1. Role summary Access Sport has had a University Student Placement Programme for 10 years. Our placement students are an integral part of the team and get fully involved in all aspects of our work. Whilst these are unpaid posts (expenses covered), in return for your commitment to Access Sport, we will provide comprehensive training and support you to be ‘work ready’ on graduating. Former placement students have gone on to a wide range of exciting jobs in the sector and a number have also returned to Access Sport after graduating. Check out these links to blogs written by former Access Sport placement students Chloe, Katie, and Tom: Chloe: Placement students' insight into the working life at Access Sport | Access Sport Katie: Life as a Placement Student at Access Sport | Access Sport Tom: A Year as an Access Sport Placement | Access Sport Job title Fundraising and Communications Officer Reporting to Corporate Accounts / Communications Manager Salary Unpaid University Placement Role with Travel expenses and mobile allowance Hours 35 hours per week, full-time. Core hours of 9am – 5pm Contract Temporary (9 months – 1 year placement) Location Hybrid working. 2-3 days in an Access Sport office/ attending meetings or club sessions. 2-3 days homeworking. Based at Access Sport Head Office, Bethnal Green, London E2 6GG. 3
2.About Access Sport 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 2022/23 Access Sport engaged over 11,000 disadvantaged and disabled young people, with a strong representation from ethnically diverse communities, girls, and previously inactive young people. A number of videos showcasing our work can be found on our YouTube channel. These include a recent multi-sport festival in Bristol, a new bike park in Stockwood and our Flyerz Hockey programme activity during Covid.
3.Role purpose Summary Access Sport are looking for a Fundraising and Communications Officer to assist with fundraising, communications and marketing within the organisation, as well as liaising with community development and delivery teams. The role will involve assisting with event planning, developing content and communications for the organisation (including gathering stories, social media work, website articles, news reports), corporate partnership 4 support, small funding grants support, supporting administration and finance across the charity as well as, hands-on support at community sessions and events. The work will link the fundraising and communications team with the delivery teams and on-the-ground delivery. This is an exciting opportunity to not only have a positive impact by helping to provide sport and physical opportunities to underserved communities, as well as gaining significant fundraising, marketing and communications and events expertise within the charity and sports for development sector. The role will involve some office-based work alongside working directly with partners and communities. Working hours: main working hours between 9am – 5pm (1 hour break). Some evening and weekend work will be required.
Responsibilities Core responsibilities will be within Fundraising and Communications Team, however we will endeavour for the Fundraising and Communications Officer to gain experience across all areas of the charity. Key responsibilities include: Fundraising and communications
• Assisting supporters of the charity to raise as much as they can through communications with them.
• Recording supporter data in an accurate way learning the Access Sport systems and processes.
• Assisting with fundraising and other events including sending invites, recording data, communicating with attendees.
• Learning and implementing different fundraising channels, such as managing our sports events fundraising. Includes managing systems, logistics and supporters.
• Working with the delivery team to gather stories from our beneficiaries, parents of beneficiaries, clubs and other partners to show the impact of our work.
• Contribute to the external communications of the charity including social media, and e-newsletters.
• Supporting the wider organisational teams where necessary
• Support activities and club sessions on the ground
• Working with and supporting the delivery team to collect quantitative and qualitative data for all areas of work
• Supporting monitoring and evaluation across all areas of work
• Helping to plan and support on comms for community sessions, club activities and events
• Support the planning, delivery and administration of all Access Sport’s key areas of work
• Support charity wide administration and finance
• Assist in developing suitable resources and strategic documents that contribute to the growth of our areas of work and help to influence partners and stakeholders
• Supporting the delivery of Access Sport’s inclusion training
• Feed into charity and team meetings, internal reviews and planning discussions
• Assist in managing existing relationships with key partners including corporates, funders, councils, schools and youth service providers
• Be an advocate and spokesperson for equality in sport both with the charity and across the sector
Person specification Essential skills/ experience
• Passion for empowering and inspiring young people from underserved communities, such as women and girls, disabled young people and young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds
• Ability to work independently, a pro-active worker who can take ownership of tasks and show initiative & creativity to get things done
• Good organisational and time management skills
• Good communication skills, both written and oral, to communicate effectively with all sections of the community
• Good computer software skills to create documents, presentations, spreadsheets etc
• Desire to work in any or all of fundraising/marketing/event management/relationship management – or a passion to work in charity/non-profit sector and gain an understanding of how charities are funding Desirable skills/ experience
• Understanding of the political, cultural and social environments affecting equality and inclusion in sport
• Understanding of youth and community work in disadvantaged areas
• Experience in volunteering at a charity, community group or sports club Personal attributes
• Enthusiasm, energy and willingness to meet challenging demands, develop personal skills and work to deadlines
• Self-motivated, able to use your initiative and a highly flexible approach to work • A personal commitment to Access Sport’s vision and values
• A strong team player with good inter-personal skills Flexibility 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 frequent travelling to and from Access Sport supported clubs and groups. The post-holder should be flexible to working some evening and weekend work in accordance with the demands of clubs, groups and events. 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 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.
5.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 - 15 days annual leave (plus bank holidays and time off between Christmas and New Year)
• Healthy Living and Wellbeing Employer - We welcome staff to embed regular exercise into their daily work lives, encourage well-being focussed initiatives and have quarterly all-team away days.
• Hybrid working arrangements which are family-friendly and provide flexibility around caring responsibilities.
• Good track record of staff development from university placement to full time employees 6.How to apply The closing date for applications is To apply, please email Careers@AccessSport.org.uk and attach:
• A copy of your CV
• A covering letter that explains why you would like the role and demonstrates that you have the required skills, experience and 9 personal attributes (no longer than 2 pages). Alternative formats are also welcomed e.g. video or audio.
• A completed Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form, which can be found here: www.AccessSport.org.uk/join-the-team. Deadline for applications is 10th December 2023. Candidates who have been shortlisted for interview will be notified by 12th December 2023. All successful applicants would have received an offer of a placement by 22nd December 2023. If you have any questions or would like to have an informal discussion about the role please email Sue.Wheeler@AccessSport.org.uk or call 020 7993 9883
