Life Skills Coach

Life Skills Coach

As a Life Skills Coach at Mansfield Hall, you will support neurodivergent young adults as they build the practical daily living, executive functioning, social, and self-advocacy skills needed for college and adulthood.

Our students are bright, capable, and full of potential. Many are navigating learning, attention, social, emotional, or executive functioning differences that can make the demands of independent living hard to manage on their own. They are not looking for someone to do life for them. They need structure, coaching, accountability, encouragement, and steady support from people who believe they can grow.

That is where this role matters!

You will work directly with students to help them build routines, manage daily responsibilities, care for their living spaces, follow through on commitments, plan meals and groceries, manage time, navigate community expectations, and take increasing ownership of their lives. You will also support medication management, encourage social engagement, and help students practice the skills they need in real life settings.

This role is about more than chores, checklists, or reminders. Life skills are often where deeper growth becomes visible. Students learn how to tolerate discomfort, recover from setbacks, ask for help, communicate more clearly, follow through when motivation is low, and build confidence in their ability to manage adult life.

You will be a strong fit for this role if you care deeply about young adults, enjoy practical hands-on coaching, communicate well with students and teams, and can balance warmth with clear expectations.

As Life Skills Coach, you will:

• Coach students through independent living skills, executive functioning, personal responsibility, community engagement, and daily follow-through.
• Work directly with students on life skills such as cleaning, hygiene, budgeting, bill paying, grocery shopping, meal planning, time management, routines, and organization.
• Meet individually with students and facilitate small-group sessions or workshops that support independent living skill development.
• Support students in building practical systems that help them become more independent over time.
• Document student observations, progress, concerns, and areas of growth in a clear and timely way.
• Support the Director of Student Life and team in case management, including planning, implementing, and evaluating student goals and staff-supported skills.
• Provide weekly updates to the Director of Student Life regarding student plans, progress, barriers, and support needs.
• Review pre-arrival paperwork with the Director of Student Life to understand each student's needs, goals, and support plan.
• Support students with medication management according to Mansfield Hall procedures.
• Use campus and community resources to promote learning, confidence, social connection, and skill-building.
• Provide direct care coverage in support of student life and academic departments.
• Promote a safe, respectful, and comfortable living environment for students.
• Use Collaborative Problem Solving when student actions and program expectations are not aligned.
• Encourage and guide students to participate in activities, social groups, and opportunities outside of the Mansfield Hall community.
• Participate in scheduled meetings, including weekly team review meetings, staff meetings, and community meetings.
• Help develop and implement best-practice strategies for working with students.
• Support the broader functioning of the Mansfield Hall program as needed.

You'll be a great fit if:

• You take pride in helping young adults build confidence, independence, and real-world life skills.
• You understand that daily living challenges are often connected to executive functioning, emotional regulation, anxiety, communication, motivation, and self-advocacy.
• You believe students need both compassion and accountability.
• You can support students without rescuing them from every hard moment.
• You are patient when a student needs repeated practice, reminders, or coaching before a skill becomes consistent.
• You can coach someone through a task without taking it over for them.
• You are comfortable working in real-life environments where the work may not always be tidy, predictable, or contained to a desk.
• You communicate clearly and respectfully with students, teammates, families, and campus partners.
• You notice details, follow through, and document what matters.
• You bring calm to complexity.
• You enjoy being part of a team and understand that strong student support depends on communication, consistency, and shared responsibility.
• You believe the goal is not just helping students complete a task today, but helping them build skills that last beyond Mansfield Hall.

You might not be a good fit if:

• You are looking for a role that is mostly administrative or removed from direct student support.
• You prefer work that is predictable, desk-based, or focused on one narrow area of responsibility.
• You get frustrated when students need repeated coaching before a skill becomes consistent.
• You prefer to solve problems for people rather than helping them build the skills to solve problems themselves.
• You are uncomfortable holding students accountable when they are struggling.
• You struggle to maintain boundaries when someone is disappointed, upset, avoidant, or pushing back.
• You find it frustrating when growth is slow, uneven, or hard to measure right away.
• You believe independent living skills are "common sense" rather than skills that often need to be taught, practiced, and reinforced.
• You prefer quick fixes over long-term skill-building.
• You do not enjoy working as part of a coordinated team.

How We Care for Our Staff

At Mansfield Hall, caring for students starts with caring for the people who support them.

This is meaningful work, but it is also human work. It takes patience, judgment, emotional steadiness, flexibility, and real energy. We do not want staff to feel like they have to carry that alone.

Mansfield Hall offers paid time off, a paid two-week Winter Break, medical insurance options, dental and vision coverage, employer-funded wellness dollars, disability coverage, life insurance, 401(k) retirement savings, meals and drinks during on-site shifts, cell phone and internet support, and reimbursement for required work expenses.

Just as important, we work to build a culture where staff are trusted, supported, and treated as full human beings. We value rest, clear communication, shared responsibility, and a team environment where people step in for one another.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in behavioral sciences or a related field required.
• At least one year of direct experience in coaching, residential life, student support, academic tutoring, behavioral health, human services, higher education, disability support, or supporting students with diverse learning needs.
• Strong ability to build professional relationships with students, colleagues, families, and campus partners.
• Experience supporting young adults as they work toward personal, academic, social, or independent living goals.
• Strong communication, documentation, organization, and follow-through skills.
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a collaborative team.
• Ability to support students with professionalism, patience, care, and clear expectations.
• Commitment to inclusive, student-centered programming and positive team culture.
• Equivalent combinations of education and experience will be considered.