Activities Coordinator

Contract Type: Permanent, Part time – 24.5 hours per week (average), 7 hour shifts.

Working Pattern: Days - working on rolling rota of 3 consecutive days on and 3 consecutive days off (10am – 5pm).

About Us

Friends of the Elderly (FotE) is a not-for-profit charity dedicated to providing excellent care with a family feel, we have been supporting older people for over 120 years. The charity provides care home and day care services for older people, as well as grants for older people in financial difficulty.

About Friends Place, Calcot

Due to open in July 2025, Friends Place, Calcot will be more than just a care home - it will be a vibrant, welcoming community designed to provide exceptional residential, dementia, and respite care. Run by Friends of the Elderly, where we pride ourselves on delivering personalised, compassionate care in a state-of-the-art facility. Located in the heart of Calcot, Reading, our home will feature:

• A cinema for residents to enjoy movie nights and entertainment.
• A stylish salon offering professional pampering.
• A peaceful library for reading and reflection.
• A vibrant bar for socialising and relaxation.

The modern facilities are designed to create a warm and homely environment where residents feel safe, valued, and supported.

Joining us as an Activities Coordinator, you will lead and encourage residents to join in meaningful activities whilst maintaining their independence, choice and dignity, to enable them to lead as full and active life as possible. In this rewarding role, you will create a stimulating and varied programme of leisure activities and social events, inside and outside of the home, for residents to enjoy. Working with each new resident to understand their likes/dislikes, abilities and needs, you will put together an individual social care plan and evaluate it regularly.

You will play a key role in engaging with the local community by initiating contact with community groups and enabling residents to partake / continue with hobbies and interests as desired. You will also help to recruit a network of volunteers to provide a variety of desired appropriate social opportunities as identified by the residents. Strong communication and interpersonal skills are essential, so that you can form great relationships with your residents. Ideally you will come to us with previous experience of organising and co-ordinating activities, but more importantly, you will be passionate about supporting our residents. We will provide you with all the outstanding training and tools that you need; all we ask is a willingness to learn and a genuine enthusiasm to encourage others to live their lives to the full.

This isn’t just a job; it’s about making a difference to older people’s lives every day.

Why Join Friends of the Elderly?

• Heritage of Care: Work with a trusted organisation backed by over a century of expertise.
• Non-Profit Mission: Be part of a charity that prioritises people, not profit. While we take a commercial approach to our work, we are not for profit and we are committed to our charitable values.
• State-of-the-Art Facilities: Lead a cutting-edge care home designed for comfort and community.
• Professional Development: Access training and career development opportunities.

Make Your Mark

This is a unique opportunity to shape the culture and success of a brand-new care home, leaving a lasting impact on residents’ lives and the community.

In return for your hard work and dedication, you can look forward to a wealth of benefits:

• Group Pension Plan, with a 6% contribution from us.
• Generous annual leave.
• Wellbeing support through various initiatives, including an employee assistance programme.
• Learning, development, and progression opportunities.
• Monthly prize draw, with 3 prizes to be won.
• Retail discount schemes to make your salary go further.
• Access to loans at affordable rates, saving directly from salary and advance pay already earned.
• Health cash plans for you and your family.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Long service awards that increase with length of service.
• Refer a friend to work for us and receive a £200 bonus.
• Uniforms are provided.
• Free DBS checks.

Safeguarding: Keeping everyone safe is one of the charity’s core values, and is central to everything we do at Friends of the Elderly. All staff follow our Safeguarding Policy & Procedures and, if they see or suspect abuse, we expect staff to report it straight away.

Criminal record checks: As this role involves a regulated activity, successful applicants will undertake an enhanced DBS check, with barred lists check, and any offer of employment will be dependent on a satisfactory outcome. Having a criminal record will not necessarily bar a person from working for us, this will depend on the circumstances and background of any record.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion: Friends of the Elderly strives to treat all staff equally and be a diverse and inclusive workplace, where everyone can be themselves and everyone accepts each other’s differences. A charity where everyone is equal but definitely not the same. Our ambition is to ensure equality and celebrate diversity, all working together to create an inclusive workplace, which attracts and retains the best people. People that care and can make a difference.

We currently do not provide sponsorship but we welcome applications from those who have a right to work in the UK.

Don’t delay in sending your application as we may need to close the vacancy early if we manage to appoint before the advertising closing date. We interview applicants as they apply.