Vocational Specialist

Vocational Specialist

Spectrum Center Schools and Programs, a growing, dynamic organization with a social mission to offer hope, is seeking a Vocational Specialist to join our award-winning Special Education team and perform meaningful work in a culture that welcomes innovation, encourages creative expression and offers limitless potential for personal and professional satisfaction!

If you excel in hands-on, student-centered environments, are passionate about preparing individuals with diverse learning needs for meaningful employment, and bring creativity, persistence, strong relationship-building skills, and a solutions-focused mindset to your work — We Should Talk!

As a Vocational Specialist, you will lead and oversee the vocational training program in alignment with Spectrum practices and policies, and Department of Labor requirements. You will drive student success by managing individualized vocational training plans, delivering job coaching and career counseling aligned to IEP goals and individual career plans, and cultivating strong community-based partnerships and job sites that expand real-world learning opportunities.

Responsibilities include administering vocational, career, and transition assessments, developing individualized vocational and career training plans, supporting classrooms in facilitating on-campus unpaid vocational training, designing and scheduling new on-campus vocational training opportunities, procuring and distributing curriculum resources, ensuring compliance with WAI practices, Department of Labor regulations, and IEP/ITP goals, providing individualized job coaching, managing daily operations of school-based businesses, coordinating community-based work training, creating and maintaining student work and training schedules, overseeing student payroll processes, submitting timesheets promptly, attending required trainings and meetings, collecting and analyzing student data for WAI grant reporting, and performing additional duties and special projects as assigned.

Qualifications required include a high school diploma or equivalent with passage of basic skills test, a bachelor's degree or higher in education, social work, vocational rehabilitation or a closely related field of study preferred, currently or ability to obtain a valid CA state driver's license, willingness and ability to drive a company van and transport students within the community, ability to obtain and maintain certification in company approved crisis management training, prior experience and/or highly knowledgeable in providing children with vocational education, job coaching services and/or job experience training, prior experience and highly knowledgeable in program management and/or development and working with databases/spreadsheets, highly skilled in working with children with learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, emotional behavioral disorders and/or other related disabilities, proficiency in providing motivation and having critical conversations with students that move them toward realistic goals, highly skilled in building relationships with students, parents, teachers and community and/or business partners, proven ability to effectively prioritize tasks and meet deadlines while maintaining organization and attention to detail, advanced oral and written communication, organization, conflict resolution, multitasking, problem solving, and decision-making ability, and well-versed in the use of relevant technology including experience with computers, Microsoft Office Suite, database entry and basic office equipment.

Spectrum Center Schools and Programs is a division of Chance Light Behavioral Health, Therapy, & Education, the nation's leading provider of alternative and special education programs for children and young adults. For more than 50 years, and in partnership with over 235 school districts nationwide, we have helped change the direction of more than 240,000 student lives!

At Chance Light we believe in providing more than just a job, as a member of our team you'll receive the opportunity to make meaningful impacts, the support needed to achieve success, and all the tools…