SOUTH LONDON CARES

PROGRAMME
COORDINATOR
(SOCIAL CLUBS)
PERMANENT, FULL TIME POST (40 HOURS PER WEEK)
LOCATION: BRIXTON
SALARY: £25,000 (PLUS TRAVEL)

To apply, please send your CV and a covering letter in PDF format to Jasmin
White at jasmin.white@southlondoncares.org.uk showing us why you feel you
are right for this role.

Applications should be received no later than 11pm on Sunday 28th April 2019.
First round interviews: Wednesday 8th and Thursday 9th May 2019
Second round interviews: Wednesday 15th and Thursday 16th May 2019
Starting date in June 2019

Please read the full job description below for further information..
THE CHARITY
South London Cares is a community network of young professionals and older neighbours
hanging out and helping one another in our rapidly changing city.

Our objectives are to tackle the growing plight of isolation and loneliness not just amongst
older people but also amongst young Londoners; to help improve the confidence,
connection, belonging, purpose and power of all participants so that older and younger
neighbours alike can better navigate the modern world; and to bring people together to
bridge widening social, generational, cultural, digital and attitudinal divides.

We do this because in the context of globalisation, gentrification, digitisation and urban

transience London has become a place of social extremes. The boroughs in which we work
at South London Cares – Southwark and Lambeth – contain some of the best-connected
young professionals in Britain living directly alongside some of the most isolated, with
particular challenges to do with deprivation, depression and loneliness.

The result is that older people often have deep roots in their communities, but few
connections, while young professionals often have hundreds of connections but no
roots. That disconnect wastes human potential, perpetuates social division, entrenches
isolation and is ultimately corrosive for our society.
OUR PROGRAMMES
In a dynamic city like ours, these two groups have so much to gain from one another –
in shared time, laughter, new experiences and, especially, friendship.

South London Cares therefore seeks to harness the people and places around us and to
mobilise a new generation of young professionals to build relationships and share
experiences with our older neighbours in a variety of fun, authentic ways. We speak the
language of younger and older people alike – and make interaction on a personal level
mutually accessible, sociable, rewarding and fun.

We work at the cross-section of the public, private and community sectors in partnership with
local authorities, voluntary and community groups, businesses and individuals to identify
isolation where it occurs and to create new opportunities for older and younger neighbours
to share time.
OUR PROGRAMMES
Specifically, we operate four programmes. Our Social Clubs are group activities bringing
people together in community centres, cafes, pubs, parks and local businesses to share
time, laughter and cultural exchange. Regular clubs include film nights, ‘Desert Island Discs’
evenings, ‘back to work’ business visits and themed parties.

Secondly, our Love Your Neighbour programme matches young professionals and older
neighbours to spend time together one-to-one, often in people’s homes, to improve the life
experiences of all parties and help bring some of the outside world in for older people who
may struggle to get out. Neighbours build relationships on their own terms, enjoy meals
together, and often become long-standing friends.

Third, our pro-active Outreach work identifies older people at risk of isolation in our
communities through innovative ongoing campaigns. Our Winter Wellbeing project, for
example, supports older neighbours through multiple interactions and interventions to stay
warm, active and connected through the most isolating time of the year.

Finally, our Community Fundraising offers another chance for younger and older
neighbours to contribute to their community network. Through individual physical challenges
including marathons, triathlons and Tough Mudders as well as events, corporate
partnerships, digital campaigns, regular donations and more, local people support South
London Cares in a variety of exciting ways..

"I love South London Cares, it keeps me

fit and happy. You’ve got to smile,
laugh, dance and take nothing for
granted. Treat every day like a carnival.”
Marguerita (74)
ABOUT THE ROLE
You will work in a team of two, responsible for designing and delivering around 25
social clubs every month across Southwark and Lambeth – from pub clubs to cultural
trips to Bollywood dance parties to business visits. You will be managed by our Head of
Programmes and work closely with our experienced Programme Coordinator already
working on social clubs.

The job requires creativity, perseverance, patience, leadership and positivity. You will
need to be able to lead a room, to give instructions in a friendly (and occasionally firm!) way,
to bring together many diverse elements and moving parts into a coherent whole, and to
facilitate conversations and ultimately relationships between people who may not normally
interact and who may be nervous. It’s those elements, and that variety, that makes this role,
and South London Cares in general, such a challenging and exciting place to be.

You will also liaise with delivery partners, using your creativity, determination and
partnership-building skills to collaborate on exciting events.

