Head of Sport
Robert Gordon University is an innovative, inclusive and impactful University, with an established track record of success in teaching and research, student satisfaction and graduate employability, set amidst one of the most prosperous and beautiful areas of the country.
We are passionate about the role sport and physical activity plays in providing the best possible student, staff and wider community experience. As Head of Sport, and a senior member of the Student Life team, you will be responsible for the development and implementation of an ambitious vision, ensuring the University provides opportunities which enhance wellbeing, physical activity and University sport at all levels. You will have strategic responsibility for the University's sport facility, RGU SPORT, as well as all (non-academic) sport activities, and programme development for our students, staff and the wider community.
An established and effective leader you will have experience of managing a significant facility and/or sport development programmes. As such, we expect you to have experience of managing high performing teams and financial resources to deliver a commercially successful and customer focussed facility. A relationship builder and influencer, you will develop internal/external links and embrace opportunities to forge new partnerships for the benefit of the whole University sport community.
In keeping with RGU's commitment to work/life balance you will have the opportunity to work from home for a portion of the working week and also benefit from a generous pension scheme, 46 days annual leave (including statutory days) an onsite nursery and sports centre, as well as a range of voluntary health and travel benefits.
RGU's ultra-modern campus, located on the outskirts of the vibrant and prosperous city of Aberdeen, offers a superb place to live, work and develop your career. A relocation package is available to assist with your transition to RGU, where you’ll enjoy working in one of the most impressive university settings in the UK, with first-class educational infrastructure and outstanding sporting and leisure facilities, all set against a stunning rural backdrop on the banks of the River Dee. More information can be found in our Relocation Policy.
- Current salary range: £64,946 to £66,890, rising to £66,857 - £68,857 from 1 August 2023.
- Responsible to: Director of Student Life
- Responsible For: Operations Development Manager, Programme Development Manager, Administrative Assistant
- Purpose of Post: To lead the strategic development and operational management of the sport and physical activity services at the University, which includes programmes and facilities, and ensure that these services are high quality, customer focussed and commercially successful.
Principal Duties
- Lead the strategic development of the non academic sport and physical activity services at the University, ensuring services deliver against University wide strategy.
- Strategically lead the operations of the University’s sport facilities as well as the development and planning of future facility development and investment needs.
- Be an effective and visible leader of the RGU SPORT staff team, who embodies the University’s values in all that they do and encourages others to do the same.
- Provide excellent line management, including mentoring,& coaching, to the RGU SPORT management team, empowering and motivating all to deliver against objectives whilst promoting a culture of continuous performance improvement as well as promoting equality & inclusion.
- Provide effective leadership which ensure that RGU SPORT continues to deliver an excellent customer focussed facilities and services to the communities it serves.
- Be responsible for the departmental budget which includes preparation of annual budget, quarterly forecasts, maintenance of appropriate records to ensure audit trail in line with University procurement and financial procedures, implement robust controls to ensure membership, usage and programme targets are met, if and when required implement cost control measures in specific areas.
- Ensure and manage compliance of health and safety standards and statutory requirements.
- Provide strategic leadership of RGU Sports Clubs in partnership with RGU Union to continue to deliver an excellent club sport offering, which includes achieving agreed performance targets and objectives in SSS and BUCS competition as well as ensuring providing opportunities to engage the wider student body in social sport and physical activity.
- Work in partnership with academic schools to maximise the relationship between sport development, teaching and research.
- Liaise and partner with a range of external organisations to ensure the university’s integration of RGU SPORT and the programmes it delivers with external organisations such as local authorities, sports clubs, other HE/FE institutions and Sporting Governing Bodies.
- Identify, establish and manage local and national sporting community partnerships that deliver shared business objectives and enhance sport and physical activity provision across the region and nationally.
- Work as part of the wider Student Life management team to strategically develop, implement and appraise student life services with the goal of enhancing the student experience of all RGU students.
- Build effective working relationships with staff across the University and external organisations as well as represent the University’s interests in a range of internal and external forums.
Essential Requirements
Qualifications and Professional Memberships
- Degree or equivalent in relevant subject; significant relevant experience may be considered as an alternative.
Knowledge
- A detailed understanding of the governance of sport, it’s structures and institutions at a local and national level.
- Knowledge of Health and Safety legislation relevant to sport & physical activity and facility management e.g COSHH, risk assessment, manual handling, Health and Safety at work act 1974.
- Sound knowledge of the role of sport and physical activity ; including but not limited to the provision of high quality facilities, and the positive impact on physical, social and mental health, academic performance, attainment, retention and employability.
