About Us
Access Sport is a national charity with a vision that no one should be excluded from the transformational benefits of community sport. We are on a mission to make inclusion the norm in community sport by tackling the access barriers faced by disadvantaged and disabled young people. We do this by training, equipping, and supporting community sports clubs, organisations, and volunteers to provide inclusive programmes, unleashing their potential to transform the lives of underserved young people in their local communities.
This work is either place based (Changing Places) or sport focussed (Changing Sports). All the clubs we support are invited to join our Inclusive Club Network. In 2023/24 Access Sport engaged over 20,000 disadvantaged and disabled young people, with a strong representation from ethnically diverse communities, girls, and previously less active young people.
Films showcasing our work can be found on our YouTube channel. These include a recent film about Access Sport, our multi-sport festival in Bristol, our partnership with Nuffield Health in Greater Manchester and our 20th Anniversary film.
About the Role
Access Sport is looking for a new Community Coordinator within our growing Changing Places team. This is an exciting opportunity to support the growth of our work across Greater Manchester and deliver on our ambitious growth strategy, with a strong focus on making sport more inclusive and accessible for disabled children and young people in deprived communities. The post holder will support, train and equip community clubs to offer disability inclusive opportunities.
This will include training and upskilling clubs and supporting them through their club development journey, organising taster sessions and events, promoting opportunities to new participants, and connecting with the local communities and partners. Community sport has many benefits for disadvantaged and disabled young people including improving their physical and mental wellbeing, life skills and prospects, sense of belonging and community engagement.
Yet only 39% of children and young people in Greater Manchester are meeting the Chief Medical Officer’s guidelines of doing at least an hour of physical activity every day. Our work in Greater Manchester has primarily focused on underserved communities in Trafford and Manchester, in particular, Partington, Moss Side, Gorton and Beswick. As we grow, we are looking at expanding our reach across Greater Manchester and this role will aid our geographical expansion.
Responsibilities Delivery
- Support the development, growth and sustainability of community sports clubs and groups to enhance their offer to engage and empower more disabled children and young people in Greater Manchester, contributing towards Access Sport’s ambitious Stand for Inclusion Growth Strategy.
- Carry out regular visits to clubs (during evenings and weekends when required) to build relationships and better understand their needs and aspirations.
- Deliver Disability Inclusion and Neurodiversity Training to community clubs and volunteers.
- Provide clubs with equipment, advice and toolkits.
- Collaborate with the Greater Manchester team to promote and develop inclusive opportunities with the local community.
- Assist community sports clubs to build relationships with other local organisations. E.g. schools, youth clubs and community organisations.
- Support and plan events such as the Inclusive multi-sport festivals.
- Contribute to promotion and marketing materials to promote inclusive sessions to the local communities. Monitoring and Evaluation
- Assist with the monitoring and evaluation requirements for the disability programme, using online monitoring platforms such as Upshot and Donorfy (training will be provided).
- Collect attendance registers from community clubs, coaches and volunteers.
- Help gather content for internal and external reporting purposes, including case studies, films, and news stories. Partnerships
- Develop relationships with clubs, community groups and various local organisations.
- Build new relationships with local partners, schools and community organisations and collaborate.
Person specification Skills/ experience Essential
- Experience in supporting, volunteering or helping out at local community sports clubs or teams.
- A passion for empowering and inspiring underserved and disabled groups to reach their full potential through sport.
- An understanding of the barriers that may affect participation in community sport.
- Understanding the importance of safeguarding and child protection (training will be provided).
- Strong written and verbal communication and an ability to communicate with a diverse audience. Desirable
- Lived experience of one or more of the underserved communities we support i.e. D/deaf, disabled, neurodivergent, women and girls, ethnically diverse communities and low-socio economic backgrounds.
- Experience of working with or coaching young people from our target groups; less active, disabled young people and young people from the most deprived communities.
- Experience of working in, or knowledge of the sport sector.
- Coaching instructor qualifications or experience delivering sport sessions to young people. Personal attributes
- A passion for Access Sport’s cause and empowering underserved and disabled children and young people to reach their full potential through sport.
- A personal commitment to Access Sport’s vision and values
- Self-motivated, able to use initiative, and a highly flexible approach to work.
- Proactive and adaptable - ability to think creatively and use initiative to achieve outcomes.
- Reliable and hardworking with the confidence to work independently.
- A strong team player with good interpersonal skills. • Committed to continuing personal and professional development.
In addition:
- The post holder must have the right to work in the UK.
- The post holder must be able to regularly travel across Greater Manchester and on occasion, travel to other Access Sport offices.
- The post holder may be expected to stay away for work purposes from time to time. Equal opportunities We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. Access Sport is committed to creating an inclusive culture, through fostering a diverse workforce where everyone feels like they belong, differences are valued, and everyone can reach their potential.
We are actively seeking to diversify and create a workplace that is welcoming for all, ensuring that our workforce is representative of wider society and the communities we support.
If you need any adjustments to the recruitment process, at either the application or interview stage, please contact us (details in section 6). We offer disabled applicants the option of requesting that their application is considered under the terms of our Guaranteed Interview Scheme (GIS).
If you wish to apply under our GIS, please indicate this in your cover email. For more information, please visit our Join the Team page.
Background checks
As this role may, at times, involve working in a regulated environment with young people, any offer will be conditional to satisfactory background checks which includes a criminal record check with the Disclosure and Barring Service and two references.
Staff benefits
Access Sport is an exciting and dynamic place to work. We pride ourselves on being a close-knit and well-supported team with a clear sense of purpose, delivering real impact. Inclusion is at the heart of everything we do. We are committed to supporting the development of our team members and, should you wish, there are opportunities for team members to get involved in different aspects of the charity, from the delivery of our programmes on the ground, to fundraising, events and advocacy.
Staff benefits include:
- Employee Assistance Programme - Access to a 24/7 confidential helpline, counselling services and online information.
- Annual leave - 25 days annual leave, plus bank holidays and time off between Christmas and New Year, after two years of continuous service this increases to 26 days and after five years to 28 days.
- Healthy Living and Wellbeing Employer - We welcome staff to embed regular exercise into their daily work lives, encourage wellbeing focussed initiatives and have quarterly all-team days.
- Hybrid working and family-friendly - Hybrid working arrangements which are family-friendly and provide flexibility around caring responsibilities.
- New Mums and Dads, including adoptive parents, can take enhanced maternity and paternity leave.
- Cycle to Work scheme - Cycle to work scheme, saving up to 39% off a new bike and accessories.
- Group Life Assurance for all staff on payroll. 6.How to apply The closing date for applications is Monday 6May 2024. To apply, please complete the application form on the Access Sport website here: Community Coordinator Application Form Once you have submitted your online application, please email your CV and Equal Opportunities Monitoring form to Careers@AccessSport.org.uk with your name in the subject line.
Our Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form can be found here: www.AccessSport.org.uk/join-the-team. Candidates who have been shortlisted for interview will be notified by Friday 10May 2024.
The first interviews are currently due to take place w/c 13May. If you have any questions or would like to have an informal discussion about the role, please email Sue.Wheeler@AccessSport.org.uk. Data protection Access Sport CIO will only process and store your personal information, this means any information that identifies or could identify you, for the purposes of recruitment, after which it will be securely disposed.
