Senior Playworker

Southwark Council; Greater London; On-site; GBP 35,000 - GBP 42,000; Full time

Job summary

A local authority in London is seeking a dedicated individual to manage day-to-day operations and development of play facilities for children and young people. This role requires experience in delivering adventure play activities, managing teams, and fostering positive relationships with youth. The successful candidate will lead a team of part-time playworkers and ensure services meet the needs of children and young people in the community. The role offers a salary range of £35,373 - £41,637 and an opportunity to impact young lives positively.

Qualifications

• Experience developing and delivering adventure play activities.
• Ability to manage and motivate playworkers.
• Knowledge of various play settings.

Responsibilities

• Oversee daily operations of play facilities.
• Lead in delivering adventure play activities.
• Coordinate with internal and external agencies.

Skills

Experience with children and young people

Managing teams

Facilitating adventure play

Building positive relationships

Liaising with agencies

Job description

We are the largest local authority social landlord in London, managing 55,000 homes lived in by 40% of Southwark’s residents. We are home to over 18,300 businesses including iconic London venues and social enterprises and we have a young, diverse and growing population.

At Southwark we are committed to making our borough just and fair and are taking positive action to tackle inequalities. Our residents and communities are our greatest asset and the passion we have for Southwark is shared by millions of Londoners who enjoy our outstanding cultural offer, use our hospitals and attend our universities. Our refreshed borough plan and focus on Southwark Stands Together, (which is our work with Southwark’s communities and the council’s staff to tackle racism, injustice and inequality) underpins all that we do.

What You'll Be Doing

The Youth & Play Service are responsible for providing positive activities borough wide for young people aged 11 to 19 years (25 years with SEN) as well as delivery of Adventure Playgrounds for children aged 8 to 15 years. These services are provided in a variety of building based youth centres and adventure playgrounds across the borough.

The service also delivers the Youth Parliament, a commissioning programme of grants for organisations and individuals, the digital youth offer (One Hub) and strategic work with a variety of partners from both the statutory and voluntary sector.

The service leads on the delivery and coordination of cross departmental youth related programmes with the overall aim to raise the profile of services for young people in Southwark so that no young person is left behind. It also aims to place young people at the heart of future service design to ensure that they can influence decisions affecting their lives. This includes ensuring that council’s facilities are fit for purpose, of high quality and young people friendly and that services meet their needs and enable them to fulfil their potential.

The post holder will at times work independently and will receive regular supervision to enable delivery of high quality, modern and customer focused services to young people in the Borough.

What We're Looking For

The post holder will manage the day-to-day operation and development of an open access play facility and play workers, delivering play opportunities, across all Play Types, to children and young people.

You will also take the lead in the front line delivery of a programme of adventure play activities, working directly with children and young people to support their personal development and contributing to the achievement of relevant corporate targets.

You will lead and manage a team of part-time Playworkers.

What we're Looking for:

Experience of developing, facilitating and delivering adventure play activities and facilities for children and/or young people, and their maintenance.

Experience of implementing services objectives across a range of play settings – which may include, facility based, detached projects, open or closed play spaces, targeted programmes.

Experience of developing and maintaining appropriate and positive relationships with children and/or young people

Experience of managing and motivating teams, allocating resources, monitoring service provision and providing reports

Experience of liaising with internal and external agencies

Additional Information

Application Closing Date: 11.59pm on 1st March 2026

Interview and Assessment: 23rd March 2026

What to Expect on the Interview Day

• A short presentation
• An interview with managers
• A short interview with young people
• Practical and scenario-based exercises

You will be given clear instructions for each part on the day.

*Please note, we reserve the right to close applications prior to the closing date indicated above - please apply as soon as possible - we look forward to receiving your application.

Please note: If you have applied for this role within the last three months, your previous application would have already been considered as part of our recruitment process. Unfortunately, we are unable to accept repeat applications during this period, and any new application submitted within this timeframe will not be progressed.

The Play Offer is delivered Tuesdays to Saturdays and we will require the post holder to work these days with some possible additional hours on Sundays, on an ad hoc basis

Salary Range (Full time equivalent) £35,373 - £41,637