Program Assistant I Jobs in Indio, CA (NOW HIRING)

KEY ESSENTIALS TO BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT CORP
Social Skills Assistant
Pod Support & Open Play
Role
Social Skills Assistant - Pod Support & Open Play
Compensation
$18 - $21/hr
Employment Type
Full-time and Part-time positions available
Reports To
Program Supervisor or BCBA
Location
Indio + The Sensory Spot (CA)
Service Setting
Clinic-based with open play and camp responsibilities
Credential
High school diploma preferred • No prior certification required
Why This Role Exists
The first person a family meets at KEBM isn't a therapist - it's the Social Skills Assistant. The one setting up the room, running open play, greeting a child by name on their second visit. We created this role because we refuse to treat entry-level as throwaway. The SSA is the first rung on a 14-step clinical pipeline we actually expect you to climb, and the first human connection a family has with our care.
About Us
We're a five-clinic ABA therapy company with four locations across Southern California and one in Georgia, founded in 2016 by a BCBA with 25+ years in the field. Our team of 68+ professionals delivers evidence-based therapy through our proprietary S.O.C.I.A.L. P.O.D.S. methodology - and our Sensory Spot locations prove that therapy can actually feel like play.
We serve every client who walks through our doors - insurance-funded, private pay, open play, and camp families alike. We're women-founded, minority-owned, and we don't sacrifice clinical quality for profit. If you want to work somewhere that's serious about outcomes and serious about its people, you're in the right place.
How S.O.C.I.A.L. P.O.D.S. Work
S.O.C.I.A.L. P.O.D.S. is our proprietary group ABA therapy methodology - a pod-based model where social skills, behavior intervention, and individualized goals are delivered inside a structured group dynamic. Here's how it works on the ground:

• Each pod has 3 to 6 clients with varied diagnoses - autism, ADHD, ADD, Down syndrome, developmental delays - grouped by age, skill level, and goal alignment.
• The facilitator-to-client ratio is 1:3 inside the pod.
• A supervisor is always on-site, and clinical support is always available in your pod. Your on-site supervisor is a Program Supervisor, BCaBA, or BCBA, and they move between pods providing real-time coaching, oversight, and support for challenging behaviors. You are never figuring it out alone.
• We use a push-in / pull-out model: group work happens inside the pod, and 1:1 intensive instruction pulls out when a client needs dedicated skill-building or behavior support.
• BCBAs and Program Supervisors move between pods providing real-time coaching, clinical oversight, and support for challenging behaviors.

Why this matters:
If you've worked anywhere that assigns a new RBT a difficult case and leaves them to figure it out - that's not what happens here. The pod is the support structure, built in.
Who We Serve
KEBM serves every client who walks through our doors - no tiers, no priority treatment, no "real clients vs. drop-ins." That means:

• Insurance-funded ABA clients (Medi-Cal, Medicare, commercial insurance)
• Private pay therapy clients
• Open play participants at our Sensory Spot locations
• Camp participants - spring break, winter break, summer, and any seasonal KEBM camp
• Consultation clients in adult residential and group home settings (Program Supervisor Master's level only)

A camp kid gets the same quality of care as an insurance client. An open play family gets the same respect as a full-time ABA family. If that feels natural to you, you're going to fit here. If the idea of treating any of those clients as less-than bothers you, this isn't the place.
The Role - What You'll Actually Do
As a Social Skills Assistant, you are the first face families meet and the energy behind every pod, open play session, and seasonal camp at KEBM. You support our clinical team during group sessions, run our Sensory Spot open play and camp programming (spring, winter, and summer breaks), and make sure the environment is set up for success - before, during, and after each session. This is the entry door to our 14-step clinical pipeline.
In this role, you'll:

• Support pod facilitators during group sessions - prepare materials, manage transitions, deliver reinforcement, and help keep the group dynamic moving.
• Run open play and camp programming - spring break, winter break, summer, and any seasonal KEBM camp. This is real social skills work delivered in a playful format.
• Build rapport with every client who walks through the door - insurance-funded, private pay, open play drop-in, or camp family. Same energy, same respect, same quality of care.
• Keep the space ready - sensory room setup, materials prep, supply tracking, and cleanup. A well-run clinic is a clinical intervention in itself.
• Collect baseline observations and data - under supervisor direction, contribute what you see during open play and group sessions. The clinical team relies on it.
• Learn the field on the job - you'll shadow RBTs, Lead RBTs, and Program Supervisors, and you'll have a clear path to begin RBT certification if you want it.

In your first 90 days, success looks like:
Running open play and pod support sessions with confidence, known by name to returning families, and - if you want it - actively preparing for the RBT certification exam with KEBM's support.
Who You Are
You might be perfect for this if:

• You're naturally good with kids - patient when things move slowly, playful when they call for it, calm when someone escalates. This is the skill that matters most.
• You want a career in ABA, not just a job - because this role is the launching pad for a 14-step pipeline. The people who thrive here treat the SSA role as chapter one, not the whole book.
• You believe every client deserves the same quality of care - open play kid, camp drop-in, or insurance family. If you'd treat any of those clients as less-than, this isn't the place for you.
• You can move - physically and mentally. Setup, cleanup, active pod support, quick transitions. It's not desk work, and it's not meant to be.

