What does an activity specialist do?
An activity specialist is responsible for organizing events and planning activity outline for a social institution or a group of people. Activity specialists identify the activity requirements and goals, coordinate with suppliers and vendors for resources, and calculate costs and expenses within the budget limitations. They also finalize the participants' lists and pick the best grounds to set up an activity, ensuring the safety and security of the guests. An activity specialist must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in writing reports and creating clear expectations to discuss with the management.
Activity specialist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real activity specialist resumes:
- Design and lead programs, including programs nationally and in Germany, to facilitate software use in mathematics and science instruction.
- Manage the maintenance of post MWR relate administrative records and submit program status reports in accordance with establish contractual requirements.
- Provide clinically valid psychiatric rehabilitation services to patients to include assessments and evaluations of patients rehabilitative and recreational leisure enrichment needs.
- Perform TCI de-escalation techniques and restraints in order to maintain client and environment safety.
- Develop, refine and coordinate the execution of monthly, quarterly and annual event calendars and NAF budgets.
- Coordinate and run various activities including, but not limit to, bingo, trivia, pool parties, and cabarets.
- Assist elderly residents with activities such as bingo, arts and crafts, physical therapy, exercises, and church activities.
- Direct and monitor the renovation of a section of the center from a multipurpose room into a teen center/game room area.
- Create PowerPoint presentations and promotional materials for co-curricular programming.
- Develop and implement therapeutic groups and activities for patients with disabilities disorders and behaviors.
- Provide individual and group rehabilitation activities to increase communication, self-esteem and social skills in a therapeutic environment.
- Coordinate and provide structured individual/ group leisure enrichment programs and activities while utilizing psychiatric rehabilitation techniques such as connecting and engagement.
- Investigate provider complaints to determine Medicaid contractor compliance with contracts, certification requirements, law, regulations, policies and procedures.
- Program activities includes holiday party, intramural sports, health and fitness programming, and morale theme events.
- Organize and facilitate monthly events and activities that encourage campus morale for residents and staff that focus on therapeutic values.
Activity specialist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 10% of Activity Specialists are proficient in Adaptive, Patients, and Mediation. They’re also known for soft skills such as Compassion, Patience, and Listening skills.
We break down the percentage of Activity Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Adaptive, 10%
Provided specialized training and use of adaptive equipment (i.e.
- Patients, 9%
Provided clinically valid psychiatric rehabilitation services to patients to include assessments and evaluations of patients rehabilitative and recreational leisure enrichment needs.
- Mediation, 9%
Assisted students with homework, extracurricular activities and mediation.
- Role Model, 8%
Assisted teachers with homework and re-teaching of academic skills Served as a mentor and role model for youth in grades K-5
- Classroom Management, 8%
Gained significant experience in classroom management, lesson planning and outdoor education.
- Brand Marketing, 7%
Collaborated with brand marketing and account partners to create and customize programs that improve sell-through for target markets.
Most activity specialists use their skills in "adaptive," "patients," and "mediation" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential activity specialist responsibilities here:
Compassion. One of the key soft skills for an activity specialist to have is compassion. You can see how this relates to what activity specialists do because "recreational therapists may deal with people who are in pain, so they should be empathetic when providing support to patients and their families." Additionally, an activity specialist resume shows how activity specialists use compassion: "gained understanding of the importance of customer service and compassion while working with youth and seniors. "
Patience. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling activity specialist duties is patience. The role rewards competence in this skill because "recreational therapists may work with patients who require more time and special attention than do others." According to an activity specialist resume, here's how activity specialists can utilize patience in their job responsibilities: "worked with patience, assisted patients with cooking and cleaning"
Listening skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of activity specialists is listening skills. This skill is critical to many everyday activity specialist duties, as "recreational therapists must pay attention to patients’ concerns in order to determine an appropriate course of treatment." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "communicated instructions and safety procedures to campers before every activity worked in cooperation with counselors to teach and control campers and behavior"
Leadership skills. Another crucial skill for an activity specialist to carry out their responsibilities is "leadership skills." A big part of what activity specialists relies on this skill, since "recreational therapists must be engaging and able to motivate patients to participate in a variety of therapeutic activities." How this skill relates to activity specialist duties can be seen in an example from an activity specialist resume snippet: "created curriculum for military children that fosters character development and leadership. "
The three companies that hire the most activity specialists are:
- Police Athletic League79 activity specialists jobs
- Atria Senior Living20 activity specialists jobs
- The Child Center of NY17 activity specialists jobs
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Compare different activity specialists
Activity specialist vs. Treatment coordinator
A Treatment Coordinator is responsible for assisting the doctors and other medical professionals in performing treatment procedures and administering medications for the patients. Treatment Coordinators manage administrative duties, such as scheduling medical appointments, discussing the treatment plans to the patients, updating medical information on the database, and processing payments for the medical procedures. They also coordinate with the insurance agencies to verify the patients' eligibility and information and file documents as necessary. A Treatment Coordinator must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in maintaining databases and ensuring that all medical forms are organized and safely stored.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of an activity specialist are more likely to require skills like "good communication," "adaptive," "mediation," and "role model." On the other hand, a job as a treatment coordinator requires skills like "customer service," "financial arrangements," "treatment options," and "mental health." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Treatment coordinators earn the highest salaries when working in the non profits industry, with an average yearly salary of $42,993. On the other hand, activity specialists are paid more in the education industry with an average salary of $33,838.On average, treatment coordinators reach higher levels of education than activity specialists. Treatment coordinators are 9.9% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.7% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Activity specialist vs. Recreational therapy aide
Each career also uses different skills, according to real activity specialist resumes. While activity specialist responsibilities can utilize skills like "good communication," "adaptive," "mediation," and "role model," recreational therapy aides use skills like "recreational therapy," "compassion," "music therapy," and "therapeutic recreation programs."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Recreational therapy aides tend to reach similar levels of education than activity specialists. In fact, they're 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.7% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Activity specialist vs. Drama therapist
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from activity specialist resumes include skills like "good communication," "adaptive," "patients," and "mediation," whereas a drama therapist is more likely to list skills in "individual therapy," "mental health," "nyc," and "creative arts. "
Drama therapists typically earn higher educational levels compared to activity specialists. Specifically, they're 47.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Activity specialist vs. Movement therapist
Types of activity specialist
Updated January 8, 2025
