Sports Assistant/Lifeguard - Campus Services - 105304 - Grade 3

Position Details

Campus Services Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £25,618 to £27,126

Grade: 3 Full Time, Permanent

2 positions available

Closing date: 18th January 2026

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.

Background

Sport & Fitness is responsible for managing the University of Birmingham’s extensive sport and recreation facilities. It serves the entire sporting spectrum—from beginners to elite athletes—supporting 6,500 members, 40 performance clubs, and over 40 sports scholars, while offering a comprehensive participation and intramural league programme. The centre hosts major events for British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS), national governing bodies, and external organisations, attracting up to 3,000 spectators for individual events. It played a key role in the Commonwealth Games, hosting hockey and squash competitions as well as providing training venues for swimming and athletics. Sport & Fitness caters to a diverse range of user groups, including university societies, the medical school, departmental teams, and social groups, as well as the wider community—athletics, swimming, football, rugby, hockey, and gymnastics clubs, alongside schools, local authority groups, and commercial providers.

Role Summary

You will be responsible for lifeguarding and dry side facilities management duties, assisting the Facility Managers in the effective day-to-day management and operation of facilities, ensuring services are delivered safely.

Main Duties

• Swimming pool: Lifeguarding the pool as part of a team of guards, managing pool etiquette and lane usage in line with the Normal Operating Procedure (NOP) and Terms and Conditions of use. Setting up the pool according to the timetable, including adjusting the depth of the pool and configuration as required. Performing water quality tests for the swimming pool, reporting any results not within working parameters. Carrying out plant room checks. Pool vacuum set up and take out, cleaning of the machine. Attending training once a month outside of normal shift pattern, lifeguard training, situational training, fire warden training.
• Dry side (including indoor and outdoor facilities): Setting up dry‑side facilities in accordance timetables and instructions. Dealing with customer enquiries at indoor and outdoor facilities including first aid. Assisting with the training of new members of staff and casual staff by showing them how to perform equipment setups to recognised guidelines. All training matrices will be signed off by a duty manager. Processing cash collections in accordance with university policy.
• General area management duties: Preparing the facilities prior to opening up and securing at end of business. Ensuring facilities and equipment are prepared as and when required. Assisting in the safe and tidy storage of equipment throughout the buildings, reporting any issues. Patrolling the buildings on a regular basis and carrying out periodic checks on facilities, ensuring their safe and proper use at all times, checking on internal and external security and taking appropriate action to prevent or deal with security breaches. Dealing with incidents, injuries and emergencies, initiating Emergency Action Plans when there is a need to, and completing all relevant documentation. Carrying out routine maintenance, and safety checking of equipment as required, completing documentation. Liaising closely with Estates on matters of routine maintenance of the building, its fixtures and fittings, monitoring the progress of job requests. Assisting with the cleaning of facilities and associated amenities including toilets, showers and changing rooms when instructed to do so or when regular patrolling identifies the need to do so. Monitor the behaviours of users and ensure compliance with the NOP, health and safety rules and Terms and Conditions of Use. Monitor equipment inventory stock and inform the Duty Officer when stocks go below the level stated in the NOP. Any other duties that may be required and that are commensurate with the pay grade. Treat everyone with dignity and respect, supporting equality and valuing diversity.

Optional acting up responsibilities

University of Birmingham Sport supports members of staff who want to gain experience of working above their current role. Therefore we have an Acting Team Leader role that empowers those who have gone through an informal interview and training programme to carry out essential duties in the absence of the Duty Manager. Those qualified will be paid an additional hourly rate for the job.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

• GCSE English and Maths or equivalent level 1 qualifications. Where no equivalent qualification is held, relevant work experience evidencing the skills and ability to undertake the role will normally be required.
• A current National Pool Lifeguard Qualification.
• An up to date First Aid at Work qualification or the willingness to attain one during the first 6 months of employment.
• Experience of working with the public in a fast paced environment, providing outstanding customer service and care.
• Experience of working under pressure.
• Basic computer skills.
• Experience as working as part of a team delivering a high quality customer experience.
• Ability to learn and understand how diversity considerations affect own area (eg dietary requirements/dress code).

Dimensions

You will not directly manage others or a budget in this role.

Planning and Organising

You will undertake a range of activities within the gym which will be allocated to you on a daily basis. You will be expected to complete these within the day or certain timeframes (with some tasks such as inspections needing to happen in specific time frames), and you will therefore need to prioritise activities as allocated.

Problem Solving and decision making

You will work within existing processes and procedures, with an expectation that you will refer to the Manager before making any changes to Normal Operating Procedures. There will be prescribed procedures, with experience showing which the best course of action is.

Internal and External relationships

You will interacting with customers from a range of backgrounds and will need to have a high level of communication skills, confidence and diplomacy to deliver effective training, and to deal with enquiries, complaints and less experienced gym users.

DBS required

The University is committed to safeguarding and we promote safe recruitment practice, therefore all associated pre‑employment checks will be undertaken before any appointment is confirmed. Due to the nature of the work undertaken in this role all successful applicants will be subject to a satisfactory DBS clearance prior to appointment.

Informal enquiries to Mark Assinder, email: m.a.assinder@bham.ac.uk

View our staff values and behaviours here

Use of AI in applications: We want to understand your genuine interest in the role and for the written elements of your application to accurately reflect your own communication style. Applications that rely too heavily on AI tools can appear generic and lack the detail we need to assess your skills and experience. Such applications will unlikely be progressed to interview.

We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website.