Employment Opportunities
Adventure Playground Operations Manager
SOAP is seeking to recruit an exciting new role to manage the day to day running of the South Oxford Adventure Playground with a particular focus on the safe running of the play sessions and site, and the management of the sessional staff team.
Initial term of contract: 6 months from 20 March – 15 September (with hope of expansion and extension of the role if funding allows)
Hours: 12 hours per week during weekdays in term time (to include a presence at after school sessions on Thursdays and Fridays from 2.30 – 5.30pm and the youth club from 5.30 – 8.30pm on Thursdays)
26 hours per week during weekdays in the school holidays (to include a presence at holiday sessions on Tuesday through Friday from 9.30am – 4.30pm.)
Salary: £15 per hour plus benefits (to include holiday entitlement of 6 weeks pro rata inclusive of statutory bank holidays and access to a pension scheme)
Job Descriptions & Application form:
To apply: please complete the application form above and send to admin@soapoxford.org by 8 March 2023. Interviews are planned for 10 March 2023.
Volunteering at SOAP
SOAP relies on its volunteers to keep open. Their time makes a massive difference to children and young people who visit SOAP after school and through the holidays, and it makes a difference to our community. We know this from the feedback we get. We’re always on the lookout if you’d like to help out! It’s fun and can be very rewarding!
As a volunteer, you have the chance to gain new experiences, strengthen your skills, build confidence, make new friends, add something new to your CV and feel good about helping to maintain play spaces for children, young people and the wider community.
Who can volunteer?
Anyone who has spare time can volunteer. We already have volunteers of many different backgrounds, abilities and ages supporting us.
There is no upper age limit, but volunteers must be at least 13 years old. We support young people interested in volunteering as a young leader and completing their Duke of Edinburgh award. For some roles you will need to be over 18 years old.
What do volunteers do at SOAP
A whole range of things! Volunteer opportunities are endless, and we’re open to new ways to work in partnership. These are just some of the activities our volunteers do at SOAP, and we’re open to new ones!
- support a specific activity with children and young people such as making bird boxes, christmas decorations, pottery etc.
- get involved in football, table tennis, basketball, square ball, capture the flag, rounders etc.
- Share a specific skill like photography or bike maintenance
- Gardening
- Odd jobs, painting and decorating
- Becoming a Parent Champion and advocate for the benefits of play and the adventure playgrounds to other parents
- Supporting, planning and running events
- Support with admin and finance
- Support with cleaning and checking after private hires
- Grounds maintenance, chopping wood, weeding, litter picking, sweeping up leaves.
- Trips to the dump
- Fundraising and bid writing
- Web design
- Conducting surveys and getting feedback from stakeholders
- Building and maintaining play structures, painting wood preservatives, tightening fixings and making repairs.
- Turning over play bark
- Buying supplies for tuck shop and events
Young leaders
Our young leaders are volunteers aged between 14 and 18 years old who want to support play sessions, take on new responsibilities, learn new skills, build confidence and gain work experience alongside an experienced playworker. Volunteering activities for young leaders include supporting daily site checks, setting up play opportunities, supporting children when needed, gardening and site maintenance.