Participation Development Officer - UOB Sport - 42310 - Band 500

Position Details

UOB Sport

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £23,699 to £25,458, with potential progression once in post to £29,471

Band - 500

Full Time - Permanent 

Closing date – 2nd August 2021

Additional information

Interview dates - Thursday 5th and Friday 6th August, taking place in person on campus, with a preceding computer-based task.

You will be contacted on Tuesday 3rd August by 5pm to confirm if you have been invited to interview. There will be several slots to select available on a first respond, first confirmed basis.

For any further questions or to discuss accessibility, please contact Helen Coy - [email protected]

Our offer to you

People are at the heart of what we are and do.

The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university.  We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success.

We are committed to helping the people who work here to develop through our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential.  With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide-range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to be able to develop your career at the University.

We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate.  We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are, and how we work.

Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working.  In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries.

The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site.  On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens.

Find out more about the benefits of working for the University of Birmingham  

Job Summary

To deliver an efficient and effective support service to all participation programmes, particularly in the programming of physical activities for all ages and abilities, focussed especially on group exercise and junior activities. The Participation Development Officer (PDO) will support the Participation Development Manager (PDM) in the long term sustainable development and expansion of the participation programmes to enhance student experience, continuously improving the inclusive nature of our diverse offering and thereby increasing participation across all customer groups.

Main Duties

Administration, Communication and Development Support – to provide an effective support service for Participation Programmes with colleagues, customers, internal and external partners

• Responsible for arranging, monitoring and recording class cover for instructors/coaches, by means of phone calls and emails and recording changes made to an internal database

• Working closely with Reception, Duty Managers, Membership and Bookings Officers to ensure efficient systems management as necessary for Participation programmes. Provide effective communication between UoBSport and participation managed staff including Group Exercise instructors, wider UoBSport staff and with UOB (University of Birmingham) staff/departments

• Liaise frequently with UoBSport Marketing to highlight areas that require marketing support i.e. new initiatives, campaigns, low capacity sessions

• Actively coordinate correspondence to internal and external customers/ colleagues of alterations and cancellations by appropriate methods

• Responsible for regularly reviewing and providing updates to the participation web pages in liaison with UoBSport Marketing.

• Promote Participation opportunities at UOB and UoBSport events such as open days, welcome week, Sports Fair, health and wellbeing days, BUCS participation network events etc.

• Assisting in the preparation and production of promotional information and application forms, including collating/ formatting documents and proof reading.

• Remain approachable and helpful to all staff and customers

• Process incoming and outgoing emails, circulating relevant information as necessary to instructors, coaches and staff.

• Initial set up for instructors and coaches through New Core (payroll systems) including requisitions (Right to Work and DBS checks), monthly timecard uploads, ID cards, instructor qualifications etc.

• To be the main point of contact for payroll queries in liaison with HR and Worklink.

• Scheduling relevant instructor 121 meetings, providing feedback where necessary and communicating concerns/facility issues to relevant staff.

• Monitoring and evaluating class/session capacity throughout the year, reviewing on a termly basis and making decisions with consultation from PDM

• To maintain accurate records relating to budget expenditure on items such as wages, facility hire and equipment

• Responsible for recruitment and induction of instructors and coaches in partnership with PDM

• Managing cancellations/ alterations of programmes (following internal Participation and UoBSport policy)

• To manage disciplinary issues raised with instructors after consultation with the PDM, collating reports and evidence outlining key points of incidents which may occur

• To attend participation meetings and events where applicable both internal and external to UoBSport

• Actively participate in the BUCS Participation network, linking with other Universities to discuss best practice

• Occasional need to act as secretary to participation groups, taking and distributing minutes, management of agenda, informing of relevant issues

• To research and apply for funding to support participation programmes

• Placing orders for equipment when necessary for programmes

Training, Development and Partnership working – to assist in the co-ordinated organisation and effective delivery of development and training programmes, and expand participation

• To work with the PDM in developing and delivering training programmes for instructors, coaches, casual staff

• Design and prepare training materials and presentations for staff meetings and training days

• Actively encourage instructors and coaches in their career development, and support them in attending specialist workshops and training courses

• Observe and/or participate in classes or training sessions in order to provide individual feedback for instructors and coaches, to further support their professional development through 1:1s.

