Additional details
Additional Information
- Job Type: Casual hours available up to 36 hours a week.
- Some weekends and evening work will be required to meet service needs.
- Southwark Council is committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion.
This post requires a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) DBS check at (Enhanced) level.
Benefits and more information:
In your role, we want you to feel supported, challenged and rewarded. You will benefit from our family-friendly policies including flexible working, home working, and a local government pension scheme, plus many other staff benefits. You will join a motivated, driven and supportive team that strives for excellence and values its members. You will also be part of a successful and high-achieving development team that is making a real difference to the lives of residents in the borough. For more information about the wide variety of benefits you can take advantage of please visit our Staff Benefits page.
The role
Are you passionate about creating outstanding customer experiences? Are you ready to shape the future of leisure services and make a real difference in your community?
Southwark Council is offering an exciting opportunity to be part of our leisure centre, empowering residents to lead healthier, happier lives. We’re looking for a dynamic and enthusiastic Recreation Assistant to assist in supporting customers in our Leisure Centres.
About the role
Recreation Assistants have one of the most important jobs at our leisure centre, and that is keeping our customers safe in and around the water.
At our Leisure Centre, Recreation Assistants will perform a number of other duties in addition to lifeguarding, such as cleaning assigned areas, setting up and breaking down various activities and events and conducting pool testing according to procedures. You will work a 36-hour week across varying rotated pattern of shifts, which will require some evening and weekend work.
About You
In order to be considered for a Recreation Assistant position at our brand-new leisure centre in Canada Water you need to be a strong swimmer and have excellent customer service skills. You should also have:
- A UK recognised pool lifeguard qualification (RLSS)
- Understanding of relevant health and safety legislation
- Excellent verbal communication skills, including the ability to appropriately correct behaviour of pool users where necessary.
- A high standard of physical fitness
- Confidence and an approachable nature
Recruitment timetable
Closing Date: 31/08/2026
Interview Date: 07/09/2026
Please note that the closing date for applications for this position may be brought forward, depending on the volume of applications received. We encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible to avoid missing out on the opportunity. We will not be able to consider applications received after the new closing date, should it be adjusted.
Guaranteed Interview Scheme:
As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role, and identify with one of the below criteria:
- Members of the Armed Forces and veterans
- Are currently in care, or have previously been in care
- If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition
We are an organisation who is passionate about our people and understands that richness of diversity is a requirement to provide the best possible services to our communities. This is demonstrated through our council-wide ambitious commitment to tackle racial inequality in our communities and workforce through our Southwark Stands Together programme. We particularly welcome applications from members of the Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities to increase representation at senior management level in the Council.
Additional Information
Southwark Council will only contact candidates through official Council recruitment channels. We will not ask you to provide passport details, proof of address, National Insurance number, bank details or payment at application stage. These checks are only requested at the onboarding process – once an offer of employment has been made. If you’re unsure whether a communication you’ve received is genuine, please contact the Resourcing team directly on [email protected] before sharing any personal information.
Job Reference: SC08331
