Recreation Leader

Recreation Leader – Hillcrest Shadow Lake

Location: Papillion, NE

Service Line: Hillcrest Shadow Lake

Schedule: Full-time Days

Hillcrest Shadow Lake provides senior living and healthcare services in a welcoming environment where residents are encouraged to stay active, connected, and engaged in the things that bring meaning and enjoyment to their lives.

At Hillcrest, our mission is simple:
Inspiring people to live their best lives. As a Recreation Leader, you will help bring that mission to life by creating meaningful recreational experiences that support residents’ interests, abilities, social connections, and overall quality of life.

As a Recreation Leader, you will help plan, organize, and lead therapeutic recreation programs and individualized activities based on each resident’s interests, abilities, and assessed leisure needs. You will also complete the documentation needed to support individualized recreation programming.

• Develop, implement, and lead group and individual recreation programs based on resident interests and abilities.
• Create engaging activities that encourage residents to stay active, social, creative, and connected.
• Complete initial leisure assessments and assist with MDS documentation, interdisciplinary team summaries, and care planning as needed.
• Provide one-on-one recreation programming for residents who may benefit from individualized activities.
• Provide sensory enrichment activities based on individual resident needs.
• Assist with planning and scheduling recreation programming, including participation in weekly planning sessions.
• Encourage residents to participate while respecting individual choices, preferences, and abilities.
• Assist residents to and from scheduled and spontaneous recreation programs using safe transportation procedures.
• Set up materials and spaces for daily recreation programs and independent activities.
• Clean and organize activity areas and materials after programming.
• Document resident participation following group and individual recreation sessions.
• Work with volunteers by providing direction, encouragement, mentoring, and support.
• Build positive relationships with volunteers and help coordinate volunteer schedules.
• Maintain recreation supplies, including games, puzzles, magazines, and activity materials.
• Assist with purchasing and inventorying recreation supplies when needed.
• Put up and take down seasonal and holiday decorations while following applicable fire-safety requirements.
• Partner with nursing, clinical, and other community team members to support residents’ individual needs.
• Assist with additional recreation programs, special events, and community activities as needed.

The position combines hands-on activity leadership with individualized programming, assessments, documentation, resident transportation, volunteer coordination, and recreation planning.

We are looking for someone who is creative, outgoing, dependable, and genuinely enjoys building relationships with aging adults.

The right candidate will understand that recreation is more than keeping people busy. Meaningful activities can help residents maintain independence, build connections, express themselves, stay physically and mentally engaged, and continue doing the things they enjoy.

• Previous experience in recreation, activities, senior living, healthcare, hospitality, education, childcare, or a similar people-focused environment.
• Experience developing or leading recreational programs for aging adults preferred.
• A creative approach to developing activities for individuals with different interests and abilities.
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills.
• A warm, positive, and encouraging approach when working with residents.
• Ability to comfortably lead both group activities and one‑on‑one programming.
• Strong organization and time‑management skills.
• Ability to prepare activity spaces, materials, schedules, and documentation.
• Strong attention to resident preferences and individual needs.
• Ability to encourage participation without pressuring residents.
• A calm, flexible, and professional approach when plans or resident needs change.
• Stro…