7.2 Personnel Roles

Common Personnel Roles at Recreation Events

• Activity Leaders: Run and facilitate games and activities; lead the various components of a program or event;
• Attendance Taker: Records the number of people at the program or event;
• Coat-Check Attendant(s): Take coats and issue receipt tickets for checked garments/items;
• DJ: Provides musical entertainment, sometimes makes announcements;
• Emcee: Most often found at special events, the Emcee looks after communicating important information to guests or attendees; keeps the event on track by facilitating the movement and flow of participants through the various transitions or stages of the event;
• First-Aider: Administers First Aid and executes emergency procedures as required;
• Food and Beverage Servers: Serve refreshments to guests either at designated tables or behind buffet-type tables;
• Greeters: Greet people as they arrive at the venue;
• Instructors: Skilled individuals who supervise or teach specific recreation activities. Most often, the term “Instructor” implies there is a sharing of a certain skill with others;
• Parking Lot Attendant(s): Safely manage the logistics (arrival and departure) and parking of vehicles in a designated space;
• Project Manager: An organized, goal-oriented professional who creates, designs and oversees a special event or project and ensures its alignment with the vision of the group or agency;
• Security: Crowd control, client safety, safeguards prizes/valuables, works the door checking ID, responds to emergencies and unusual situations that require secure interventions;
• Ticket-Takers: Take tickets at the door as people arrive;
• Workshop Facilitators/Instructors: Special guests with specialized skills who have been brought in as experts in a specific area;
• Volunteers: Can do any of the above (if qualified), plus any other duties as assigned;
• Volunteer Wrangler/Coordinator: Coordinates, schedules and supervises volunteers; delegates tasks and ensures adequate activity personnel coverage as required;
• And more…! There are tons of different roles that can show up at any given event!

Figuring out the degree of “person-power” needed to run a program or event will depend on its size, scope and budget. It’s worth noting that not all leadership roles need necessarily be filled by paid professionals. Depending on the size and nature of an activity or event, some roles can be filled by eager volunteers.

When figuring out the personnel needs for a specific program or event, it is important to create (and eventually share) a job description for each role. The job description acts as an informative guideline for the people involved in your program or event and serves to clear up any confusion or misinformation about the scope or parameters of a specific job or role.