PROGRAMME COORDINATOR (Social Clubs)

Salary £25,000 + monthly travel card

ABOUT 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 capital 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, resilience, skills, connection 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, digital and attitudinal divides.

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

and the housing bubble London has become a place of social extremes. The boroughs in
which we work – Southwark and Lambeth – contain some of the best connected people
in Britain – high flying graduates working in law, PR, media, finance, etc – living directly
alongside some of the most isolated, with particular challenges to do with ageing,
loneliness, depression and anxiety.

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.

In a dynamic city like ours, clearly these two groups have so much to gain from one
another – in shared time, laughter, new experiences and, especially, friendship.

The “Cares” model 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 and rewarding.

We achieve that vision through the constant development of programmes that people can
relate to and enjoy. At the cross-section of the public, private and community sectors we
work 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. The majority of the older people who are part of our
network live alone, may not naturally have wide social networks, and love and look
forward to new experiences with their younger friends.

Specifically, we operate four programmes. Our Social Clubs are group activities bringing
people together in community centres, cafes, libraries, pubs and local businesses to
share time, laughter and cultural exchange. We run around 25 of these events a month.
Regular clubs include dance parties, film nights, choirs, new technology workshops,
South London Cares Limited is UK registered company number 8757344 and UK registered charity number 1157401.
Desert Island Discs, creative writing, ‘back to work’ business visits and themed get-
togethers like St Patrick’s Day and Chinese New Year celebrations.

Meanwhile, 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. Neighbours build relationships on their own terms, enjoy
meals together, and often become long-standing friends.

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

And 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 in the case of one 82-year-old, a 5k run,
as well as events, corporate partnerships, digital campaigns, regular donations and more,
local people support the charity in a variety of exciting ways.

South London Cares is a young and rapidly developing organisation with the benefits
of the security, support and platform provided by major backers including Nesta and
the Big Lottery, United St Saviour’s, international corporations and our partner councils.

ABOUT THIS ROLE

The Programme Coordinator (Social Clubs) at South London Cares will work in a team of
two, responsible for designing and delivering around 25 clubs every month across
Southwark and Lambeth – from pub clubs to cultural trips to Bollywood dance parties to
business visits. They 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. The
Programme Coordinator needs to be able to lead a room, give instructions in a friendly
(and occasionally firm!) way, bring together many diverse elements and moving parts
into a coherent whole, and 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.

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

They will work predominantly from our private office in a vibrant, shared office complex in
the heart of Brixton – with large parts of the week spent leading events in our partner

This role will focus more on leading social clubs out in the community, 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
social clubs (and lead fewer social clubs) in the future, if the successful candidate wishes
to and as the team develops.

South London Cares Limited is UK registered company number 8757344 and UK registered charity number 1157401.
ABOUT YOU

The ideal candidate will have 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.

You will be 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 on an estate in Peckham as leading and communicating with busy
and tech-savvy young professionals.

You will understand and be motivated by the demographics and social challenges of our
home boroughs and the issues we work on. And you will also be a self-starter: someone
committed, tough, and focused working alone as well as in a team; who is passionate
about further developing, improving and sustaining South London Cares over the coming
years.

LOGISTICS

To apply please send a CV and covering letter to

rosa.friend@southlondoncares.org.uk, demonstrating why you are interested in – and
right for – this role.

• Applications should be received no later than 1pm on Thursday 5th April 2018.


• First round interviews will take place on or around Tuesday 10th April, with call
backs for second interviews from Monday 16th March and a start as soon as
possible thereafter. 
Please read the full job specification below for further
information.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

● Design and deliver between three and four social clubs per week, including, on
average, 8 evenings and 2 weekends 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 and creating new clubs;

South London Cares Limited is UK registered company number 8757344 and UK registered charity number 1157401.
 ● 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 wider 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 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.

DESIRABLE SKILLS

• 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.

REQUIRED

• 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;

South London Cares Limited is UK registered company number 8757344 and UK registered charity number 1157401.
 • 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).

South London Cares Limited is UK registered company number 8757344 and UK registered charity number 1157401.