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37 hours per week

Salary range £52,659 to £55,585 per annum (dependent upon experience)

39 days annual leave (including Bank Holiday and Company days) + 2 wellbeing days a year + weekly exercise and wellbeing hours

This is a dual based role working from Lilleshall National Sports Centre, nr Newport, Shropshire (2 days a week) and from home

All sports organisations must maintain high standards of governance in line with the Code for Sports Governance. A fundamental aspect of good governance is about ensuring the welfare and safety of participants. We want to create safer, fun, healthy, and inclusive gymnastics environments, where children, young people and adults can appreciate and experience gymnastics, as an uplifting experience.

Safeguarding, welfare, and safe sport is our primary focus and is at the centre of everything we do. For people to be inspired they must feel safe and be safe, we are committed to achieving this. Our  team strategy focuses on creating an open, fair, and healthy culture of safeguarding that underpins everything we do. Together we will achieve the following, Prevent harm and abuse, Protect participants, Promote welfare and safe practice in sport and Resolve and manage concerns effectively. 

Head of Welfare, Safe Sport & Governance will be responsible for supporting the Director of Welfare, Safe Sport & Governance on governance within the organisation and will work closely with the Board and Executive Team and internal stakeholders to ensure effective corporate governance, risk and data protection compliance systems and policies are embedded and cascaded across the organisation.  In addition,  there will be a supporting role relating to corporate policy for safeguarding and regulation of participant conduct and will also lead on the delivery of the strategic vision and direction for Welfare & Safe Sport to enable British Gymnastics to  fulfil its commitments both internally and for external stakeholders with a keen community focus. The postholder will be responsible for the operational effectiveness and delivery within the Welfare, Safe Sport and Governance team, leading, managing and overseeing all functions and responsibilities.

The Role

The main responsibilities of the role are:

Acting as a champion, promoting and policy-holder for the organisation’s safe sport policies, collaborating with departments to provide updates, information and cross-departmental input into work and projects, ensuring that welfare and safe sport are at the heart of everything British Gymnastics does.

Working with key stakeholders to ensure that clubs, children and young people, gymnasts, coaches, parents and carers understand their roles and responsibilities in safeguarding and know how to report any concerns they may have.

In conjunction with the Director of Welfare, Safe Sport & Governance, lead, develop, manage and implement an effective welfare and safe sport strategy ensuring welfare and customer, community experience is at the heart of all safeguarding, reporting & monitoring, interventions and training processes.

Lead on the delivery of the strategic vision and direction for governance, risk, assurance to enable the NGB to deliver on its commitments both internally and for external stakeholders

Help develop internal business planning processes as these relate to the work programmes of the Board and its Committees and ensure the smooth operation of the NGB's formal decision-making reporting processes, including annual forward plans for the Board and its Committees

Develop and maintain the policy governance framework and lead and ensure the quality and effectiveness of policy documents, working closely with the Standards Committee and its outputs and make recommendations on any improvement areas.

Work within all relevant statutory and non-statutory regional legal and regulatory frameworks providing leadership and support in the ongoing delivery and improvement of our robust and effective safeguarding framework. There may be an occasional need to directly manage complex investigations

Continuously review and improve internal and external processes for safeguarding concerns and complaints, ensuring that information is shared appropriately and efficiently, utilising systems to streamline where possible

Undertake the statutory duties of Data Protection Officer as defined in data protection law including in exceptional circumstances, raising concerns relating to the rights of data subjects directly with board members or the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)

Liaise with the (ICO), act as the contact point on issues relating to processing, including where a DPIA indicates the processing will be high risk and consult the ICO, when necessary on any other matter

Managing the Safeguarding, Conduct & Disciplinary , Welfare & Safe Sport and Governance teams driving proactive and preventative measures in welfare,  safe sport and governance. Developing the team to support the community, gymnasts and departments.

Further details about the role can be found in the Role Profile.

The Person

Applicants will need to demonstrate:

Experience of working across multi business areas and a working knowledge of corporate areas, such as change management, equity, diversity and inclusion and sustainability.

Demonstrate significant governance, data protection, risk and assurance experience in a complex multidisciplinary organisation

Demonstrable experience of setting strategic directions, providing absolute clarity of focus and intent.

Proven interpersonal skills, possessing the ability to maintain credibility and influence people at all levels within a large complex organisation, up to and including executive level as well as diverse senior stakeholders.

Communications skills including emotional intelligence and empathy when dealing with members of the community who are sharing lived experiences

Demonstrate leadership skills, the ability to influence, motivate and guide stakeholders both in person and virtually.

To have team management skills, with evidence of supporting, coaching and empowering to ensure your team realise and reach their potential.

To work alongside the Executive and the Board to create a highly functioning and performing team

An Enhanced DBS will be required for the post

How to apply

To apply for this post click ‘Apply Now’ to upload your CV and covering letter. Please include in your covering letter details of how you meet the requirements of the role, as outlined in the Role Profile.

Please note your Covering Letter and CV will need to be uploaded as one document.

We value diversity of views and contributions and have a strong commitment to equality and inclusion. We aspire to have a workforce that is diverse and representative of all sections of society. We are particularly keen to receive applications from women, people with disabilities, people from ethnically diverse communities, people from the LGBTQIA+ community because these groups are often under-represented within our workforce.

Closing date for applications: Midnight on Thursday 8th May 2025

Interview date: 22nd / 23rd May 2025