Sport England 4x Board Members
- Body
- Sport England
- Appointing Department
- Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
- Sector
- Culture, Media & Sport
- Location
- Board meetings will take place in London, Loughborough or virtually. Other meetings and events can take place anywhere in the country.
- Number of Vacancies
- 4
- Remuneration
- Board members are remunerated at a rate of £218 per day.
- Time Requirements
- Board members will be expected to attend Board meetings approximately every two months, and are likely to be asked to be a member of a sub-committee or subsidiary as well, with a requirement of a further 4-6 meetings per year.
Campaign Timeline
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Competition Launched
21/03/2022
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Closed for Applications
25/04/2022 at 12:00
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Panel Sift
TBC
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Final Interview Date
TBC
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Announcement
TBC
Assessment Panel
- Panel Member
- Adam Conant
- Panel Role
- Panel Chair
- Positions
- DCMS Deputy Director, Sport Departmental Official
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- Panel Member
- Chris Boardman MBE
- Positions
- Chair, Sport England Representative of Organisation
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- Panel Member
- Karen Creavin
- Positions
- Independent Member
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Vacancy Description
The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport wishes to appoint four new Non-Executive Board Members to Sport England, including a Chair of the Audit, Risk and Governance Committee.
Sport England is a government-funded Non-Departmental Public Body and National Lottery distributor. It is responsible for supporting, growing and advocating for grassroots sport and physical activity in England in line with its objectives as set out in its Royal Charter, its new strategy Uniting the Movement and government’s sport and physical activity strategy Sporting Future: A New Strategy for an Active Nation.
Board members’ primary role is to work with the Executive Team to shape strategy and investment decisions and provide assurance that the organisation is delivering against its agreed objectives. The Board is also responsible for approving priorities for Sport England, agree annual budgets, an appropriate risk appetite and ensuring that the Executive Team maintains an effective system of internal control. Board members will also bring their own skills and experience to support the Executive Team in delivering the overall strategy.
DCMS is committed to eliminating discrimination and advancing equality of opportunity in its public appointments. We particularly encourage applicants from underrepresented groups, those based outside London and the South-East and applicants who have achieved success through non-traditional educational routes. This ensures that boards of public bodies benefit from a full range of diverse perspectives and are representative of the people they serve.
Person Specification
Essential Criteria
We are seeking to appoint four new Board Members, including a Chair of the Audit, Risk and Governance Committee.
General Board Member Roles
Candidates to these roles will be able to demonstrate in their application the majority of the following qualities to a high standard:
- Ability to provide oversight of and support for the implementation of an ambitious and innovative strategy;
- Demonstrable knowledge of and passion for the grassroots sport and physical activity sector and/or a similar environment where complex social and economic factors impact on behaviour;
- Strong personal commitment to the vision and mission set out in Uniting the Movement and to Sport England’s values;
- A good understanding of the impact of sport and physical activity, across physical and mental health, for individuals and communities, and for the economy;
- A strong commitment to engaging communities outside of London, and factoring nation-wide perspectives into all decision making.
The successful candidates will also demonstrate specific expertise in one or more of the following areas:
- Commercial operations and investment, particularly in areas relevant to sport, e.g. Commercial Loans, Private Equity, Social Investment, etc…
- Implementing a whole system change approach either in sport and physical activity or a comparable environment (health, education, social care, etc…);
- Successfully tackling inequalities in sport and physical activity or a comparable environment;
- Using communications and advocacy campaigns to change individual and organisational behaviours;
- The local authority landscape in England and knowledge and experience of delivery in a placed-based way;
- Understanding of the sport and physical activity sectors, for example, gained as an athlete or senior administrator.
Audit, Risk and Governance Committee Chair
The successful candidate will be expected to demonstrate in their application the following criteria:
- Experience of working with Audit Committees and an understanding of their role and value to an organisation;
- The ability to chair meetings involving multiple stakeholders;
- Ability to listen, understand and distil salient issues for reporting back to the Board and to build trust and rapport with the Executive Officers and auditors;
- Understanding of the principles of effective governance;
- Appreciation of risks and the control environment required in organisations handling public money;
- Strong personal commitment to the vision and mission set out in Uniting the Movement and to Sport England’s values;
- A strong commitment to engaging communities outside of London, and factoring nation-wide perspectives into all decision making.
Additional Information
Sport England is funded by both government and the National Lottery, and is responsible for growing and developing grassroots sport and helping more people get active across England. It invests money in organisations and in places in order to achieve that, but also provides support to the sport and physical activity sector to ensure it can work as effectively as possible. It runs campaigns to encourage physical activity, invests in clubs and facilities across England, provides world class insight and expertise and works to ensure the highest standards of governance, leadership, safeguarding and integrity in English sport.
Sport England has just published a new ten year strategy, Uniting the Movement and a detailed three year Implementation Plan setting out how it will begin that decade-long journey. It also operates within the policy framework set out in Sporting Future, the government’s strategy for sport and physical activity published in 2015.
Uniting the Movement put tackling the inequalities in sport at the heart of Sport England’s work, and set out five Big Issues to work together on, and five Catalysts for Change:
| Big Issues | Catalysts for Change |
| 1) Recover from Covid-19 and reinvent | 1) Effective investment models |
| 2) Connecting communities | 2) The power of people and leadership |
| 3) Positive experiences for children and young people | 3) Innovation and digital |
| 4) Connecting with health and wellbeing | 4) Data, insight and learning |
| 5) Active environments | 5) Good governance |
It is in these areas that the Board will focus, and support the Executive to deliver change that ultimately increases levels of activity, decreases levels of inactivity and narrows the inequalities that exist in both.
Sport England is a purpose-driven and values-led organisation and Board Members will be expected to share that purpose and demonstrate those values:
Collaborative – One team, committed to delivering together and working with others to make a difference to people’s lives.
Ambitious – Determined in pursuit of its goals, prioritising work and partnerships that will most advance the mission, helping the organisation to succeed and make a positive impact on the nation.
Inclusive – Harnessing collective strength and respecting difference to create the conditions for everyone to engage and to excel.
Innovative – Curious, optimistic and relentless, questioning established ways of working and learning from each other and from experiences.
More practically, Sport England employs around 300 staff, who work across England, with three office locations in Loughborough, London and Bisham in Berkshire, though the lease on the current London Head Office expires at the end of 2022. The Head Office will move to Loughborough though a presence in London will be retained. Staff are a mixture of office and home based, which has been the case for some years now, though with a significant increase in home working since March 2020.
The Sport England Board
The Chair leads a main Board which will consist of a Deputy Chair and up to 12 other members appointed by the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. There is also an Investment Committee, focused on specific investments and investment themes aligned to the strategy, an Audit, Risk and Governance Committee and a Chairs’ Committee. There are also two subsidiary companies, the Sports Council Trust Company, which holds Sport England’s property assets and the English Sports Development Trust Ltd, which invests money in campaigns such as This Girl Can.