- A detailed understanding of core management practices and policies as well as an awareness and understanding of equality, diversity and inclusion legislation and best practice.
Experience
- Experience in leading, or involvement at a senior level, significant facility and/or sport development programmes.
- Experience of budget management including preparation, management and implementation of control measures.
- Experience of sport facility management.
- Experience of leading and managing high performing staff teams within a similar sport & exercise environment to ensure the delivery of excellent, high quality, customer focussed services. This includes responsibility for line management and staff development.
- Experience of working with, negotiating with and influencing those in a senior position and or to collaborate on joint ventures.
- Experience of successful project management.
- Experience of developing commercially successful, innovative services and programmes, which includes production of high-level business plans and proposals linked to strategy.
- Experience of using appropriate IT solutions, including Leisure Management Systems, to access business data and analyse accordingly to ensure data driven decisions making.
- Experience of developing clear and insightful report and proposals to a range of stakeholders by utilising exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
- Experience of representing an organisation externally with credibility and of establishing exception working relationships to achieve results.
- Experience of utilising excellent interpersonal, negotiation, influencing and communication skills to build effective professional relationships and work collaboratively across an organisation.
Desirable Requirements
Qualifications and Professional Memberships
- Relevant health and safety qualification e.g IOSH managing safely
- Relevant health and fitness professional memberships e.g. CIMSPA senior manager member
- Relevant health and fitness industry qualifications - Recognised First Aid qualification e.g. First aid at work, Sports First Aid.
Knowledge
- Knowledge and understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing the HE sector and how these benefit/impact Sport.
- Knowledge of sport and physical activity trends.
Experience
- Demonstrable track record of leading and managing a large and complex sports organisation at a senior level.
- Evidence of individual Continuing Professional Development.
- Experience of delivering sport and exercise e.g sport and exercise coaching, officiating, volunteering or fitness instructing.
- Experience of strategic management skills including strategy development and implementation, policy development, change management and continuous improvement.
Behaviours
- Team Development - Experience of providing advice or guidance to new starts, delivering training or instruction to others on specific tasks or activities and identifying the training and development needs of the team and carrying out performance appraisals
- Planning and Organising Resources - Experience of being responsible for the operational planning and organisation of large projects or the coordination of a number of teams or projects, including setting performance standards and monitoring procedures
- Communication - Ability to receive, understand and convey information requiring careful explanation and information of a complex or conceptual nature, in a clear and accurate manner
- Service Delivery - Experience of exploring and adapting a service to meet customers’ expectations and also identifying ways of improving standards
- Team Work and Motivation - Experience of being an overall team leader for one or several sections, setting the goals, and directing to effectively meet team objectives.
- Decision Making - Experience of using own judgement to make decisions, making collaborative decisions with others to reach conclusions and providing advice or information that will influence the decisions of others
About RGU SPORT
Our Facilities
RGU SPORT is the home of sport and physical activity at Robert Gordon University. Based in the centre of the Garthdee campus it a social hub for staff, students and the local community. The facility was opened in 2004 and to this day remains a high quality fitness facility in the heart of the campus, south of Aberdeen city and a regional sports hub for the area.
Our Memberships
We offer a variety of membership packages to students, staff, the wider community and corporate businesses. Our memberships offer unlimited gym, swim and group exercise at all times during our opening hours, as well as discounts on climbing, bouldering and sports hall activities.
We know how important flexible payment options are for our customers and so we offer a range of annual, monthly, or pay as you go payment plans to meet these needs.
Our Programmes
RGU SPORT deliver a range of sport and physical activity programmes with the aim of ensuring that there is something for everyone! We offer a group exercise timetable with over 40 classes per week which open to all abilities as well a range of other programmes focussed in the areas of education wellbeing and performance.
Learn to programmes
Our Learn to swim and Learn to climb programmes are hugely popular with our community. With over 300 children enrolled and attending weekly and a number of adult ‘learn to’ options available, we provide opportunities for everyone to learn something new in a fun leisure environment.
Recreational Sport Programmes
We offer a variety of recreational sport opportunities to staff and students with the aim of providing opportunities to socialise and network whilst keeping active and having fun. Our programmes include staff and student badminton, futsal and walk and talk.
Performance and Athlete support programmes
RGU SPORT are committed to enhancing the performance of athletes in our communities. For our students we offer a well established sport scholar programme which focuses on supporting them to develop their talents and succeed in their chosen sporting field whilst completing their academic study. Our programme has supported athletes such as Commonwealth Gold Medallist, Hannah Miley and Scotland Women’s National Team football captain, Rachel Corsie.
