6th August 2015

North East Regional Manager

Dear Applicant,

Thank you for expressing an interest in the North East Regional Manager role here at Sported.

Sported is a free membership organisation that offers organisational development and support to groups and organisations in the community and voluntary sport sectors in the UK. We recognise that many of the organisations that are great at delivering sport to young people would benefit from support on the business side of their activity, and we want to provide that, to ensure they are operating to the maximum of their potential and to enable them to do what they do best – change the lives of young people.

We are also working to demonstrate the value of ‘sport for development’ and its ability to change young people’s lives – our work moving forward will focus on demonstrating impact as well as on continuing to deliver our services. Those services include online resources around business development, bespoke capacity building and linking members to grant funding.

For more information about Sported and our programmes please see

Sported has 12 regional offices around the UK and is currently looking for a North East Manager to lead our future developments in the region following a secondment of the current regional manager. Our work in the NorthEast is well established – we have a large number of member organisations, a number of skilled volunteer mentors supporting our work. There has beensome excellent partnership work developed over the last 4 years,but there are still some huge opportunities for Sported within the region.

We are looking for a motivated individual who can take on the challenge of making Sported’s work in the North East great. This will include the continued support of our membership, delivery of services and the support to a team of volunteer mentors. However, significant focus of the role will be on establishing Sported as a key player in the region particularly in relation to brokering local partnerships and implementing National programmes within the region context.

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Yours faithfully

Chris Grant

Sported CEO

Background Information

Sported was established by Sir Keith Mills, who was inspired by the commitment made in Britain’s Olympic bid to use the London 2012 Olympic Games to improve the lives of disadvantaged young people in the UK.

Sported supports community and voluntary sector organisations that use sport as a vehicle for personal and community development, rather than those which promote particular sports or look for elite players. These projects do not form part of the school or club structure and range from third sector organisations to community based groups and inspirational individuals.

Sported aims to bring together as many members as possible under the ‘sport for development’ umbrella, giving community sports organisations the opportunity to be part of something national, recognisable and credible.

Through capacity building services, a volunteer mentor programme, project funding and other be-spoke member services, Sported provides operational and financial resources to their members, helping them to build their business expertise and sustainability.

Sported has 12 offices around the UK’s nations and regions, and is a UK registered charity governed by a Board of 9Trustees.

Mentor Supported project case study - The Running Charity

The Running Charity is a unique new charity that provides running and fitness-based initiatives to homeless and disadvantaged young people aged 16-24, using the great value of sport as a catalyst for proactive and productive social change.

Sported mentors:Anas Hassan and Jessica Anstee

Professional expertise: Strategy consulting, business planning and marketing

Sported mentor period: September 2013 – April 2014

Mentor investment: One day’s consultancy a month per mentor

Then…

When Sported mentors Anas Hassan and Jessica Anstee first started working with The Running Charity (formerly known as SPAT), they were immediately impressed by the organisation’s innovative concept and the enthusiasm and drive of the founders - James Gilley, James Butler and Alex Eagle. All that was missing was some business experience and a roadmap to guide the organisation’s plans and priorities.

Using their collective strategic and marketing expertise, Anas and Jess helped the founders channel their obvious energy and creativity into developing a sustainable business plan, laying the foundations for The Running Charity’s future growth.

And now…

The Running Charity has become a registered charity with the infrastructure and resources in place to support many more young people. What started as a small group of runners in North London is on the verge of turning into a national movement, helping young people all over the UK.


“The Sported team in London and our mentors started helping us at the perfect time, we had to establish an organisational structure and a programme structure quickly and make sure both were flexible when we would finally become a charity. Sported were essential for building the correct foundations for us to flourish on.” James Gilley, Founder of The Running Charity

Overview of Role

Job Title / North East Regional Manager
Reports to / West Midlands Regional Manager (Cluster Manager)
Role / The strategic and operational lead for Sported in the NorthEast region. Management of a team ofSported volunteer mentors supporting North East members. To develop and lead strategic partnerships in the region. To develop relevant plans for the North East in line with the National Sported mission. The possibility of line managing a Support Officer in the future.
Hours / Sported operates a core work hours system, meaning employees can structure
their working day around the core hours of 10 - 4pm
There is an expectation to work some evenings and weekends. However toil is offered in accordance with Sported policies around working additional hours
Contract / Fixed term contract July 2017 (with the possibility of extension)
Location / TBC - Office location as appropriate for post holder‘s geographical location. Some home working. Significant regional and some other UK travel.
Salary / £30,500- £32,000k per annum .
Holiday / 25 days holiday per annum in addition to statutory bank holidays.
Main Relationships / Internal:
  • Strategic Leadership Team
  • West Midlands Manager
  • Head of Nations & Regions
  • Head of Partnerships and Revenue
  • Regional and Country Managers
  • Volunteer Services Manager
  • Head of Sported Network Services
  • Sported Mentor Teams
  • Evidence, Monitoring and Evaluation Manager
/ External:
  • Sported Members
  • Regional partner organisations
  • Community sports providers
  • Local government
  • Voluntary Sector including youth sector
  • Funders
  • Local Media

.

