Bath Area Play Project

BATH AREA PLAY PROJECT

PLAY SERVICE MANAGER – JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Title: Play Service Manager

Responsible to: Director & Trustee Board

Responsible for: Family Play Support Workers Community Play Support Workers

Temporary and sessional play staff & volunteers (up to 25)

Hours: 37 hours including working flexible hours which can occasionally include weekends, evenings and early mornings

Salary scale: SCP 27 – 30 £23,698- £26,293 dependent upon qualifications and experience

Notice period: Three months

KEY PURPOSE To develop and manage all operational aspects of BAPP’s play specifically the Family Support and Play Service contract including managing staff and volunteers

Ensuring services are consistent and high quality andthat free play opportunities for school age children are maintained through the holidays

Promotion and fundraising which sustains the organisation and supports future developments

Our Play and Family Support Services include the year roundFamily Play Support Service and additional staff BAPP employ to deliver playscheme and playdays. This post will have responsibility for the day to day running of these services managing a small team of Support Workers and ensuring that corporate, contractual, quality, equality, financial and organisational objectives are met in a timely manner.

SERVICE DEVELOPMENT

To support and manage a staff team of Family Play Support Workers and Community Play Support Workers to provide family support and group work for children, young people and families across B&NES including holding a small caseload as required.

To develop the service in conjunction with our Partner, Southside including joint work through Family Play Hubs, Community Playdays and other partnership opportunities

To attend fortnightly Allocation Meetings, undertake Assessments with families ensuring the child’s voice is heard and allocate families to services in conjunction with Southside.

To support sessional staff and volunteers employed on Holiday Playschemes and Playdays

To support the development of the overall Strategic Plan for the organisation, working with the Trustees and Director to develop targets for funding and development across the organisation.
To market BAPP’s play and family support services to the widest possible audience including use of Social Media, looking for opportunities to increase reach, funding opportunities and deliver high quality play opportunities.
To represent the organisation and develop relationships with partners including B&NES and Schools, ensuring reputation is maintained and new opportunities developed.

BATH AREA PLAY PROJECT

PLAY SERVICE MANAGER – JOB DESCRIPTION

To research and initiate innovative new opportunities for development of play and family support services
To assist with funding applications, ideas for profile raising and proposals as required

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

To manage staff to deliver consistent and high-quality play and family support services against agreed outcomes and targets, ensuring timely reporting back to funders
Organise and run monthly Team meetings including bringing in of other services where appropriate to share information
Represent BAPP and the Play Service at meetings with partners and supporters
To ensure that staff in all projects are working compliant with Data Protection, Safeguarding, Health & Safety including use of Risk Benefit Assessments & Equalities legislation
To attend and represent BAPP at Schools meetings which may include B&NES Behaviour & Attendance Panels and any other school or multi-agency meetings as required
To build strong connections with schools across B&NES, promoting the Nurture Group offer, supporting staff to manage and organise Nurture provision and developing new school business through spot purchasing
To attend Partnership Allocation Meetings (PAMs) with Southside Senior Practitioners and Operational Meetings
With the Director, co-ordinate funded projects, ensuring staffing and resources are in place, delivery is professional and efficient and monitoring, reporting and evaluation takes place as required.

To ensure that all service staff raise awareness of the value and benefits of play for school age children, their families and the wider community

To be responsible with the Director for the safe and efficient operation of the organisation’s premises, including compliance with all statutory, legal and insurance responsibilities.