For the wider community, we offer a variety of programmes such as our Talented Athlete Programme and Youth Development Programme which aim to support athletes at a variety of ages and from all sporting disciplines, pursue their sporting dreams.
Courses
We aim to provide opportunities for individuals to learn new skills and gain vocational qualifications in the health and fitness industry. We regularly offer National Pool Lifeguard Qualification courses which are open to students, staff and the wider community, as well as having a longstanding partnership with he Fitness Education Academy to offer a range of gym based qualification such as, Level 2 Gym instructor, Level 3 Personal Training Qualifications.
Our Student Sport Opportunities
Student sport is at the heart of what we do. Working in partnership with the Student Union, we support our club leaders to deliver student led, student focussed sports clubs who offer sport for all levels of abilities. We have 28 sport clubs who compete in Scottish Student Sport and BUCS leagues and competitions as well as competing at a variety of other Scottish and UK wide competition. We work hard to ensure that participating in a sport club is at the heart of RGU’s student experience.
About RGU
Robert Gordon University (RGU) offers staff and students alike a distinctive, professionally-focused academic environment in which demand-led teaching and research helps individuals develop and prosper. With significant, often unique, strengths across a wide range of educational areas, an impressive array of national and international awards and one of the most beautiful campuses - and regions - in which to live and work in the UK, we offer staff a unique platform on which to develop their careers.
Our University's role in the community can be traced back nearly three and a half centuries to the birth of Aberdeen merchant and benefactor Robert Gordon in 1668. Robert Gordon's mercantile adventures founded a strong and remarkably modern belief that his investment in the education of his townsfolk would equip them with the skills and knowledge to strengthen their success in Europe and further afield.
Today, more than 260 years after his death, the University which bears his name remains true to his spirit and enterprise.
Relocating
Our City and Shire
Set between the rivers Don and Dee in the North-East of Scotland, Aberdeen, with a population of c. 228,000, is the best Scottish city in which to live and work, according to The Good Growth for Cities Index 2021 run by Demos-PwC.
Celebrated for its proximity to the sea and its famous, silvery, sparkling architecture, Scotland’s third most populous city is prosperous and cosmopolitan, outperforming other major cities in the UK in terms of jobs, skills, income and environment. This is reflected in an eclectic mix of eateries, a lively nightlife scene, opportunities for outdoor adventure, year-round festivals and events, inspiring art galleries and interesting museums.
It is far milder here than you might expect from our northern location. The east coast is actually the sunniest area in Scotland, with around 1,500 of sunshine every year - ideal for the region's outstanding outdoor and active activities, which attract huge numbers of people throughout the year.
Our coastline is amazing – with rugged cliffs and beautiful sandy beaches which stretch for miles both north and south of Aberdeen. Charming fishing villages and world-class golf courses intermingle with magnificent castles overlooking the North Sea, while nature lovers will be delighted with the range of bird and mammal life inhabiting the landscape.
With the Grampian Mountains and Cairngorms National Park within an hour of the city, there are plentiful opportunities for mountain biking, climbing, skiing, snowboarding and white-water rafting. Aberdeen also has its very own snow-sports centre where you can ski and snowboard all year round while The Deeside Way offers the chance to run, walk or cycle from the centre of Aberdeen to Ballater in the Cairngorms National Park.
The city is also the perfect place from which to expand your horizons across Scotland, the UK and Europe. Edinburgh is easily accessible by road or rail; London is just over an hour away by air; while flights to European hubs such as Amsterdam and Paris takes less than two hours.
Relocating
Whether you are coming from within Scotland, the UK or from overseas, we appreciate that it’s a complex process with a multitude of things to consider. Our recruitment team will be pleased to help and answer any questions, but you can also find the best of the information available online to help you make this transition:
We look forward to welcoming you to Aberdeen.
Relocation assistance will available subject to conditions.
How to Apply
Submit your application online:
Applications should include
Submit your CV and cover letter (no more than 2 sides of A4) which details:
- An overview of your current situation
- Your motivation for applying for this role
- Your experience of facility and people management
- Your experience of sports development
- Financial management experience
Closing Date
Please submit your application by Midnight Sunday 21 May.
Contact
Informal enquires should be directed to Filippo Antoniazzi f.antoniazzi@rgu.ac.uk Director of Student Life.
For any further questions, please contact hr@rgu.ac.uk