful skills, supporting autonomy, creating accessible environments, maintaining appropriate safety and boundaries, and helping each self-advocate build the skills necessary to participate more independently in their community.