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 to appoint a new Programme Leader with lead responsibility for our Changing Places programme in Bristol. We have been working to transform community sport for disabled and disadvantaged young people in Bristol since 2008.
The post holder will support the delivery of our ambitious Stand for Inclusion Growth Strategy, managing our existing place-based work and local team, as well as driving the development of new projects in Bristol. This includes Ignite Bristol, a unified network spearheaded by Access Sport which is dedicated to supporting inclusive community sport.
Candidates should have experience in developing disability and/or social inclusion focused programmes, with a strong understanding of place based working and the ability to manage a range of strategic/ stakeholder relationships. This is an exciting time to join Access Sport as we celebrate our 20th Anniversary and look to expand our work in Bristol in 2024/25.
Responsibilities
Leadership
• Manage Access Sport’s Changing Places Bristol programme and shape its ongoing development to achieve optimum reach and impact.
• Lead our Disability Inclusion work in Bristol, building on the strong foundations of Ignite Bristol and our club development support to a wide range of community clubs in Bristol.
• Member of our internal Changing Places Leadership Team, working to ensure strong alignment across our localities and sharing of best practices.
• Work collaboratively/ develop strong relationships with local sector partners including Bristol City Council, Wesport, disability organisations, leisure operators, health bodies, education providers, youth sector partners, sport/ sport for development organisations and other relevant agencies.
• Act as a senior representative of Access Sport at our Bristol Fundraising Steering Group and other relevant meetings, events, forums, conferences etc. Delivery and Project Management
• Drive the development of new place-based projects in Bristol from conception through to delivery, this may include disability and social inclusion initiatives.
• Line manage Bristol place-based Development staff, initially consisting of two staff members but with the expectation that the team will grow.
• Ensure effective financial management of the Bristol Changing Places programme, working closely with the finance team.
• Support our fundraising team in the development of funding proposals/ applications from a wide range of sources to support existing and new place-based programmes. Monitoring and Evaluation
• Ensure effective monitoring, evaluation and reporting of the Bristol programme, working closely with the Monitoring & Evaluation Manager.
• Contribute to internal reporting requirements such as creating case studies, films and news stories for website/social media.
• Support the wider team to develop best practice and resources from learnings and insights. This list is not to be regarded as exclusive or exhaustive, as there may be other duties and requirements associated with the post, which Access Sport may call upon the post-holder to perform from time to time.
Person specification
Skills/ experience Essential
• Excellent understanding and experience of sport for development policy and practice, as well as related sectors (e.g. public health, young people, community engagement).
• Experience in developing/ influencing/ managing key strategic/ stakeholder partner relationships.
• Experience/ knowledge of place-based programmes and an understanding of place-based systemic work.
• Excellent project management and organisational skills, comfortable managing several different projects and activities at the same time.
• Experience/ knowledge in developing community organisations, preferably with a disability focus.
• A strong understanding of the barriers that may affect disabled children and young people from participating in sport.
• Experience of working with underserved communities, particularly disabled people.
• Understanding of and commitment to safeguarding.
• Financially literate with an ability to manage budgets.
Desirable
• Lived experience of one or more of the underserved communities we support i.e. D/deaf, disabled, neurodivergent, ethnically diverse communities, women and girls, and low-socio economic backgrounds.
• Knowledge and understanding of Bristol, it’s communities and relevant stakeholders.
• Experience of working in the disability, health, education or youth sector.
• Experience of working for a charity or sport for development organisation. Personal attributes
• A personal commitment to Access Sport’s vision and values.
• A passion for empowering underrepresented children and young people to reach their full potential through sport.
• A strong team player with good interpersonal skills.
• Self-motivated, able to use initiative and a highly flexible approach to work and quickly build positive relationships.
• Reliable and hardworking with the confidence to work independently.
• Demonstrate a commitment 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 travel within the UK, with regular travel in/surrounding areas of Bristol.
• The post holder may be expected to stay away for work purposes from time to time. Flexibility 7 In order to work effectively in a changing environment, flexibility is required from the post-holder.
Any other tasks that may be requested will be at the same level of responsibility and terms and conditions of employment. The role will require some travel for training delivery and to different Access Sport offices, as well as occasional unsocial hours including evenings and weekends in accordance with the demands of clubs and workshops.
Equal Opportunities
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.
How to apply
The closing date for applications is 12 PM Monday 13 May 2024. To apply, please complete the application form on the Access Sport website here: Programme Leader 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 17 May 2024.
The first interviews are currently due to take place w/c 20 May. 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.
