Child Life Specialist - Level I or II

Kids Are Our Everything.

Department

Pay Range

The Child Life Specialist II is an experienced practitioner who delivers advanced therapeutic, educational, and psychosocial support to pediatric patients and families. In addition to core child life services, this role demonstrates strong clinical judgment, independently manages a complex caseload, and serves as a resource within assigned areas. The Child Life Specialist II contributes to program development, mentors interns and junior staff, and actively supports departmental initiatives that enhance patient experience, strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration, and promote high-quality, family-centered care.

Child Life Specialist I provides therapeutic services and play activities to promote the physical, emotional and developmental growth of patients and minimize potential stress and trauma for patients and families.

Minimum Education
Bachelor's Degree in Child Life, Child Development, or related field (Required)
Master's Degree Master's degree in Child Life, Child Development or related field. (Preferred)

Minimum Work Experience
Child Life Specialist II - 2 years of experience as a Child Life Specialist (Required)

Child Life Specialist I - Completion of Child Life Internship (minimum 600 hours) and all internship prerequisites including, but not limited to volunteer hours and Child Life Practicum (Required)

Required Licenses and Certifications
Child Life Specialist II - Child Life Certification (Required)

Child Life Specialist I - Candidate must be certified or eligible for Child Life Certification. Candidate must pass certification exam within 6 months of hire (Required)

Functional Accountabilities

• Delivers comprehensive child life services to patients and families, including evidence-based therapeutic play, psychosocial support, procedural preparation, coping facilitation, and end-of-life/bereavement interventions.

• Conducts thorough assessments of developmental status, temperament, coping styles, and psychosocial adjustment; documents care in accordance with clinical and regulatory standards.

• Partners proactively with interdisciplinary teams to optimize patient- and family-centered care; supports hospital-wide patient experience initiatives, special events, and strategic programming.

• Provides specialized procedural support, employing advanced coping strategies and evaluating intervention effectiveness to continuously improve care quality.

• Participates in departmental and psychosocial rounds to support coordinated, patient- and family-centered care.

• Participates in weekday, weekend, and on-call service rotations; independently prioritizes caseload and adapts workflow to meet patient acuity, safety considerations, and departmental priorities.

• Offers clinical supervision and mentorship to child life interns; facilitates meaningful patient engagement opportunities for volunteers in accordance with institutional guidelines.

• Designs, implements, and evaluates efficient, cost-effective programming; manages child life resources, equipment, and therapeutic materials to ensure optimal service delivery.

• Oversees donation intake, organization, and distribution to maintain high standards of safety, quality, and alignment with patient needs.

• Support data collection for service

• Provides mentorship, guidance, and clinical support to Child Life I staff, fostering professional growth and consistent application of therapeutic standards.

• Serves as a clinical and educational resource within assigned areas and contributes to quality improvement and/or research initiatives within the department or institution.

• Provides mentorship, guidance, and supervision to Child Life Specialist I staff; orients new team members and participates in in-service education, presentations, and departmental initiatives.

• Participates in the development, implementation, and revision of departmental policies and procedures; contributes ideas for research, quality improvement, and evidence-based practice.

• Works with Public Relations, Comms and Marketing and other hospital departments to promote the Program internally and externally as appropriate.

• Assists with activities to fund the program (grant-writing, support for fundraising activities).

The disclosed salary range includes the minimum and maximum rates within which Children’s National believes an individual’s base pay rate will fall for this position. It is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the maximum of the pay range. The exact pay rate for this position will be based on a variety of factors in alignment with the Children’s National compensation philosophy. These factors are legitimate and non-discriminatory including, but not limited to, the current market conditions; organizational needs; the individual’s combination of prior work experience, level of education, knowledge, skills, and other qualifications. Children’s National is committed to providing a fair and competitive total rewards package to each of our employees. This base salary range does not include our comprehensive benefits package or any additional compensation for which this position may be eligible.

Childrens National Hospital is an equal opportunity employer that evaluates qualified applicants without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, marital status, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender, identity, or other characteristics protected by law. The “Know Your Rights” poster is available here: and the pay transparency policy is available here: Know Your RightsPay Transparency Nondiscrimination Poster.

Please note that it is the policy of Children's National Hospital to ensure a “drug-free” work environment: a workplace free from the illegal use, possession or distribution of controlled substances (as defined in the Controlled Substances Act), or the misuse of legal substances, by all staff (management, employees and contractors). Though recreational and medical marijuana are now legal in the District of Columbia, Children's National and its affiliates maintain the right, in accordance with our policy, to enforce a drug-free workplace, including prohibiting recreational or prescribed marijuana.