Main Duties

Strategic Relationships:

  • Work with the West Midlands Regional Manager (Cluster Manager) to implement and deliver the strategic aims of Sported in the North East Region. This will include the delivery of National/England wide programmes within the region.
  • Identify, develop and build partnerships with regional organisations and agencies to increase the awareness of the Sport for Development sector and strengthenSported’s position as the lead organisation in this area.
  • Local networking and relationship maintenance – manage existing relationships with regional stakeholders. Attend external meetings and networking events and sustain the profile of Sported in the region.
  • Work in partnership with National and Regional Managers to share best practise and implement partnership ideas/opportunities where appropriate

Volunteer Mentor Management:

In conjunction with the Sported Volunteer Services Manager;

  • Oversee and manage the volunteer mentor team across the region.
  • Develop and deliver a strategy for the volunteer mentor programme in the North East
  • Recruit volunteer mentors across the region in line with the specific requirements for the region
  • Develop an effective programme of networking for Sported volunteer mentors and work with the mentor team to grow the reputation of the overall Sported volunteer programme

Capacity Building Services:

  • To manage and oversee the current and future member projects receiving Sported volunteer mentor support. This support can focus on governance advice/development, business planning, financial management, policies and procedures, HR, monitoring and evaluation and grant generation. This support is delivered by a Sported volunteer mentor with the expertise of the Regional Manager/wider Sported network available to add value as required.

The Sported volunteer mentor programme requires:

  • Making initial contact and carrying out an assessment of each member project to identify their need/support required.
  • Prepare brief on project requirements and work directly with that project to allocate a Volunteer Mentor with specific skills.
  • Assist with preparing documents, i.e. policy documents, financial statements, funding applications.
  • Signpost to expert agencies to help link up organisations with other relevant networks and the use Sported ’s web-based ‘Your Sported Network Portal’

Sported Members:

  • Support Sported funded members with monitoring and evaluation in conjunction with their grants, and other Members with wider monitoring and evaluation support.
  • Signpost North East members as appropriate to the relevant Sported service they require.

Funding:

  • Work with Sported’sHead of Partnerships and Revenue to identify funders/opportunities to sustain the work of Sported in the North East
  • Foster and build relationships with potential local funders and support member bids where appropriate.
  • Manage the regional grant making process when it is active (currently under review)
  • Submission of bids on behalf of members prior to a 4 monthly panel process.
  • Reviewing and critiquing of grant applications from other Regions
  • To sit on a 4 monthly grant panel and review grants submitted from other Regions.

General Administration and other Responsibilities:

  • Maintain the regional members and mentors database.
  • General involvement with other Sported events as required such as national team meetings (approx. one every 3 months).

Person Specification:

Part 1: Knowledge and Experience

Essential

  • A strong understanding of Sport for Development
  • 5 years’ experience in either the voluntary, community or sport sectors.
  • Management of a team of skilled volunteers.
  • Ability to navigate the current funding environment
  • Experience of developing effective strategic partnerships including the development of associated documentation (Service Level Agreements/partnership proposals)
  • Understanding of issues facing small community groups and experience of supporting groups overcome those challenges.
  • Knowledge of all of the elements of organisational management in the third sector, including governance, business planning, financial management, policies and procedures, monitoring and evaluation.
  • An understanding of the North East Region
  • Experience in public speaking.

Desirable

  • Experience in having worked on regional or large sub-regional programmes.
  • Experience of working across the North East of England.
  • Experience of working in a remote role
  • Experience of line management

Part 2: Skills and Attributes

  • Strong attention to detail
  • Ability to work with a virtual team
  • Ability to work as remote worker,
  • The ability to manage and prioritise own workload.
  • Strong organisational and business management skills.
  • Personal authority to establish credibility with key stakeholders, and diplomatic and sensitive when dealing with a range of people.
  • IT skills.
  • Strong verbal and written communication skills.
  • Efficient administrative skills.

Part 3: Key Competencies

  • Developing strategic working relationships - developing and using collaborative relationships to facilitate the accomplishment of work goals
  • Initiating action – taking prompt action to accomplish objectives; taking action to achieve goals beyond what is required; being proactive
  • Decision making – identifying and understanding issues, problems, and opportunities: comparing data from different sources to draw conclusions: using effective approaches to draw conclusions; using effective approaches for choosing a course of action or developing appropriate solutions; taking action that is consistent with available facts, constraints and probable consequences
  • Communication – clearly conveying information and ideas through a variety of media to individuals or groups in a manner that engages the audience and helps then understand and retain the message

Part 4: Personal Circumstances:

  • Commitment to the mission of the Sported.
  • Able and willing to work outside of office hours, as required.
  • Willing to travel to regional and national meetings.
  • Full driving license and access to a car.

Recruitment Timetable

Stage / Date
Closing date for applications / Noon 25th August 2015
Short-listing meeting (internal) / 27th August 2015
Applicants to be notified if successful for interview by / 27th August 2015
Interviews / 2nd September 2015
Role commences / Mid October 2015

If you have any questions about the role please contactPaul Napthine, Head of Nations and Regions

To apply for this role please complete the application form and send it to

Please note:

  • Only successful applicants invited to interview will be contacted. Please assume therefore that if you have not heard from us by28th Augustyou have not been successful for interview.

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