Job Description

Position Details

UoB Sports & Fitness

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £33,002 to £35,608 with potential progression once in post to £39,906

Grade: 6

Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to November 2027

Closing date: 14th October 2026

UK Travel may be required for this role

Our offer to you

People are at the heart of what we are and do.

The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university. We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success.

We are committed to helping the people who work here to develop through our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential. With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide-range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to be able to develop your career at the University.

We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate. We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are, and how we work.

Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working. In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries.

The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site. On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens.

Find out more about the benefits of working for the University of Birmingham

Background

The University of Birmingham is a global institution working within a diverse and vibrant City, offering an inspiring education to our students, and undertaking critically important research. We are a place of open, critical thinking, and the creation, sharing and dissemination of knowledge. Professional Services put students at the heart of all they do and enable an exceptional educational experience. They provide outstanding support to our researchers and help the University to grow its influence regionally, nationally, and globally. They ensure the University’s resources are used wisely, manage and improve the infrastructure which sits at the heart of the institution, and support decisions to be made quickly and based on sound evidence. Our Birmingham Professional programme operates across the University, supporting colleagues to network and collaborate, offering opportunities to learn and develop, contributing to the delivery of the University’s objectives, and helping everyone to understand the broader context within which we work.

Department overview

Campus Services (CS) employs over 900 staff with a turnover exceeding £50m in the last financial year. CS plays a key role in the quality of the student, staff and visitor experience, providing services across diverse areas such as the University’s sporting facilities, food and beverage, cleaning, conferencing, hotel operations, day nurseries, Portering, post, branded and own-brand retail outlets, visitor services and attractions (e.g., Winterbourne House & Gardens), student housing, transport, waste disposal and recycling. CS is a highly commercial organisation operating within the University context and has an ambitious strategic agenda, in terms of growing our service profile across both our Birmingham and Dubai campuses. Sport has always played a key role at University of Birmingham; it is in our DNA. The University was a founding member of what is now known as BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport) in 1919 and since rankings began in 1953, we have consistently placed in the top 8 for student competition. We offered the first sport-based degree in 1946, and sport continues to be an important part of campus life today. The sport offer we deliver at Birmingham is broad. Through our facilities, programmes, and expertise we engage with students, staff, alumni and the local community. Our offering caters for first experience of sport, to Olympic and Paralympic athlete level. We are a service orientated department with financial targets, focussed on ensuring all our user groups have a great experience and that we are adding value to the wider University objectives.

Role Summary

To manage the sprints, jumps and throws programmes within the University Athletics Club. Assist the development of a high-performance culture for University of Birmingham Sport, optimise performance at BUCS and other relevant competitions, raise the profile of the University of Birmingham as a performance sport university whilst working to increase wider student experience. You will also be expected to work with all major stakeholders in order to develop the British Athletics Talent Hub programme and its associated pathway programmes, acting as point of contact for selected athletes and coaches.

Main Duties

1. To plan the running and development of all athletics based coaching sessions within established procedures.
2. To manage and develop a team of sprints, jumps, and throws coaches.
3. To support and develop student leadership skills in athletes and club committee members, through effective communication and support of club administration, ensuring an inclusive, professional culture.
4. To liaise with all other athletics staff, performance centre staff and student committee over the development of sessions, players, coaching programmes, and club development.
5. Manage the Athletics Team Scholarship recruitment, selection, delivery, and effective budgeting
6. Oversee recruitment annually of talented athletes into both the University and Hub environment.
7. To develop appropriate annual plans of competition/events including setting target objectives for the sport, squads, and individuals.
8. To have detailed knowledge of BUCS, National Age Group competitions and selection policies, as well as sports specific rules and regulations and implement any changes to rulings, advising UB Sport of any implications on budget, team performance or club development.
9. To act as a Point of Contact for Talent Hub & YTP athletes and their coaches, with at least monthly contact to aid their athletic development.
10. Lead/manage all University of Birmingham track and field competition both internally and externally.
11. Promotes equality and values diversity, acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture.
12. Supports the University’s sustainability agenda through resource efficient working.
13. Any other duties commensurate with the grade.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

• Current UKA Athletics Coach Qualification (Level 2 or higher), must have specialised in either: Sprints, Jumps or Throws
• Extensive knowledge of HE/FE sporting landscape and relevant competition structure.
• Must have experience of selecting, managing, and budgeting across relevant scholarship programmes.
• Must have proven experience of mentoring coaches and athletes through programmes such as YTP, JTP or equivalent.
• Strong communication and organisational skills across multiple support programmes.
• Requires experience of working with NGB Talent Pathway Leads and sport specific practitioners
• Educated to Degree level (or equivalent qualifications) - where no equivalent qualification is held, significant practical relevant experience and expertise in a similar role will be required
• Evidence of literacy and numeracy, with the ability to write clearly, and to analyse information and data.
• Knowledge of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010, and how to actively ensure in day-to-day activity in own area that those with protected characteristics are treated equally and fairly.

DBS required

The University is committed to safeguarding and we promote safe recruitment practice, therefore all associated pre-employment checks will be undertaken before any appointment is confirmed. Due to the nature of the work undertaken in this role all successful applicants will be subject to a satisfactory DBS clearance prior to appointment.

Informal enquiries to Andy Paul, email: a.g.paul@bham.ac.uk

View our staff values and behaviours here

Use of AI in applications: We want to understand your genuine interest in the role and for the written elements of your application to accurately reflect your own communication style. Applications that rely too heavily on AI tools can appear generic and lack the detail we need to assess your skills and experience. Such applications will unlikely be progressed to interview.

We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website.