What does an activities director do?
An activities director is responsible for planning engaging events for the participants, considering individual interests and the safety of procedures and resources. Activities directors guide the activity staff on assisting the participants, ensuring that they are comfortable with joining the activities. Since most activities directors work at a healthcare facility or elderly institution, they must also monitor the health of the participants by conducting therapeutic activities and evaluate the participants' progress for every program. The activities director must be a critical-thinker, as well as have excellent communication skills to coordinate with facilities personnel for successful activity completion.
Activities director responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real activities director resumes:
- Manage updated JCC social media, including Facebook.
- Manage pet therapy/pat visitation protocol.
- Attend interdisciplinary care plan meetings and document in MDS and resident medical records as appropriate.
- Plan, organize, and run the afterschool
- Create reports, handouts, and PowerPoint presentations.
- Assist teachers with reading and mathematics lessons and activities.
- Form and staff various classes including crafts, cooking, knitting and CPR.
- Change bed linens, run errands, direct visitors, and answer telephone.
- Certify in CPR and a member of the first response team for emergency situations.
- Schedule and coordinate calendar of group activities, including: movie nights, bingo, and outdoor adventures.
- Staff members work with students on interdisciplinary, thematic programs that include literacy, mathematics, sciences and social studies.
- Market activities to guests through supervising or executing the operation and content of close circuit television systems and Facebook page.
- Develop PowerPoint presentations, word documents, and excel spreadsheets for events and confidential use in the department of athletics.
- Provide activities such as morning walks, chair aerobics, card games, bingo, horticulture therapy, and pet therapy.
- Arrange for community groups to come into the community, such as pet therapy, schools, churches, and entertainers.
Activities director skills and personality traits
We calculated that 15% of Activities Directors are proficient in Patients, Rehabilitation, and Resident Care. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Flexibility, and Leadership skills.
We break down the percentage of Activities Directors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 15%
Pulled patient information, assisted funeral directors with accurate information concerning expired patients, filed paperwork, organizing and auditing charts.
- Rehabilitation, 10%
Collaborated with rehabilitation team in the planning of music activities in accordance with physical and psychological needs, capabilities and interests.
- Resident Care, 8%
Performed medical charting according to state regulations and maintained department documentation for scheduling, resident care, activities, assignments and training
- Customer Service, 7%
Utilized networking and strong customer service skills to build internal and external relationships surrounding the community.
- Home Health, 7%
Created a monthly newsletter, planned day trips, coordinated with home health agencies to perform blood pressure clinics.
- MDS, 6%
Supervised 2 Activities Director and Volunteers Planned and implemented activities programs Documentation, MDS 3.0
Most activities directors use their skills in "patients," "rehabilitation," and "resident care" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential activities director responsibilities here:
Communication skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for an activities director to have is communication skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "recreation workers must be able to communicate well." Activities directors often use communication skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "controlled all aspects of event planning, photography, facility image and family communication meetings. "
Flexibility. Another essential skill to perform activities director duties is flexibility. Activities directors responsibilities require that "recreation workers must be flexible when planning activities." Activities directors also use flexibility in their role according to a real resume snippet: "demonstrate flexibility and compassion in the ability to adapt to any interaction/scenario that presents itself. "
Leadership skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of activities directors is leadership skills. This skill is critical to many everyday activities director duties, as "recreation workers should be able to lead both large and small groups." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "demonstrated creativity, energy, vision, self-initiative, basic leadership skills and compassion. "
Physical strength. A big part of what activities directors do relies on "physical strength." You can see how essential it is to activities director responsibilities because "most recreation workers should be physically fit." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical activities director tasks: "attend idt meeting, documentation, worked with physical/occupational therapies incorporating skills to be used in fitness for wheelchair bound residents. "
Problem-solving skills. A commonly-found skill in activities director job descriptions, "problem-solving skills" is essential to what activities directors do. Activities director responsibilities rely on this skill because "recreation workers need strong problem-solving skills." You can also see how activities director duties rely on problem-solving skills in this resume example: "resolved any issues with residents for doctor appointments and transportation. "
The three companies that hire the most activities directors are:
- Sunrise Senior Living Management Inc20 activities directors jobs
- HCR ManorCare19 activities directors jobs
- American Senior Benefits14 activities directors jobs
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Compare different activities directors
Activities director vs. Program lead
A program lead is responsible for managing a business program's operation from its conceptualization to implementation. Program leads must have excellent communication and researching skills to monitor current industry trends, adjusting program techniques and strategies to meet society's demands. They have a clear understanding of the organization's long-term goals and outline plans to define those objectives, bringing new programs to light following clients' specifications that would help the business grow revenues, maintain customer satisfaction, and keep its good reputation, and achieve profitability goals.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of an activities director are more likely to require skills like "rehabilitation," "resident care," "home health," and "mds." On the other hand, a job as a program lead requires skills like "project management," "hr," "work ethic," and "customer satisfaction." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
On average, program leads reach similar levels of education than activities directors. Program leads are 3.3% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.6% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Activities director vs. Group leader
A group leader is responsible for overseeing and distributing fair tasks to the members, ensuring clear instructions and procedures. Group leaders are mainly the ones leading the team towards their success. Duties of a group leader also include setting the team's expectations, providing necessary resources to make the task successful, and sharing regular updates on the team's performance. A group leader requires to have strong leadership and problem-solving skills to manage team concerns and resolve complaints quickly and efficiently.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, activities director responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "patients," "rehabilitation," "resident care," and "home health." Meanwhile, a group leader has duties that require skills in areas such as "osha," "center management," "dexterity," and "safety procedures." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
In general, group leaders achieve similar levels of education than activities directors. They're 1.2% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.6% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Activities director vs. Camp leader
The job of the camp counselors is to develop recreational plans and oversee camp activities in residential camps. Their duties and responsibilities include organizing camping trips, planning and scheduling group activities, and guiding children and teenagers in various outdoor activities such as swimming and hiking. They are expected to lead campers in emergency procedures and fire drills, explain safety rules and procedures, and provide emotional support to campers. Camp counselors are also responsible for assessing and responding to emergencies when they arise.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, activities directors are more likely to have skills like "patients," "rehabilitation," "resident care," and "home health." But a camp leader is more likely to have skills like "kids," "child care," "work ethic," and "core values."
Camp leaders earn the best pay in the education industry, where they command an average salary of $30,879. Activities directors earn the highest pay from the health care industry, with an average salary of $41,547.When it comes to education, camp leaders tend to earn similar degree levels compared to activities directors. In fact, they're 1.7% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Activities director vs. Day camp counselor
Types of activities director
Updated January 8, 2025
