Sector Resilience Lead

Department and salary

Department – Sport System: Governance, People and Ethics

Salary – £49,734.98 - £53,277.34 (Grade 9)

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

Contract Length - Minimum of 12 month fixed term contract with the opportunity for secondment

Location – Sport Wales offices in Cardiff or Llanelli 

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

On behalf of the sport sector, Sport Wales is seeking a highly skilled, motivated and values-driven individual(s) with the capability to lead and support the sport sector in Wales in strengthening its resilience — that is, its ability to adapt, collaborate, and thrive in the face of financial and operational challenges.  

This role will work with funded partner organisations, alongside Sport Wales staff in a collaborative effort to develop and project manage a strategic programme focused on improving the efficiency, effectiveness, and long-term financial sustainability of the sector.  

The successful candidate will work closely with National Governing Bodies, Sport Partnerships, and National Partners to foster innovation, drive collaboration, and reduce dependency on public funding.  

This is an exciting collaborative role, designed to work in partnership with the sector.  Maintaining a shared purpose through the course of this position will be essential to its success.  

As part of this work a sector working party will be established to provide strategic oversight and direction.  You will liaise with this group to provide relevant information to and from the sector to ensure that the work progresses in a timely and consistent manner. 

Who you'll work with

You will be working with a broad network of organisations across Wales, including National Governing Bodies, National Partners and Sports Partnerships to understand the needs of the sector and implement work packages that will support Sector Resilience.  

External consultants and organisations with specialist expertise will also be utilised to support this work, as such you will be liaising with these, identifying and implementing support as required. 

Internally you will work within the Sport System, Governance, People & Ethics Team, liaising closely with the Sport Wales Relationship Manager that will continue to support this work, as well as working collaboratively with colleagues across Sport Wales to ensure matters relating to Sector resilience are fully supported.  

What you'll need

We are looking for a knowledgeable individual(s) with experience managing complex, multi-stakeholder projects from planning through to delivery.  An understanding of the sport sector in Wales would be advantageous alongside experience of income generation, shared services and sports business operations.  Experience in building and maintaining collaborative relationships, meeting partner need and delivering in an agile working environment will be required. 

Equality, diversity and inclusion is at the heart of everything we do at Sport Wales. You will provide leadership and support, ensuring that inclusion and equality are embedded within sector resilience work programmes, projects and opportunities. 

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 susie.osborne@sport.wales

Closing date

07/07/2025 12pm 

Provisional interview date

22/07/2025

Full Job Description 

Responsible to

Head of Governance, People Development and Ethics 

Job Purpose

On behalf of the sector, Sport Wales is seeking a highly skilled and motivated individual with the capability to support and advise the sport sector in Wales in strengthening its resilience — that is, its ability to adapt, collaborate, and thrive in the face of financial and operational challenges. This role will work alongside the sport sector to develop and project manage a strategic programme focused on improving the efficiency, effectiveness, and long-term financial sustainability of the sector. The successful candidate will work closely with National Governing Bodies, Sport Partnerships, and National Partners to foster innovation, drive collaboration, and reduce dependency on public funding. This role could be undertaken as a job share. 

Main Duties

Opportunity identification – to work closely with the sector (at a senior level) to identify areas of joint working that will either increase the efficiency and effectiveness of organisations or explore options that ensure they are financially resilient 

Project Management: Develop, lead and support multiple sector-wide projects, ensuring timely delivery, maximising resources and establishing methods to understand how the work is progressing and working to a common outcome 

Operational Support: Provide hands-on guidance to partners where applicable and source expertise from within the sector of externally to support areas such as: 

• Shared services and leadership 
• Events management 
• Digital and data support 
• Procurement 
• Facility planning 
• Other areas 

Collaboration Facilitation: Develop and support cross-sector collaboration and shared initiatives.  Maintain a shared purpose for the work with sector organisations. 

Stakeholder Engagement: Build strong relationships with a wide range of partners to ensure alignment and sustainability. 

UKSport and other home countries – to link with other partners across the UK to identify and share practise related to this work 

Business Support in Wales - to identify and develop positive relationships with organisations in Wales who are able to support and guide this work. 

Monitoring & Reporting: Track progress, evaluate impact, and report outcomes to the sector 

Fulfil responsibilities which contribute to delivering an exemplary service for Sport Wales in respect of our statutory duties, including the 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. 

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