Lead Watersports Instructor (Level 3) in Kingston upon Thames

We are Places for People Group, a social enterprise that believes it’s people that make a community. At Places Leisure, we are changing lives by creating active places and healthy people for communities to thrive, aiming to be the UK’s leading health and wellbeing enabler.

Albany Outdoors is a unique, community-embedded outdoor water sports centre, and we are looking for an experienced Level 3 Watersports Instructor / Coach to play a key leadership role in delivering safe, inspiring, and accessible activity on the water. Working closely with the General Manager, you will lead the delivery of paddle sport, sailing and Dragon Boat sessions in a dynamic river environment, ensuring the highest standards of safety, care, and professionalism in line with AALA and National Governing Body requirements. You will support and develop instructors and volunteers, model positive leadership, and help create welcoming, inclusive experiences for schools, community groups, and corporate teams.

This is a role for someone who shares our commitment to People, Place and Purpose — where your expertise is valued, your judgement is trusted, and your work helps people of all ages build confidence, skills, and a lifelong connection with activity and the outdoors.

In this role, you lead the daily operations of the water sports centre, acting as senior on site when needed and supervising instructors to ensure high-quality delivery. You teach and facilitate outdoor learning in line with NGB standards, oversee safe daily activity delivery, and act as Fire Marshal, Health & Safety representative and first aider. You support training and development for staff and volunteers, prioritise safeguarding at all times, and use resources efficiently to maximise impact. You also handle administrative tasks such as bookings and staff scheduling, prepare staffing plans aligned to programme needs, and embed a culture of self-evaluation to drive continuous improvement.

Desirable Qualifications:

• Paddle UK Coach or Leader (Level 2 or Level 3)
• BDRA Level 1 Coach
• RYA Dinghy Instructor or Senior Dinghy Instructor
• RYA Powerboat Level 2
• Archery GB qualification
• ASI Level 1 Instructor Award
• Relevant First Aid qualification (outdoor / remote preferred)

More About You:

You hold a recognised Level 3 Youth Work or Children & Young People qualification and at least one nationally recognised outdoor activity qualification. You have experience engaging and building strong relationships with young people, supporting their personal and social development, and you’re confident leading teams in outdoor education to deliver high-quality sessions. You’re well-organised, an effective communicator, and comfortable using digital tools. Ideally, you also bring experience embedding equality and diversity in practice and working with corporate clients to deliver excellent customer experiences.

Benefits:

We are a large, diverse and ambitious business, which will give you all the challenge you could wish for. We offer a comprehensive benefits package including:

• Alignment with the Real Living Wage foundation
• A bonus scheme for all colleagues at 2%
• Full Health & Fitness membership for you, a nominated adult and up to 4 juniors
• Flexible working (including part time working, shift work and more)
• An opportunity to purchase additional annual leave
• Access to ongoing personal learning and development
• Access to our Company Pension scheme
• Cashback plan for healthcare costs – up to £500 saving per year
• Discounts of up to 50% on activities, centre shop and cafes
• Extra perks including huge discounts and offers from shops, cinemas and much more.

What’s next?

If you meet the criteria and are ready to make the next step in your career then click apply. You will be redirected to our careers site where you can discover more about the role, read a full job description and apply directly to us. As part of our commitment to diversity and inclusion, we offer a guaranteed interview to candidates who are disabled, neurodiverse, or have served in the Armed Forces, provided they meet the essential criteria for the role. If you would like to be considered under this scheme, please indicate this in your application.

We are dedicated to creating a supportive and accessible recruitment process for all. If you require any reasonable adjustments to support your application or interview experience, please let us know. We’re happy to work with you to ensure you have the opportunity to perform at your best.

If you are a Places for People customer and you’re looking for support with your application, please contact our skills and employment team on skillsemployment@placesforpeople.co.uk. We understand the importance of a supportive and inclusive work culture so please talk to us at interview about flexibility you may need. We can’t promise to give you exactly what you want, but we promise not to judge you for asking. For this role we are open to discussing the possibility of reduced hours, flexible start and finish times or compressed hours.

Safeguarding:

At Places for People, safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. We are committed to creating safe communities for our customers and colleagues by protecting children, young people, and adults at risk from harm, abuse, and neglect. We follow robust safeguarding policies and procedures, ensuring all employees, volunteers, and contractors uphold the highest standards of safeguarding and accountability. Our recruitment process includes pre-employment checks, including Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks where applicable, to promote a safe and secure working environment. By joining Places for People, you are expected to contribute to our safeguarding culture, following our policies and reporting concerns to protect those in our communities.