BUDGET RESPONSIBILITY

To establish and have overall responsibility for achieving the outcomes for all funded work and any fundraising targets whilst delivering BAPP’s mission and values.
To manage and work within the budget for named servicesincluding the Family Play Support Service delivered by the organisation including any petty cash allocated

STAFF RESPONSIBILITY

To lead and manage the Family & Community Play Support Workers and play volunteers in accordance with BAPP policies and procedures and oversee and support the employment of sessional Playworkers employed during the main school holidays

BATH AREA PLAY PROJECT

PLAY SERVICE MANAGER – JOB DESCRIPTION

To ensure that staff including sessional staffand volunteers are inducted, trained and supported to enable them to fulfil their duties effectively
Through regular supervision, support staff to reflect on practice, understand and measure outcomes effectively and ensure that staff maintain records in line with policies, sharing concerns where raised with the Director

To be responsible with other staff for the day-to-day health and safety and welfare of staff, including volunteers and visitors to premises and services which may operate from schools and other community buildings

To manage and record any staff sickness or absence, arranging / providing cover where required

OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES

To ensure all play and family support services are adequately resourced with staff and volunteers and to maintain high levels of service.
To maintain the same high quality play provision from all staff and volunteers across all play services delivered by the organisation across B&NES
To ensure all play services staff meet the needs of children whilst being aware of the customer or project requirements.
To undertake any other responsibilities that the Trustees may consider suitable to support the success of the whole organisation.

BATH AREA PLAY PROJECT PLAY SERVICE MANAGER PERSON SPECIFICATION ESSENTIAL CRITERIA

Experience:

Experience of project managing, ideally in a similar setting of play/ family support services for vulnerable families/ community services(E)
Experience of managing and supervising workload and responsibility of staff teams (E)
Experience of working collaboratively to deliver services which may include a small caseload (E)
Experience of networking and establishing relationships with statutory, private, voluntary and community sector organisations including schoolsin order to develop & deliver new services for the organisation (E)
Experience of report writing including analysis of data (E)
Experience of communicating with a range of people, interpreting needs and developing services which meets the play needs of child/young person and families’ requirements and play objectives of the organisation(E)
Experience of managing staff and volunteers to achieve the very best outcomes for children, service users and the wider community (D)

Qualifications:

Educated to Degree Level in a related field (D)

Qualified playworker (NVQ level 3 / Diploma in Playwork) (D)
First aid qualification (D)
Enhanced DBS checked (E)
Full, clean UK driving licence, ideally with experience of driving a mini-bus or van. (D)

Knowledge & Skills:

Ability to manage the delivery of a range of projects happening concurrently, drawing up budgets, action and project plans. (E)
Ability to manage and support staff teams (E)
Ability to work in a fully inclusive way (E)
Ability to work to deadlines, prioritise and manage time effectively (E)
Ability to research new and innovative play practice, and incorporate appropriate ideas into the delivery of play services for the organisation. (D)
Ability to write reports capturing impact of service effectiveness and collection and use of data to evaluate impact (E)
Ability to deliver presentations to different audiences for the purpose of selling or reporting back on the services of the organisation. (D)
Practical and recent experience of direct support work with children, young people and parents (D)
Ability to set annual targets in order to manage the performance of the team. (E)
Ability to manage budgets in conjunction with the Director and Finance Officer. (E)
Understanding of Safeguarding legislation and with the named Safeguarding Officer, ability to implement all Safeguarding within the organisation. (E)

DESIRABLE CRITERIA

Experience

Experience of working with disabled children, young people and their families

Willingness, as a Senior Manager, to take overall responsibility for the work of the organisation, and deal with any issues that arise within any area of the business of the organisationwhich may include a very small caseload of families

Understanding of working with a volunteer Board of Trustees.
Drive and ambition to deliver the Mission and Valuesof the organisation.
Able to lift and carry large pieces of play equipment and related equipment.
Able to work occasional late hours, early mornings and weekends.

DESIRABLE CRITERIA

Ability to act in an advisory/consultancy capacity to organisations seeking to access BAPP’s play expertise.

OTHER INFORMATION

Subject to a three-month probationary period.
Pension scheme
Access to Training and Continuing Professional Development including funding support where approved by Trustees with a Training Agreement
Annual leave of 25 days plus statutory Bank Holidays
Up to two weeks leave permitted during the school summer holidays