Oaky's Playgrove Shift Lead North Canton, OH · Full time Company website

Apply for Shift Lead

Oaky's Playgrove is Stark County's premier indoor play facility, offering exploratory play, custom birthday parties, and imagination-driven enrichment and fun for children and families in Jackson Township / North Canton, Ohio. We've designed a space where kids can build confidence and motor skills through purposeful exploration, and where caregivers can relax in a welcoming community of their own rather than just supervising from the sidelines. What sets us apart is our intentionality. Every part of the Playgrove is developmentally aligned; from our guided exploration areas that nurture gross motor and imaginative play, to our signature Milestone Celebrations, where birthday families get a private room as their home base with scheduled, facilitated access to the shared Playgrove. We also offer Intentional Programming: developmentally-aligned sessions and enrichment experiences built around social-emotional growth, motor development, confidence, and creativity. We're opening our doors in Fall of 2026, which means the team we hire now isn't just filling roles, they're helping shape what Oaky's Playgrove becomes from day one. If you want to be part of building something new, growing with a company from the ground up, and leaving your mark on the culture before the doors even open, this is that opportunity. We're not just a play space; we're building a rooted, connected community for families to grow together. Rooted in Play, Exploring Together.

About the Role

The Shift Lead is the on-the-floor lead responsible for real-time execution of the Oaky's Playgrove experience. This role upholds daily service standards, safety compliance, and engagement quality during each shift, acting as an extension of the Operations Manager to protect the brand experience, support staff performance, and ensure smooth operations in a dynamic, high-movement environment.

Employment Type: Full-Time / Hourly — must be available to work nights, weekends, and holidays as needed

What You'll Do

Shift Execution & Floor Leadership

• Lead the live shift with full awareness of zone coverage, guest flow, and safety conditions
• Ensure Forest Friends are actively facilitating, not passively supervising

Guest Experience

• Monitor engagement quality and manage real-time service recovery
• Support families through the Customer Success Journey

Safety & Facility Oversight

• Execute daily safety checklists and agile play-structure inspections
• Enforce Aseptic Standards and sanitization protocols throughout operating hours

Revenue Support

• Support Milestone Celebrations through timeline enforcement, team coordination, and hospitality execution
• Monitor Discovery Hub and café inventory, reporting restock needs

Operational Communication

• Serve as the communication bridge between floor staff and the Operations Manager
• Document incidents, staffing notes, guest feedback, and maintenance observations

Core Responsibilities

• Direct staggered arrival matrix implementation and zone coverage assignments
• Maintain real-time awareness of capacity and crowd flow; support peak-hour logistics
• Coach Forest Friends on Active Engagement and Scaffolding strategies
• Provide in-the-moment feedback; assist with onboarding shadow shifts
• Complete opening/closing safety walkthroughs and enforce sanitation cycles
• Respond to incidents with calm authority and documented reporting
• Address guest concerns promptly, protecting retention and referral reputation
• Assist with daily sales reconciliation, POS/CRM troubleshooting, and inventory tracking

Who Thrives in This Role

• You stay calm and steady even when the floor gets loud, busy, or unpredictable
• You genuinely enjoy being around kids and understand how to engage without hovering
• You lead by example, not by ordering people around; your team follows because they respect you, not because they have to
• You're a natural problem-solver who can defuse a tense guest situation with warmth and confidence
• You take safety seriously without being rigid or unapproachable
• You can hold people accountable and still be someone your team wants to come to work for

Authority Scope

As Shift lead, you may reassign staff zones during a shift, address minor disciplinary concerns, comp service adjustments within set parameters, and temporarily close zones for safety or maintenance. Major staffing decisions, budgetary adjustments, and strategic partnerships remain with the Operations Manager and COO.

What You Bring

• 1–4 years of experience in hospitality, childcare, recreation, or guest-experience environments; prior shift leadership preferred
• Associate or Bachelor's degree preferred, or equivalent experience
• Availability to work nights, weekends, and holidays based on business needs
• Ability to navigate play structures and lift up to 50 lbs
• Ability to remain on foot for extended periods with high situational awareness
• Reliable transportation to ensure consistent attendance for opening/closing shifts
• Calm under pressure, developmentally attuned, and a strong, solution-oriented communicator
• Must pass a comprehensive BCI/FBI background check and sex offender registry screening prior to employment
• First Aid/CPR/AED certification required within first 30 days of employment
• Completion of WRDC Playgrove Academy training (10 hours on Developmental Scaffolding and Safety Protocols) required prior to first independent shift

Compensation starts at $18/hour and is based on experience, with opportunities for growth within the Oaky's Playgrove leadership team.