Bonus points if you have:

• Previous experience working with children - camp counselor, preschool, tutoring, youth programs
• Psychology, education, or behavioral science coursework in progress
• Bilingual (Spanish)
• Any direct experience with neurodiverse individuals

What You Get
Compensation
$18 - $21/hr - published transparently on this posting.
We don't play the "competitive compensation" game, and we don't bait candidates with the top of the band and pay the bottom. Where you land in the range depends on credential level, experience, and market - and we'll tell you exactly why during the offer conversation.
Benefits - Full-Time
Medical, dental, and vision • Paid time off • Paid holidays • 401(k) eligibility after qualifying period • CEU reimbursement for certification maintenance • Supervision hours for BCaBA/BCBA pathway candidates at no cost • Professional liability coverage • Ongoing S.O.C.I.A.L. P.O.D.S. methodology training
Benefits - Part-Time
Paid sick time (per state law) • CEU reimbursement for certification maintenance • Supervision hours for BCaBA/BCBA pathway candidates at no cost • Professional liability coverage • Ongoing S.O.C.I.A.L. P.O.D.S. methodology training • Priority access to full-time roles as they open
Growth
At KEBM, your next role isn't hypothetical. We built a 14-step clinical pipeline from Social Skills Assistant through Chief Clinical Director, and every seat has a real compensation band, a real scope of responsibility, and a real path to get there.
Your direct next step from this role is: Social Pod Leader - HS Diploma, typically within 6-12 months with strong performance and the start of RBT coursework if you choose to pursue it.
Ask about it in the interview - we'll show you the map.
Culture
We run on the S.O.C.I.A.L. P.O.D.S. framework, which means structured collaboration - not chaos. Our leadership team (COO Lynda, Chief Clinical Director Maritza, Clinical Director Jazmin) actually leads, so you're not reporting into a black hole. Our CEO is a BCBA who built this from the ground up starting at $8.50/hour as a paraeducator in 1999 - she gets what your day looks like.
Flexibility
This role is clinic-based with open play and camp responsibilities. Full-time and Part-time positions available - schedules are built around session availability and are discussed during the offer conversation.
Physical Requirements
This role is physically active. You'll spend most of your day standing, walking, sitting on the floor, transitioning between activities, and occasionally responding to challenging behaviors.

• Frequent (4-8 hours): sitting, standing, walking, simple grasping, reaching (all directions), bending, twisting, kneeling, squatting
• Occasional (1-3 hours): keyboarding, fine manipulation, stairs, lifting or carrying 1-50 lbs
• Crisis readiness: the ability to respond appropriately to behaviors including elopement, aggression (hitting, kicking, spitting, throwing), and self-injury - with full training and supervisory backup

This is not desk work. But you are never handling it alone - the two-staff-per-pod rule exists specifically so physical and behavioral demands are shared.
What You'll Actually Encounter - The Honest Section
Most ABA job posts sanitize this part and then lose hires at day 30 when reality hits. We'd rather tell you now.

• Aggression - hitting, kicking, biting, scratching, throwing objects. It happens. Training and crisis protocols are in place; you'll never be expected to manage it alone.
• Elopement - clients running or leaving the session space. The clinic is designed to be safe; staff-to-client ratios are set to make elopement manageable.
• Self-injury - head-hitting, scratching, and similar behaviors. Protocols exist for every scenario, and BCBAs design individual plans that you'll be trained on.
• Non-compliance and task refusal - some sessions will test your creativity and persistence. You'll use reinforcement strategies and environmental adjustments to re-engage learners.
• Vocal stereotypy and scripting - repetitive vocalizations and echolalia. Understanding their function is part of the clinical picture.
• Sensory-seeking and sensory-avoidant behaviors - our Sensory Spot locations are designed with this in mind, but you'll still need to read sensory cues and adjust the environment on the fly.

Why we tell you this upfront:
Because we respect your decision-making. This work isn't for everyone - and that's okay. But for the right person, there's nothing more rewarding than helping a child build the skills that change the trajectory of their life. And you won't be doing it alone - a supervisor is always on-site, clinical support is always available, established crisis protocols are in place, and a team has your back.
The KEBM G-W-C Test
Three questions. Take 60 seconds with them before you apply. If you can answer all three with an honest "yes," send your resume today. If any one is a no, that's information too - we'd rather you filter yourself now than find out three months in.
1. Do you GET IT?
Do you understand what this role actually is - the real work, the hard days, the kids and families we serve? Not the idealized version. The actual job.
2. Do you WANT IT?
Not the paycheck. Not the title. The work itself. Do you want to do this specific job, with these specific clients, inside the S.O.C.I.A.L. P.O.D.S. model?
3. Do you have the CAPACITY?
Time, skill, emotional bandwidth, physical readiness. The capacity question is not whether you're smart or capable - it's whether your current life has room for this role to be done well.
How to Apply
Apply at the link in this posting, or send your resume and a short note about why this role caught your eye to info@keyessentialsbm.com. Questions before you apply? Call us at (909) 755-5220 - a real person will answer.
We review every application and respond to every candidate. You're not shouting into the void.
Key Essentials to Behavior Management Corp is an equal opportunity employer. We are women-founded, minority-owned, and committed to hiring without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.