Job Description
Holidays & Short Breaks Coordinator
Responsible to: Operations Manager
Payscale: Points 30-32 plus inner London weighting
Job Purpose
To co-lead the delivery of a high quality and innovative programme of holidays and leisure activities for disabled people with complex communication needs across England and Wales
Job title / Holidays & Short Breaks CoordinatorResponsible to / Operations Manager, Head of Volunteering
Responsible for / Sessional leaders, Volunteers
Key relationships / Holidays & Short Breaks Coordinator (2 posts in total)
Operations Manager
Head of Volunteering
Volunteering Assistant
Start date / January 2018
Contract / Permanent
Hours / 37.5 hours per week
You will be expected to work flexibly around duties, including evenings and weekends.
Location / London
Description of role
The Holidays and Short Breaks Coordinator will work as part of the Holidays and Short Breaks team to:
1.1 Ensure the effective delivery of Sense’s National Holidays Programme, which currently supports up to 100 disabled children and adults who are deafblind, multi-sensory impaired, or who have other complex communication needs, to go on a week-long holiday each year across 20 venues in England and Wales
1.2 Contribute to the delivery of further national short breaks and leisure activities throughout the year, including two to five night residential breaks as part of regional short breaks programmes, and weekend leisure activities for disabled children, adults and their families.
1.3 Ensure that the activities and holidays offered meet the needs and preferences of disabled people and their families
1.4 With support from the wider Holidays and Volunteering team: recruit, train, support, and develop sessional employees (leaders) and volunteers; and maximise the contribution of both leaders and volunteers to the holidays programme and wider team
1.5 Contribute to the development of new ways of offering residential holiday, short break and weekend leisure activity, in order to further extend our reach and the way in which we achieve great outcomes for everyone involved in our activities
1.5 Ensure all holidays and activities are conducted in a safe and effective manner, in accordance with Sense policies and procedures; and for holidays and breaks for children under 18, that these activities additionally comply fully with requirements for Ofsted
Specific Responsibilities
1.1 Holidays and Short Break Programme Delivery
1.1.1 Source and book a varied range of holidays and venues suitable for holidaymakers with a range of access needs and preferences regarding holiday activities and accommodation
1.1.2 Effectively promote the holidays and short breaks and manage the process of families enquiring about and applying for a holiday
1.1.3 Coordinate the review of holidaymaker applications and the allocation of holidays to individuals
1.1.4 Recruit, train, support, develop and manage a team of leaders and volunteers with the skills and experience needed to deliver the holidays effectively
1.1.5 Coordinate the process of matching the skills and experience of leaders and volunteers to the needs of each holiday group
1.1.6 Organise and deliver holidays training for leaders and volunteers, liaising with the Operations Manager and other key members of the Holidays and Volunteering team to design and arrange appropriate training, learning and development activities
1.1.7 Ensure that there is effective communication between the team, leaders, volunteers and families throughout the year, and act as the primary point of contact for families, leaders and volunteers during the holidays
1.1.8 Organise the additional resources, equipment and transport needed to run each holiday effectively
1.1.9 Coordinate the collection of feedback, photographs and other information following the holidays which contribute towards evaluating and celebrating the programme’s activities
1.2 Care, support and management of risk
1.2.1 Ensure that the individual care and support needs of all holidaymakers are identified in advance, that plans are put in place to meet those needs and that effective risk management is undertaken prior to and during the holidays with regards to the care, support and wellbeing of individuals
1.2.2 Ensure that leaders and volunteers assigned to holidays have the information, knowledge, training and support necessary to undertake their role effectively and to meet people’s care and support needs
1.2.3 Ensure that appropriate arrangements and guidance are in place in relation to the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults and additionally that all recruitment of leaders and volunteers follows appropriate Sense policy and procedures
1.2.4 Ensure a safe working environment for all staff, visitors and users of holidays and other activities, meeting legal and organisational expectations in relation to health and safety; including further effective risk management related to premises, activities, resources, vehicles, travel and contingency planning.
1.3 Planning, Evaluation and Monitoring
1.3.1 Contribute to the development of an operational plan for the holidays and short breaks programme each year, and lead on monitoring progress against the plan for particular areas of work and ensuring objectives are achieved effectively and on time
1.3.2 Maintain accurate and up to date holidaymaker, leader and volunteer databases
1.3.3 Seek and collect feedback from a full range of holidays and short breaks participants and stakeholders, to report on the performance and impact of the holiday and activities programme, and to contribute to the ongoing review and evaluation of the team’s activities
1.3.4 Account for expenditure and resources used during the holiday programme including contributing to the preparation and monitoring of an annual budget for the programme
1.3.5 Contribute to the team’s strategic planning for the development of holidays and short breaks, and for the recruitment, involvement and development of leaders and volunteers across holidays, short breaks and leisure activities; help to ensure that disabled people who take part in our activities are actively involved in the design, delivery and evaluation of those activities.
1.4 Other
1.4.1 Pro-actively support the strategic, corporate and operational aspects of Sense’s work
1.4.2 Comply with Sense policies and procedures regarding the operation of services and the employment of staff, actively promoting the principles of equal opportunities and working in a manner that maintains a safe, healthy and supportive environment
1.4.3 Keep up to date with developments in the field; in particular in relation to any legislative or regulatory changes
1.4.4 Carry out any other duties commensurate with the grade and nature of this role.
Person Specification
Holidays & Short Breaks Coordinator
Knowledge, Education and TrainingEssential Criteria / Desirable Criteria
Knowledge of the needs of disabled people and their families, particularly in relation to short breaks/holidays / Previous / existing training or qualifications related to work with people with a dual or multi sensory impairment, learning disability, autism or complex communication needs.
Achievements, Experience and Skills
Essential Criteria / Desirable Criteria
Demonstrable experience of working with disabled people and their families* / Experience of working with people who are deafblind, multisensory impaired, who have autism, or who have other complex communication needs.
Evidence of high level administration and project management skills and of managing a high volume of administration or project tasks
Evidence of excellent verbal and written communication skills and having used these to engage with a wide range of individuals or groups / Experience of presenting, faciliating or of delivering training
Experience of developing highly effective relationships and using these to influence, negotiate, problem solve or collaborate
Experience of recruiting, managing and supporting volunteers;
and / or substantial experience of working as part of team which includes volunteers directly providing care and support for children, young people or adults. / Experience of managing staff teams
Experience of ensuring processes are in place that safeguard vulnerable people and that manage risk effectively
Evidence of ability to work both in an organised, methodical way on your own initiative and to be supportive and collaborative member of a team
Able to work flexible hours including some evenings and weekends;
able to work throughout the delivery period for holidays and short breaks you are responsible for; and to be part of an on-call team when the holidays and breaks are taking place
Able to travel across a large geographic area, including occasional overnight stays.
*Please note, we welcome applications from individuals interested in working across the broad range of our programme’s activities; and from those with a particular interest in focussing on either our children and young people’s holidays and breaks, or our holidays and activities for adults. Please outline this in your application as relevant.
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