Provincial Trainer, Provincial Preschool Autism Services
Company : IWK Health
Req ID: 215120
Department/Program: Provincial Clinical Intensive Services, Provincial Preschool Autism Services
Location: Flexible within the Province
Type of Employment: Permanent Hourly FT (100% FTE) x 2 position(s)
Start Date: ASAP
Union Status: NSGEU Hlthcare, Healthcare Bargaining Unit
Compensation: $50.1945 - $61.4854 /hour
Closing Date: February 2, 2026 (Applications are accepted until 23:59 Atlantic Time)
IWK Health is a respected academic health sciences centre providing tertiary and primary care for two million children, youth, adults and families each year across the Atlantic region. We have a team of approximately 4000 employees, physicians, volunteers and learners at sites across Nova Scotia. People build careers with IWK Health with our focus on training and mentorship opportunities. We recognize each other’s talent and celebrate our successes. We collaborate in modern facilities or virtually from home, align our work to our values, and enjoy access to enhanced benefits and wellness programs. We are proud to support our patients, families and communities and are grateful for the generous donor support we receive.
Promoting an anti-racist environment, and calling out discrimination as we work and provide care, is important to us. We are located in Mi’kma’ki, the unceded and ancestral territory of the Mi’kmaq people. Working in Mi’kma’ki and providing care to those across Atlantic Canada is a shared privilege with the original inhabitants who have lived here for many thousands of years prior to colonization. There are 13 First Nation communities across Nova Scotia, and more than 50 historic African Nova Scotian communities who also have a long, deep, and complex history dating back over 400 years. We have the highest percentage of people with disabilities in the country. Nova Scotia has the highest proportions of transgender and non-binary people than any other province or territory in the country. We are active in our work to eliminate discrimination, but have more work to do to build that trust, acknowledge our biases and reduce the barriers our diverse communities face. We want IWK Health to be a safe and supportive space of equity and belonging in the care we provide and the employment we offer. We welcome all interested persons who self-identify as Indigenous, Black/African Nova Scotians, Persons of Colour, Immigrants/Newcomers, Persons with Disabilities, 2SLGBTQIA+ to apply to support our goal for our workforce to be representative of the patients, families, and communities that we care for at all job levels.
Provincial Preschool Autism Services
The Provincial Preschool Autism Service (PPAS) is a partnership between IWK Health (IWK), Nova Scotia Health (NSH), Hearing and Speech Nova Scotia (HSNS) and Autism Nova Scotia (Autism NS). It provides person and family-centred services to preschoolers across Nova Scotia who are suspected of or have a diagnosis of autism. The goal of the service is to provide an efficient, sustainable, and integrated continuum of health services that follows a needs-based model responsive to the individual needs of children and their families.
Services include a range of interventions and supports available for children and families. Service streams include:
- Clinical intake and care coordination
- Family and health professional education
- QuickStart NS parent coaching toddler program
- Autism diagnostic assessment
- Interprofessional autism interventions
- Intensive intervention for children with the greatest social communication and behaviour needs
- Transition to school supports
The Opportunity
The Provincial Preschool Autism Service Provincial Trainer (PT) is responsible to train staff in skills and competencies specific to implementation of the PPAS Service Delivery Model across the province of Nova Scotia. Provincial Trainers provide clinical supervision and assess ongoing maintenance of required competencies with all staff across the province. The Provincial Trainer trains staff to build the competencies essential to meet their job requirements. These include but are not limited to training in Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT), Positive Behavior Support, Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) and Motivational Interviewing. Provincial Trainers provide advanced training and support for Clinical Interventionists and Speech Language Pathologists to become trainers in PRT, in PRT fidelity coding, and to integrate developing knowledge and skills into individual child programming. They provide additional supervision and support to individual teams for clinical and teaming challenges. Provincial Trainers are part of quality performance measurement and support; they provide performance feedback to CIs, SLPs; and PIs. Provincial Trainers are responsible to maintain their own skills and to continue to develop their training and supervision skills to ensure that they are contributing to consistent, quality service delivery where continuous improvement thrives. Based on staffing of the CI roles, and workload, the PT may be required to assume more responsibilities as a CI to support the pod(s).
This opportunity is flexible and available throughout the province.
Hours of Work
Monday – Friday, 37.5 hours/week
Your Qualifications
- Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology, School Psychology, Speech-Language Pathology, Masters level training with Board Certified Behaviour Analysis Certificate (BCBA), or graduate of a World Federation of Occupational Therapy (WFOT) Approved Occupational Therapy Program required.
- Registered, or eligible for registration, with the appropriate professional body in Nova Scotia required.
- 2 years recent, relevant post Degree experience in the provision of applied behavior analysis programming for children (0-7 years old) with Autism Spectrum Disorder required.
- 2 years’ recent experience working as Clinical Interventionist (or Speech Language Pathologist with Lead experience) within the NS EIBI Program required.
- Ability to accommodate travel and overnight stays to support teams outside of home-base zone required.
- Ability to accommodate hours outside 8:00 – 4:00 on occasion required.
- Current successful completion of a Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada Basic Life Support Level (BLS) Program within the last 12 months, or successful completion of a BLS Renewal Challenge Certificate, required.
- Standard First Aid Certification
- Demonstrated ability to implement Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) with fidelity required.
- Demonstrated ability to train others in PRT required.
- Demonstrated ability to code fidelity of PRT required.
- Demonstrated ability to formulate and implement treatment programs to promote positive adaptive behaviours, independence, andskill development in preschool aged children, specifically children with Autism Spectrum Disorder required.
- Demonstrated experience in Picture Exchange Communications System (PECS) required.
- Demonstrated experience in Positive Behavioural Support (PBS) required.
- Demonstrated ability to be a positive role model to establish a learning environment required.
- Demonstrated ability to train and build capacity in adult learners required.
- Demonstrated strength in interprofessional teaming and group development required.
- Demonstrated ability to resolve conflict required.
- Demonstrated ability to work as part of a collaborative, interdisciplinary team in a variety of settings as well as the ability to work independently required.
- Demonstrated excellent interpersonal, presentation, and communication (verbal & written) skills required.
- Demonstrated ability to develop and maintain internal/external partnerships required.
- Demonstrated excellent time management, organization, and problem-solving skills required.
- Demonstrated commitment and champion of family centered care required.
- Competencies in other language an asset
Thank you for your interest in IWK Health.
Please note that we only contact applicants selected for interview/testing. If we invite you to participate in an assessment process (such as an interview or testing) you have the right to request accommodation. Please discuss your needs when invited to the assessment process.
This is a Healthcare bargaining unit position. Preference is given to bargaining unit employees for unionized positions. Successful applicants changing unions, bargaining units or employment status, are advised to seek clarification regarding their seniority, benefits, and vacation entitlement and/or usage, prior to accepting the position.
An offer of employment is conditional upon the completion and satisfactory results of all applicable background checks and confirmation of credentials.
If you are an employee of IWK Health, please apply through the internal careers page to ensure you are flagged as an internal applicant.
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