Project Officer (Community Sport and Physical Activity)

Active Cheshire is a value-led organisation who lives and breathes our core values of: Inclusivity, Collaboration, Integrity, Passion, Innovation. We will connect sport, physical activity, and movement opportunities across Cheshire & Warrington to provide fairer and greater access for all, whilst tackling health inequalities. As a funded Sport England System Partner, we will lead the physical activity system across Cheshire & Warrington.

In line with the Sport England Uniting The Movement strategy and Active Cheshire’s own strategy, we know that great things happen in local communities when people from that community are at the heart of their development. Building strong ‘place-based’ partnerships around shared purpose and utilising place learning to drive strategic decisions will enable long-term, sustainable change.

Someone to galvanise partners, to enable change, to be focused on the long-term vision with a flexible approach to getting there. With a focus on enablers of change through asset-based community development principles, we’re looking to lay the foundation on which place expansion can anchor and grow. This isn’t a project; it will be to unlock the route to further investment based upon the voices of our communities. Our communities will tell us how collectively we can succeed in reducing inactivity, increasing activity, creating positive experiences for young people and tackling inequality.

Governance and leadership

• Support sound governance and leadership exists with Sponsors for each place area appointed and governance structure embedded to mitigate risk and maximise impact.
• Understanding that each place will be different, support the development of a theory of Change for each place based on community needs.
• Knowledge consolidation – support networks where insights from existing work will be integrated, reducing duplication and enhancing efficiency in future phases.
• Readiness for implementation – support the development of the ‘full-award’ application.

Externally, Sport England and the wider Active Partnership network, place Sponsors, strategic and community partners. All of which will be an integral network on which successful relationships will define the success or failure of place based working. The ability to create a network that doesn’t position any one single partner at its centre is key. The network will be a mesh of aligned, equal, and motivated organisations, each playing its part in developing a more active Cheshire and Warrington.

Our identified localities in Crewe, Ellesmere Port and Warrington Central will have embedded leaders aligned to our mission, partner networks who collaborate and learn freely with each other to share good practice and reduce/remove duplication.

Key Responsibilities:

• Relationship building (at a local, sub-regional and national level).
• Project management (developing and reporting upon progress).
• Networking (ensuring new organisations are knowledgeable and involved).
• Training (organising and delivering training).
• Digital technology (proficiency with MS Office and other software).
• Ability to travel and work evenings and/or weekends.

Essential Skills and Knowledge:

• Understanding of barriers and enablers to physical activity for the least active groups within society.
• Knowledge of networks, community partners and local organisations in Cheshire & Warrington.
• Ability to bridge gaps between community partners and the local strategic landscape, with a focus on co-creation and co-design.
• Project planning, management and delivery (including projects involving multiple partners).
• Knowledge of monitoring and evaluation principles in physical activity settings.
• Utilising learning and insight to expand successful models across different communities and embed meaningful change.
• Sharing local learning on a regional and national level, adding to connectivity of learning and further demonstrating value of the sport and physical activity sector.
• Understanding of issues affecting equity and inequalities in physical activity and communities.
• Experience of commissioning services.

Benefits:

• Competitive salary in line with market expectations, regularly reviewed and benchmarked.
• 25 days annual leave and a hybrid working policy.
• 5% contribution to Company Pension Scheme, and an extensive HealthShield Employee Assistance Program (EAP) providing 24/7 immediate support.
• 4x Life cover for death in service.
• Active Cheshire is a ‘Disability Confident’ and ‘Mindful Employer’ and as such we commit to offering an interview to disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for the job.

If you would like to submit your covering letter in a video format of you talking through your relevant experience, please do so. The video should accompany your CV, and be no longer than 5 minutes long, and in an MP4 format.