Critical Skills Coach

BNI Talent Acquisition Team•Erie, PA

23h

About The Position

The Critical Skills Coach at Barber National Institute supports the organization’s mission by strengthening the skills and competencies of staff who provide direct services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The role serves as a subject matter expert and field-based competency assessor for critical skills used by Direct Support Professionals and other staff in residential, day, and community-based programs. Through observation, assessment, demonstrations, coaching, and developmental feedback, the coach helps staff consistently apply essential practices that promote health, safety, dignity, quality of care, and regulatory compliance. The coach identifies skill gaps, coordinates development and reassessment, and uses observation and assessment data to identify recurring deficiencies, emerging risks, and opportunities for improvement. The position partners with supervisors, program leadership, Nursing/Clinical Services, Learning & Development, Human Resources, Quality, Governance, Risk and Compliance, and other internal partners to strengthen competency standards, supervisory coaching, training effectiveness, and organizational practices. This is an individual-contributor role with no direct staff supervision. A significant portion of the work takes place in residential homes, day programs, and other service environments. Regular travel between program locations and occasional evening or weekend hours may be needed to observe skills during normal service delivery. The role requires the ability to physically perform and demonstrate assigned critical skills, maintain required certifications and clearances, and handle sensitive information confidentially.

Requirements

Minimum of five years of progressively responsible direct-service experience supporting individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities or comparable populations.
Hands-on experience performing, coaching, assessing, or supervising critical skills associated with the position.
Experience in residential, day, or community-based IDD services.
Strong knowledge of laws, regulations, and rules that govern Barber National Institute’s IDD services.
Ability to maintain all certifications required to perform and assess assigned critical skills, as well as additional certifications required by Barber National Institute or applicable regulations.
Ability to successfully complete required regulatory and agency-mandated clearances, including criminal background checks, child abuse clearances, and fingerprinting, as applicable.
Ability to regularly travel among Barber National Institute program locations within assigned regions and to other BNI locations as required.
Ability to work varied hours, including evenings and occasional weekends, to observe staff during normal operations.
Ability to physically perform and demonstrate assigned critical skills, consistent with applicable job and program requirements.
Advanced practical knowledge of critical skills associated with direct support services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Ability to accurately perform, demonstrate, and explain assigned critical skills, including procedures and the rationale for appropriate practice.
Strong observation and assessment skills, including the ability to distinguish procedural knowledge from consistent, competent application in a service environment.
Strong coaching and development skills, including the ability to provide specific, constructive, behavior-based feedback to staff with varying experience and proficiency.
Ability to facilitate individual and small-group learning, demonstrations, simulations, practical exercises, and competency assessments.
Ability to recognize and appropriately respond to practices that may present immediate health, safety, or life-safety risks.
Strong interpersonal and relationship-building skills to work effectively with direct support staff, supervisors, program leadership, clinical professionals, instructors, and organizational partners.
Ability to maintain objectivity, consistency, and professional boundaries when assessing competency and providing developmental feedback.
Strong analytical skills to interpret competency and observation information, identify patterns and emerging risks, and distinguish individual gaps from broader training, supervisory, procedural, or systemic concerns.
Strong written, verbal, documentation, facilitation, and communication skills, with attention to detail and follow-through.
Ability to maintain accurate and confidential records and handle sensitive staff, performance, and individual information appropriately.
Ability to work independently in varied program environments, manage multiple observations and follow-up activities, and escalate concerns appropriately.
Ability to adapt working hours and location to observe critical skills across programs, shifts, and settings.
Commitment to BNI’s Core Commitments, including collaboration, transparent communication, problem-solving, adaptability, confidentiality, and ethical judgment.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in human services, education, healthcare, behavioral sciences, organizational learning, or a related field is preferred.
Experience across multiple IDD service settings is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Conduct structured field observations across residential homes, day programs, and community-based settings to evaluate staff performance against critical-skill and competency standards.
Assess technical skill execution and professional judgment, including whether staff recognize when a skill is needed, use the appropriate technique, respond to changing circumstances, and seek assistance when necessary.
Provide individualized and small-group coaching, demonstrations, practice, and remediation based on observed performance and competency needs.
Complete competency assessments, follow-up observations, and reassessments to verify that staff have achieved and can consistently maintain required skills.
Identify immediate health, safety, or life-safety concerns during observations, take appropriate action, and communicate significant or recurring concerns to appropriate leadership.
Document observations, competency results, coaching, remediation, and follow-up outcomes accurately and in accordance with organizational processes and confidentiality requirements.
Support supervisors with practical tools, feedback, and coaching strategies to reinforce critical skills and address competency concerns within their teams.
Partner with Learning & Development to connect classroom training with field expectations and provide feedback on staff readiness, training effectiveness, and learning needs.
Review competency and observation information to identify recurring skill gaps, performance trends, emerging risks, and improvement opportunities across individuals, programs, and service lines.
Recommend and support interventions such as targeted coaching, retraining, additional observation, job aids, changes to competency standards, or other learning solutions.
Collaborate with Operations, Nursing/Clinical Services, Quality, Human Resources, Governance, Risk and Compliance, and other partners to address competency trends and support regulatory and organizational requirements.
Maintain current knowledge of applicable regulations, organizational policies, evidence-informed practices, and evolving competency expectations.
Complete other related duties that support the mission and purpose of Barber National Institute.