Lifestyle Coach 1

Job Description

Job Description

This is a part time position with variable hours and some flexibility of scheduling.

Applicants for the Lifestyle Coach position are invited to preview the Community Health Team’s YouTube playlist here : Community Health Team Talks. Listen to our Lifestyle Coaches, Director, and Program Coordinators as they talk about various aspects of their jobs : what inspires them; the impacts of working with participants; personal and professional development in the role, etc. We hope this will give you some sense of our team culture and what it could mean for you to do transformative work with special populations.

The first video on this playlist, describing what it feels like to be on this team is below :

When applying, please include a resume and a cover letter sharing why you wish to embark on the journey of Lifestyle Coaching. Please also download and read the complete job description, functional expectations document and training schedule (attached to this posting).

Position Overview :

The Lifestyle Coach 1 : Medical Exercise team member will co-facilitate group classes (both in person and virtually) alongside clinicians within our Pathways to Wellness program, a collaboration with CHAS Health. Lifestyle Coaches working within this program will also be required to conduct 1 : 1 coaching appointments with program participants over the course of the 10 week sessions. Medical Exercise coaches must have an NCCA accredited Personal Training Certification or equivalent (e.g., Medical Exercise Specialist) or have licensure in a medical specialty that includes regular exercise instruction. Examples of this latter would be a Physical Therapist, Physical Therapy Assistant, Occupational Therapist or Clinical Exercise Physiologist. Applicants must be able to work at more than one YMCA location as well as to provide virtual coaching (via zoom) as needed.

The preferred candidate also has some background in whole-person lifestyle / wellness coaching, community health or public health with a basic understanding of stages of change (Prochaska and DiClemente), Motivational Interviewing and shared decision making in healthcare. Pathways to Wellness is a collaborative, participant driven model rather than a prescriptive one.

While lifestyle coaches hired for this position will be largely focused on Pathways to Wellness program delivery, they will also be expected to train in several other programs (YMCA Weight Loss Program, LIVESTRONG at the YMCA : Cancer Survivor's Wellness Program, Powerful Tools for Caregivers) and accept assignments in one or more of those programs as needed, when prepared to do so.

The hiring rate for this position is currently $17.70-$18.70 per hour.

There are many benefits to working at the YMCA :

• Frequent opportunities to make a transformational difference in the lives of the individuals we serve
• Free individual YMCA membership (
• Paid sick time accruing at 1 hour every 40 hours worked
• Up to two hours of Child Watch services per day, per child while employee is on site and working
• Flexible schedules that work for YOU
• Something new and exciting to learn and work with every day
• Retirement plan with 8% employer contribution after 2 years of service (1,000 or more hours worked required in each anniversary year)

New Lifestyle coaches are typically hired at this level and may progress on to Lifestyle Coach II after having coached two complete sessions of one (or a combination) of the following programs : LIVESTRONG at the YMCA, Pathways to Wellness, or Y Weight Loss Program. This is to ensure that the coach has had enough practice with Motivational Interviewing, exploratory facilitation, peer feedback processes, program documentation and reporting, and specific curriculum delivery to work relatively independently and serve as an effective model to new coaches. Initial training typically takes approximately 3 months to complete, and most programs run 10-12 weeks. More experienced coaches (at least 400 hours of coaching experience - including work with special populations) may be promoted to Lifestyle Coach II, after completing the Pathways Coach training.