• Work closely with PDM and relevant Group Exercise partners (e.g. UKActive, Les Mills, etc.) to implement appropriate initiatives

• Participate in internal and external networks for the benefit of increasing participation within UoBSport at UOB.

• Work with the Vice-President of Sport to increase participation across campus, and the Guild of Students to ensure a consistent approach to physical activity opportunities on campus

Health & Safety – to be responsible for the development, implementation and monitoring of Health and Safety policies and procedures relating to participation programmes

• To represent Participation on the UoBSport Health & Safety Committee

• To inform the team of changes/additions to policy and practices, ensuring these are applied

• To inform the UoBSport Health and Safety Advisor of changes to practices via monthly reports

• Review and update participation programme risk assessments and record on the central database

• Inform the Health and Safety advisor of new/forthcoming events the team are working on, thus initiating discussion on best practice to follow

• Ensure all instructors and coaches are aware of H&S procedures, updating training records and flagging up expiring qualifications

• To be responsible for ensuring participation policies and procedures are updated as necessary, circulating them to members of relevant staff

• Adherence to duty of care/ safeguarding policies and practices, including provision of first aid and ambulance cover for events.

Other Duties

• To deputise for the PDM at appropriate and relevant meetings

• To assist PDM with tasks commensurate with the job grading such as representing participation programmes in UoBSport meetings, chairing meetings, corresponding with instructors/coaches.

• To update PDM and other relevant staff via team briefings and written monthly reports on business undertaken and developments proposed

• Provide cover for other Participation staff where appropriate.

• Actively participate in Team Meetings, 1:1s and personal development reviews; agree objectives and work to within agreed timescales

• Maintain and develop accurate records for all participation programmes including cover lists, annual leave, Normal Operating Procedures etc.

• Provide general progress reports, project updates and proposals to the PDM and Assistant Director of Business Operations as appropriate

• Undertake any other duties that may reasonably be required and which can be accommodated within the post holder’s grading

• Work flexible hours as required, which may include some evenings and weekends, with advance discussion with the Team and PDM

Person Specification:

Essential

• Dedication to providing inclusive and accessible options for all users across our services, with a natural consideration for all ability levels and customer backgrounds

• Happy to work as part of a dynamic, friendly and multi-functional team

• Strong desire to develop student experience within sport and physical activity, working collaboratively with colleagues across the University

• Qualified to A level standard or alternative, with GCSE Maths and English (Grade C or equivalent)

• Extensive demonstrable knowledge and experience working with computer based systems, including word processing, spreadsheets and databases. Confident approach to learning and mastering new systems.

• Excellent interpersonal, communication and organisational skills, able to plan effectively for the week, month and year ahead

• Confident in enforcing policies and procedures

• Experience in resolving conflicts proactively and positively

• Ability to work under own initiative and manage sudden urgent tasks alongside main workload

• A thorough commitment to delivering a high quality service to a wide range of customers

• Ability to identify and take action to resolve risks to health and safety

• Keen to continually develop and improve processes and procedures, catering for changing environments

• Happy to work closely with the PDM and the Participation Development Officers whilst learning the role; confident in asking for support and knowing when to fly independently

Desirable

• Experience line managing a diverse group of staff, including contracted and casual instructors, coaches activity leaders

• Fitness qualification (ETM, Les Mills, Level 2 Fitness Instructor/ Gym Instructor, etc.) and/ or Understanding/ knowledge of the fitness industry/ changing trends

• A sports or physical activity related academic qualification and/ or Knowledge/ understanding of higher education/ sport

• Coaching /officiating qualifications and/ or experience coaching juniors

• Experience of working to widen equality and diversity related to physical activity  

Valuing excellence, sustaining investment

We value diversity and inclusion at the University of Birmingham and welcome applications from all sections of the community and are open to discussions around all forms of flexible working.