Playground Coordinator

Playground Coordinator - Wandsworth and Chelsea

Employer – Kids

Location – Kids Lady Allen Adventure Playground, Wandsworth Common, London SW11 1HT and on occasion, Chelsea Playground

Salary - £17,842.61 (£29,197 FTE)

Hours – 22 hours per week

The good stuff/benefits

• Join a company that truly cares about your wellbeing
• Enjoy an enviable annual leave package, starting at a generous 25 days and growing each year up to 30 days.
• Option to buy an additional 5 days holiday.
• Enjoy your entitlement to Bank Holidays.
• We've got your back with Maternity and Paternity Pay.
• Rest easy knowing you're covered with our Death in Service plan.
• Invest in your pension plan with the option to top it up knowing that Kids is also contributing 3%.
• Achieve work-life harmony with flexible hours tailored to your needs.
• Unlock exclusive discounts at hundreds of online retailers through our employee benefits portal.
• Reap the rewards with our enticing "Recommend a Friend" scheme.
• Access confidential support and expert guidance 24/7 through our Employee Assistance Programme, helping you navigate both personal and professional challenges.
• Take care of yourself with Company Sick Pay which you are entitled to from your first day.
• 5 days of paid family/carers leave.
• Salary sacrifice schemes available
• Develop your mentoring skills by either being a mentor or signing up for our mentoring programme.
• Expand your horizons with Kids’ online learning platforms, offering a wealth of professional courses for your personal and career development.
• Apprenticeship programmes available for employees
• Benefit from a colleague engagement programme enabling your voice to be heard.
• Lean on us during difficult times with Bereavement Leave.

As a Playground Coordinator you will be supporting disabled young people and their families by coordinating the delivery of an adventure play service at Lady Allen Playground. This is a great opportunity to develop your existing skills in a rewarding role and gain a strong sense of achievement. 

Working context: 

• You will be required to work variable/unsociable hours including evenings and Saturdays 
• Based on playground sites outside of regular office hours 
• You will be required to work from a second playground site (Chelsea Playground) on occasion 
• Managing a flexible workforce 

Key responsibilities: 

• To manage and supervise staff in the provision of the service 
• Brief staff effectively so they provide a positive play experience 
• Make sure there is a programme of activities that provide children with choices and opportunity for different play and social activities 
• Respond to and develop play episodes with children and other play practitioners  
• Take responsibility for providing 1-1 support for children with a range of disabilities 
• Keep written children records up to date and accurate 
• Demonstrate and record that children are involved in the development and planning of the playground 
• Effectively recruit and prepare play staff to undertake the requirements of the role 
• Co-ordinate and take management responsibilities for external visits and outings 
• To assist the Manager with the physical responsibilities of the playground including site inspections, maintenance, renewals and utilities.  
• To be aware of the budgets and the management of them 
• Make sure the playground meets regulatory requirements including Ofsted, H&S and Quality in Play.  
• Liaise on operational level with relevant Local Authority officers 
• Attend relevant regional and KIDs meetings 
• Participation in your own supervision and Continuing Professional Development 
• Within the post there is an agreed level of decision making responsibility in the delivery of the service especially in the absence of the Manager.  

To be able to carry out this role it is essential that you have the following characteristics: 

• Significant experience of working with disabled children in a play setting 
• Knowledge of disabilities/ impairments and impact on child and family members 
• Ability to engage and support children in a variety of play experiences without supervision 
• Experience of implementing an activity programme 
• Experience of coaching and mentoring sessional workers in areas of good practice 
• Understanding of current Safeguarding processes 
• Ability to work on your own and problem solve with little input from line managers 
• The capacity to undertake, when required, the range of management, development, administrative and liaison duties.  
• Good numeracy and literacy skills 
• Computer literate- good working knowledge of Microsoft office suite  
• Excellent range of communication skills with children, parents and other professionals.  

Personal Qualities:  

• You will have the ability to think on your feet and confidently use your initiative 
• Ability to calmly and efficiently problem solve 
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to prioritise and complete tasks across a range of disciplines 
• Energetic and willing to learn, grow and have fun 
• Creativity- in order to enhance and develop the service 
• Passionate about inclusive, adventurous play! 

This role is for 22 hours per week. It can be combined with our Young People's Wellbeing Co-ordinator role to create a 34 hour per week role. Please read through the job ad for both roles and indicate in your application if you would like to be considered for both. You only need to apply through one vacancy.