Job Detail

Watford Mencap - Café in the Library are searching for a Skills and Activities Manager  to join our team.

Watford Mencap provide a range of services to people of all ages with a learning disability and their families in SW Herts. Services include residential care homes, supported living, community services, adult learning and leisure opportunities, short breaks and children’s and young people's services.

We are looking for an experienced, practical and enthusiastic person who wants to help us develop the activities on offer in our training café, training kitchen and our Community Hub. A large part of the initial work will be ensuring our existing training café in Watford Central library functions well, then moving on to linking it up to a new life skills programme in our training kitchen. We are at a good starting point with excellent facilities and services already running but we now need to ensure that they are linked together and filled daily with the activities and sessions that people both want and need.

At Watford Mencap we recognise that people are our greatest asset and the people we support are at the centre of everything we do. That’s why we’ve been accredited with a silver Investors in People award. Whilst every job at Watford Mencap is a rewarding role, we also offer a comprehensive salary and benefits package including:

• Comprehensive salary and benefits package
• Competitive defined contribution pension plan
• Free membership of our health cash plan
• Competitive annual leave
• Enhanced company sick pay
• Job-related and continuous professional development
• Free parking at our sites
• Opportunity to support Watford Mencap’s expansion and growth

Care Professional Academy Rewards include:  

• Hertfordshire based Rewards 
• Student Discount Packages 
• Access to a Student Card - usually exclusive to university students!  
• Care Professional Rewards: Discount codes, cashback and savings on over 800 UK retailers including Sainsbury’s, Argos, Boots, Marks & Spencer, Tesco, John Lewis/Waitrose, Apple, Pizza Hut and many more.  
• Discounts on travel including bus ticket discounts, reduced servicing, and car leasing.  

and a lot more...

• Lead and support a small, growing team.
• Participate in day-to-day running of activities and ensure service compliance.
• Define, implement, and develop a community strategy to grow Watford Mencap's services.

Phases:

• Phase 1: Manage the café, ensuring training places are filled and trade is sustainable.
• Phase 2: Expand the training kitchen for catering, cooking, and skills training, linking to opportunities in the café and broader work/volunteering.
• Phase 3: Develop additional activity and skills-based groups in the hub, partnering with community groups for activities like gardening, book clubs, and social groups.

The successful candidate must meet our values:

We are INCLUSIVE. People with learning disabilities are at the heart of everything we do.

We are RESPECTFUL. We work in a person centred way, whilst listening to the views of all.

We are WELCOMING. We are approachable and value all.

We are PROGRESSIVE. We promote learning to support everyone to achieve their potential.

We are CHALLENGING. Through our work we will push the boundaries for individuals, organisations and society.

For this position you will have:

• Experience in a food services environment.
• Experience in developing and delivering skills development activities.
• Engagement with clients and their families in service planning, design, and implementation.
• Strong interpersonal skills to build relationships with stakeholders.
• Proven ability to coordinate and lead teams effectively.
• Excellent knowledge of food hygiene standards.
• Strong communication skills.
• Ability to manage a varied and demanding workload.
• Confidence in interacting with people at all levels.
• Good IT skills.