Policy Officer

Department and salary

Department –  Insight, Policy and Public Affairs

Salary –   Grade 5: £30,772.72 - £33,926.93   

Working Hours – 37 hours (consideration will be given to job sharing / reduced hours in line with our flexible working policy)

Type of contract – 12-month fixed term

Location – Sport Wales National Centre, Cardiff, Hybrid

Who we are

Sport Wales is the national organisation responsible for developing and promoting sport and physical activity in Wales.  We are the main adviser on sporting matters to the Welsh Government and are responsible for distributing National Lottery funds. We aim to not only improve the level of sports participation at grassroots level but also provide our aspiring athletes with the support required to compete successfully on the world stage. 

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion is at the heart of everything we do at Sport Wales. Further information on this can be found in our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Statement here.  

We are a progressive employer that offers excellent employee benefits and promotes a healthy work life balance, offering a range of flexible approaches to support you.  

Language skills (bilingualism & multilingualism) are desirable characteristics across all roles within Sport Wales. We are passionate about promoting the use of Welsh language and, as part of our development programme, give everyone the opportunity to learn Welsh if they wish to do so, offering learning programmes from beginner right through to fluent.  

Sport Wales embraces a blended approach to work, where you will be able to split your time between the office and home.   

Sport Wales careers are funded by Welsh Government and the National Lottery. Find out more about Sport Wales’ relationship with the National Lottery. 

Sport Wales strongly advocates continuous learning and improvement. On your very first day of work, you will embark on a tailored induction programme and will be offered all the essential training to get you started. Joining Sport Wales means joining a culture of learning and continuous professional development. Job specific training, lunchtime workshops, coaching and mentoring, improving Welsh language skills and long-term study opportunities are all part of being on our team. 

How you’ll contribute

This is an exciting opportunity to join the insight, policy and public affairs team at Sport Wales during an exciting time in Welsh politics. With the Senedd election due to take place in Spring 2026 this is a crucial time for Sport Wales to emphasise the crucial role that sports, and physical activity must play in the future of Wales. 

In this role you will contribute to a programme of work that informs policy development, improves investment decisions, and promotes the case for sport across a range of Government and other policy agendas.

Who you’ll work with

As part of working at Sport Wales, you will get to meet strategic leaders and key decision makers from a diverse range of organisations with an interest in leading and delivering sport and recreation opportunities –including Welsh Government, Regional Sport Partnerships and Local Authorities, National Organisations, National Governing Bodies, Leisure Trusts, Third Sector Organisations and many more.  You will also work with external specialist consultants and have the opportunity to create meaningful relationships with Members of the Senedd.

Based within the Insight, Policy and Public Affairs Team you will work within the Sport Intelligence and Service Development Directorate. Internally you will work collaboratively with colleagues across all directorates (including the Finance & Business Services and Sport Systems Directorates).

What you’ll need

We are looking for a candidate who has a keen interest in sport alongside an excellent understanding of the political landscape in Wales. We are looking for a candidate who understands devolution and has some experience of working and engaging with the Senedd and its members in some capacity.

You will have the ability to create a good and positive working environment, and deal effectively with issues and problems, motivating, encouraging and challenging your colleagues.  A learning-led approach is essential, being reflective in personal and professional development.

Exceptional administrative skills are essential, as this role requires the management of Government inquiries, writing of detailed briefings, and attending regular stakeholder engagement.

The ability to speak Welsh is desirable, although not essential. If you have the presence and personality to work in a high performing team as well as the passion and drive to succeed, then we would love to hear from you.

What happens next

You should read the full job description.  

You can apply for this role now (please note we do not accept CV's).   

If you need any support to apply for this role, then please email [javascript protected email address]

Closing date

03/09/2025 12pm

Provisional interview date

Week commencing 15th September 2025. 

Full job description

Responsible to

Senior Policy and Engagement Lead

Job purpose

This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in supporting the work of the insight, policy and public affairs team at Sport Wales during an important time in Welsh politics. 

In this role you will contribute to a programme of work that informs policy development, improves investment decisions, and promotes the case for sport across a range of Government and other policy agendas.

You will support the development and understanding of policy positions and communicate them to internal and external stakeholders, you will also work closely with the Senior Policy Lead in supporting the Public Affairs work for the organisation

You will develop relationships across the organisation, understanding how sport can contribute to the wider policy perspective in Wales. As part of the role, you will support the communication of Sport Wales’s work, reflecting what the organisation and its partners have done, has learnt, and plans to do, to maximise the way sport and physical activity is utilised in a policy setting. 

As part of the Insight, Policy and Public Affairs team you will also work with colleagues in the team to ensure that the research conducted and collated by Sport Wales underpins the policy decisions of Welsh Government and our partners with a particular focus on showcasing the evidence that sport can have across health, wellbeing and education as well as other devolved policy areas.

You will be a point of contact for government enquiries and will enhance the Sport Wales approach to not only sharing information about the work of the sport sector, but in advocating for it in a strategic and purposeful way. 

Exceptional administrative skills are essential, as the role requires the management of Government inquiries, writing detailed briefings, and attending regular stakeholder engagement.

Main duties

Support the general administration of the Insight, Policy and Public Affairs team, liaising with colleagues and keeping our planning and monitoring tools up to date.

Collate government and political (MSs/MPs/local authorities) policy queries and track and monitor the impact of these.

Support the delivery of a bi-weekly internal ‘insight, policy and public affairs’ round up and a monthly external update to partners and our board.

Support our work on delivering our Senedd Election manifesto recommendations for 2026 and review the way ongoing work within the sport sector and beyond can shape and be influenced by Sport Wales policy.

Support and accompany the Insight, Policy and Public Affairs Manager and/or Senior Policy lead on visits and meetings with MSs/MPs.

Support the organisation of, and attend relevant events including party conferences, relevant networking opportunities and Sport Wales-led events. 

Promote sport policy though political engagement, such as supporting consultation response development and supporting Government briefings. 

Support the preparation of key materials, documentation, data etc. to be used in policy and public affairs work both internally and externally

Promote the community investments approach, including engaging political representatives on the impact of Sport Wales’s investment distributions.

Represent the insight, policy and public affairs team in relevant internal and external meetings when required.

Fulfil responsibilities which contribute to delivering an exemplary service for Sport Wales in respect of our statutory duties, including Well-being of Future Generations (Wales), Equality, Information Security, Risk Management, Safeguarding, Financial Regulation and Health, Safety & Environment.

Work flexibly, performing any other duties as required, where relevant to the post and appropriate to the grade.

Work with a range of colleagues throughout the organisation to understand and advocate sport policy, ensuring all work develops in a complementary way.

Our values

Our approach to enabling sport in Wales to thrive is evolving. We are committed to continually challenging ourselves to: 

Learn Together - Constantly exploring, testing and reviewing

Deliver Together - Sharing outcomes, nurturing open and honest relationships, providing robust feedback, constantly improving performance

Celebrate Together - Recognising our shared successes through effective partners

By:

Acting with Integrity - Understanding and Respecting each other’s culture and values. Promoting equality and diversity

Adding Value - Ensuring the optimum mix of support, challenge, investment, skills, and expertise to achieve our shared outcomes.

Encouraging Innovation - Welcoming new ideas and approaches and supporting ambition and fresh thinking.  Not being afraid to feel uncomfortable.

Person specification