Activity Leaders - Seniors
Job description
These individuals organize and lead social, cultural, and sports activities. They help maintain or create links between senior citizens, their families, employees, and the community. They adapt their recreational activities based on the needs, interests, and limitations of participants. They work for:
- Hospital centres
- Residential and long-term care centres (CHSLDs)
- Local community service centres (CLSCs)
Environment
- Controlled ambient temperature
Main tasks
- Plan and manage a variety of original recreational activities (for groups or individuals).
- Greet senior citizens and invite them to participate in activities.
- Assist senior citizens experiencing a loss of automony during activities (ex.: help those requiring a walker to sit down or open the door for them).
- Oversee the logistics and ensure the smooth running of activities.
- Ensure that safety regulations are followed.
- Communicate relevant information to the other services of the care home or centre.
- Provide and maintain the equipment needed for each activity.
- Set up decorations for special events.
- Take notes for files, as required.
Advancement and mobility
- Experience leads to supervisory and management positions.
Training and requirements
Formation
Bachelor’s degree or diploma of college studies
Sometimes required
- Training in recreation sometimes required.
- Experience with senior citizens considered an asset.
Main skills and characteristics
Skills
- Teaching
- Data collection
- Service oriented
- Active listening
- Social perception
- Oral expression
- Equipment maintenance
- Judgment and decision-making
- Solving complex problems
- Critical thought
- Material resource management
- Result evaluation
- Time management
Abilities
- Speech clarity
- Verbal skills
- Originality
- Awareness of issues
- Idea generation
- Manual dexterity
- Overall coordination of the body
- Auditory attention
- Explosive strength
- Dynamic strength
- Information organization
- Time sharing
- Limb coordination
- Dynamic physical flexibility
- Near vision
- Overall balance of the body
- Hand-arm stability
- Physical flexibility in extension
- Oral comprehension
- Spatial orientation
- Endurance
- Deductive reasoning
- Speech recognition
- Hearing sensitivity
- Static muscle power
Knowledge and attributes
- Leadership
- Capacity to adapt
- Vitality
- Creativity
- Friendliness
- Respect others
- Sense of observation
- Knowledge of the arts
- Capacity to facilitate a group
- Patience
Interests
- Direct, organize, and manage
- Work in the arts, culture, music, or leisure
- Create, design
- Work manually
- Assist and advise
- Exercer une activité sportive ou physique
- Teach or educate
- Assist or care for people
Personality profiles (RIASEC)
- Social
- People with this profile prefer to be in contact with others, in particular to entertain, help or teach them.
- Enterprising
- People with this profile prefer having responsibilities, influencing others and responding to challenges.
- Realistic
- People with this profile prefer carrying out concrete tasks and being physically involved in what they do.
Appellation d’emploi liée (à traduire)
Program leaders and instructors in recreation, sport and fitness (CNP 54100)
Skill type
Art, culture, recreation and sport
Related occupations
- Operators and attendants in amusement, recreation and sport
- Other instructors
- Outdoor sport and recreational guides
- Program leaders and instructors in recreation, sport and fitness
- Recreation, sports and fitness policy researchers, consultants and program officers
- Recreation, sports and fitness program and service directors
- Urban and land use planners
- recreation technician
Last update: January 29, 2026
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