You will focus more frequently on leading social clubs, while our other Programme
Coordinator will be responsible for planning the overall programme of events each month –
but there are opportunities to take on more of the organisational side of the Social Clubs
programme in the future.

The ideal candidate will be someone who has a track record of supporting creative
community projects, and experience dealing with multiple tasks and challenges at the same
time. You will be confident and full of energy, with an organised approach, a clear, authentic
communication style and an intrinsic understanding of the power of networks and
digital media.

When you join our team, you will work predominantly from our private office in a vibrant,
shared office complex in the heart of Brixton – with large parts of the week leading events
in our partner venues across Southwark and Lambeth.
 ABOUT YOU
We therefore need someone who understands and is motivated by the demographics
and social challenges of Southwark and Lambeth – and in particular who is passionate
about people and can clearly promote our vision for building friendships across deepening
divides in order to tackle isolation and loneliness in those boroughs.

We are looking for a real people-person, able to build trust, talk to and relate to people
from all backgrounds. We need someone equally comfortable discussing Eastenders with
a group of thirty 90-year-olds in a community hall in Peckham as leading and
communicating with busy and tech-savvy young professionals.

You will be trusted to work dynamically and independently across this exciting young
charity, with a growing profile and backing from major local and national supporters. You will
also be provided with all the development opportunities, professional support and networks
to play a lasting, transformative role in the development of the “Cares” vision and family.

“I’ve been coming to social clubs since

2014 and meeting new people never
gets old.”
Syed (35)

"I don't get out as much as I'd like so

coming here today with my neighbours
has been brilliant. It's just like a birthday
party!"
Albert (80)
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Design and deliver between three and four social clubs per week, including, on average,
during eight evenings and two weekend days per month (with time off in lieu);
Community engagement: build and manage relationships with volunteers and older
neighbours, arts organisations, businesses and community centres;
Lead on the many details and considerations that make a successful South London
Cares social club – from welcoming and facilitating conversations between older
neighbours and young professionals, to making tea, to operating projection equipment, to
running arts sessions and taking groups to local businesses, as well as adhering to our
core policies and best practice guidelines;
Support our other Programme Coordinator (Social Clubs) in designing the monthly
programme of events – including researching and planning trips, approaching
businesses for partnerships and creating new clubs;
Write a monthly newsletter for our older neighbours interested in attending social clubs;
Communicate regularly with volunteers and older neighbours, by email, post, telephone
and text to inspire, enable and organise people to participate in the South London Cares
network and to thank them for their contribution;
Along with the rest of our team, create vivid, powerful, fun communications – digital
content including blogs, YouTube videos, Instagram images, Facebook and Twitter
posts, and case studies – to support the delivery and tell the story of your social clubs
and the neighbours who are part of them;
Administer our comprehensive and vital registers and records which track the number of
attendances, interactions, relationships and group activities South London Cares creates
as well as demographic forms – and create and analyse data sets to offer new insights
into the success and value of our social clubs;
Use our Customer Relationship Management (Salesforce) and data tools to ensure
records are kept up to date, relevant and targeted – and report back to the rest of the
team;
Talk passionately about our social clubs and the rest of our work at induction evenings
for new volunteers.
REQUIRED SKILLS
You're an authentic, high-quality communicator and storyteller – with the ability to build
relationships with diverse groups and individuals effectively and appropriately, from young
professionals to older neighbours, and key local and national partners (through written as well as
verbal communications);
You have high standards and aspirations for your work and career, and want to make a lasting
contribution to your city on some of the defining issues of our time;
You are professionally agile, and able to adapt to the rapidly changing needs of a small but
growing charity;
You have high quality written and verbal skills, and are confident creating social media posts to
promote South London Cares’ work externally;
You have the flexibility to work an average of eight evenings and two weekend days per month in
order to deliver your work, with time off provided in lieu;
You are able to obtain a clear CRB/DBS certification (provided).

DESIRABLE QUALITIES
You are charismatic, fun, warm, approachable, self-starting, confident, outgoing, creative,
sensitive, determined, ambitious, flexible, resilient, organised and professional;
You have experience working in a small or medium sized organisation and are comfortable
working alone as well as in a team;
You have a good understanding of the culture and socio-economic challenges facing south
London – and can relate to and build relationships with people from all backgrounds;
You have excellent skills and knowledge of various common online and office tools to enhance
efficiency and improve results.

ROLE FEATURES
26 days' annual leave plus bank holidays
Staff counselling service
Travel covered
Flexible working hours
Significant opportunities for learning and development

We seek to live our values in everything we do. We are actively seeking candidates from
diverse backgrounds who represent the communities we work in.