Child Life Specialist-Lead

Job Requisition :

R

Allied Health

Children’s Clinical Support Services-Child Life

Main Campus Jackson

Child Life Specialist-Lead

Provides expert child life services by helping reduce the stress and anxiety in children in a hospital setting and provides a variety of emotional, psycho-social, recreational, and health related educational needs. Acts as a resource to other child life staff. Assists child life staff in the development, implementation, and evaluation of child life services. Maintains quality standards in child life services.

Delegates when appropriate. Consults with medical and other health care staff regarding patient care. Functions as a lead child life specialist to the unit and/or team.

Education and Experience

Required:

Bachelor’s degree and two (2) years working as a Child Life Specialist, one of those years must be in a hospital setting.

Certifications, Licenses, or Registration required:

Certification in Child Life from the Child Life Council and maintain active membership in the organization.

Preferred Qualifications:

Master’s degree

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Knowledge of child cognitive, social, and skills development methods and techniques. Interpersonal skills to effectively interact with patients, family members, and staff. Ability to provide a supportive and caring environment for children, families, and staff. Ability to alleviate stress and anxiety in children. Ability to work in a stressful environment.

Responsibilities

• Supervises and performs the coaching, training, and education of child life specialists, child life assistants and recreational therapists.
• Supervises overall management of playrooms, activity rooms, and classrooms.
• Fosters positive and professional interpersonal relationships with patient/families, hospital staff, community representatives, and visitors. Supports families during hospital stay or challenging events.
• Participate in patient/family teaching about hospital and/or procedures.
• Participate in professional development by attending workshops, reading professional journals and networking with coworkers. Ensures child life is using evidenced based practice. Provides in-services for department/unit staff and child life staff.
• Supervises therapeutic and diversional play.
• Assesses and proficiently prioritizes patient needs through chart review, collaboration with staff and co-workers, and personal contact with patients and family members.
• Prepares children for and assists children during medical tests and procedures through education, rehearsal, and coping skill practice.
• Maintains knowledge and mastery of child life theory and best practices.
• Ability to quickly build report with patients/families of diverse populations. Advocates for patients and families in the medical setting.
• The duties listed are general in nature and are examples of the duties and responsibilities performed and are not meant to be construed as exclusive or all-inclusive. Management retains the right to add or change duties at any time.

Physical and Environmental Demands

Requires occasional exposure to unpleasant or disagreeable physical environment such as high noise level and exposure to heat and cold, occasional handling or working with potentially dangerous equipment, occasional exposure to biohazardous conditions such as risk of radiation exposure, blood borne pathogens, fumes or airborne particles, and/or toxic or caustic chemicals which mandate attention to safety considerations, occasional working hours significantly beyond regularly scheduled hours, occasional travelling to offsite locations, frequent activities subject to significant volume changes of a seasonal/clinical nature, frequent work produced subject to precise measures of quantity and quality, occasional bending, occasional lifting and carrying up to 50 pounds, occasional climbing, occasional crawling, occasional crouching/stooping, occasional driving, occasional kneeling, frequent pushing/pulling, frequent reaching, frequent sitting, frequent standing, frequent twisting, and frequent walking (occasional-up to 20%, frequent-from 21% to 50%, constant-51% or more).

Full time

Yes

Salary

100

Day

No

07/30/2026