Player Pipeline Administrator (Intern)

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is working with London’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) in partnership with the Mayor of London’s Sport Team, to offer two 12-month internships, giving you the chance to dive into some of the operational dimensions at the RFU. This internship will give you a hands-on, immersive experience within our Player Experience team. Previous experience is not essential, and you don’t need to be obsessed with rugby to tackle this opportunity. What we’re most interested in is your ambition and drive to develop your skills and take advantage of new learning experiences.

Department: Player Experience Team - Rugby Development

Reports to: Schools and Colleges Manager

Salary Banding: £22,663 per annum

Location: This role is contractually based at Allianz Stadium, offering some flexibility to work from home. To be eligible for this internship, you must currently live in London or have a London postcode by the start of the role.

Employment Type: Internship (12-month Fixed Term Contract)

Working Hours: This is a part-time role, covering 28hrs (4 days) per week.

Application Information: Please submit an anonymised CV and motivational letter. In your motivational letter, please answer the following questions:

• What motivates you to work at the RFU? (250 words)
• What type of role do you see yourself in, in the future? (250 words)

The closing date for applications is 4th February at 5pm. First stage interviews will happen in the week of 23rd February, and will consist of a short call or Teams videocall to find out more about you. There will be an assessment day on 2nd March.

THE ROLE: England Rugby has an exciting and ambitious plan to introduce rugby into 5000 state primary and secondary schools and to 800,000 young people. The key drivers to this are our network of School Rugby Managers (SRMs) and our non-contact format – T1 Rugby. In the next season we will add an additional 20 School Rugby Managers to the team, working with a number of partners to recruit and deploy these. Working as Player Pipeline Administrator, you will play a key role in the SRM onboarding process, organisation of local SRM face-to-face meetings, day-to-day support and helping us to celebrate their success.

THE TEAM: This role sits within the Player Pipeline team. The Player Pipeline team are responsible for growing and sustaining rugby in schools, colleges and universities and ensuring there is a pathway (pipeline) to community rugby clubs.

RESPONSIBILITIES: Day-to-day responsibilities will include:

• Support the onboarding programme of new School Rugby Managers (SRMs) from recruitment to induction including raising Purchase Orders, supporting with new supplier set up, managing kit and equipment orders, setting SRMs up on Teams.
• Support the organisation and delivery of face-to-face SRM induction and regional engagement events.
• Collate and keep updated SRM related data, including school list, activity data and club list, and supporting tracking of budget.
• Oversee the distribution of kit and equipment for schools involved through School Rugby Manager delivery.
• Support with the organisation (venue hire, kit and collateral) for the T1 Rugby series.
• Provide first line support to SRMs to answer any questions and signposting to solutions.
• Collate and promote SRMs and T1 Rugby activity through social media/other reporting to help celebrate the impact of the SRM team internally and externally.
• Actively collaborate with colleagues to contribute to the development and delivery of the current strategic, business and operational plans.
• Act as an ambassador for, and promote the best interests of the RFU, including the promotion of our culture and core values – This Rose Means Everyone: Put The Team First, Shape The Future, Respect Each Other.
• Undertake other duties as may be required from time to time as are consistent with the responsibilities of the post and the needs of the organisation.

PERSON SPECIFICATION: The skills and attributes outlined in this description are not exhaustive and we welcome candidates who can bring different relevant experiences to the role.

Skills:

• Demonstrates initiative and self-motivation but is also able to follow an agreed way of working.
• Ability to balance multiple priorities and pay attention to detail to ensure excellent service delivery while working against tight deadlines.
• Highly organised with effective written and verbal communication skills.
• Motivation to build strong relationships with both internal and external stakeholders.
• An interest in learning and building on new skills.

Knowledge:

• Competent IT skills (Word/ Excel/PowerPoint/Microsoft Office/Internet).

Experience:

• Experience in a customer-facing environment.
• Experience providing administrative support.
• Experience of, or willingness to learn about, the use of social media/other media to help promote and celebrate good news stories.

Personal Attributes (Our Values):

• Committed to embodying the ethos of our culture by using our three core values – Put The Team First, Shape The Future, Respect Each Other – to guide your day-to-day decisions, actions and interactions.
• Committed to actively contributing and building an inclusive culture in your role and day-to-day behaviours.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: This role is funded by London’s Violence Reduction Unit in partnership with the Mayor of London’s Sport Team as part of a wider internships programme. The programme helps young Londoners from diverse backgrounds that are underrepresented in the sport sector start their careers.

To be eligible for this role you must identify with at least one of the following from each category below.

Diverse Educational and Employment Backgrounds: Some examples of diverse educational and employment backgrounds that we would expect the interns to come from include:

• Known to statutory services at any point in their life
• NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training)
• SEND (Special Educational Needs)
• Excluded/attended a PRU
• ‘First in Family’ (this refers to a student whose parents or guardians do not have any experience of higher education)
• Limited to no experience in the sport sector beyond customer service roles

Identities and Backgrounds Typically Underrepresented in Sport: Some examples of identities and backgrounds that are typically underrepresented in the sport sector that we would expect the interns to identify with include:

• Lower socio-economic status (accessing universal credit, free school meals)
• Care Leavers
• Women
• LGBTQ+
• Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic Backgrounds

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: We want you to have every opportunity to demonstrate your skills, ability and potential. If there is anything we could do to support you through your application or to provide the best environment for your interviews, including assistance or adjustment, please reach out to us.

During your application, we will ask questions about your identity. This information is considered highly confidential and will not be seen by hiring managers.