Organisation Access Sport CIO Salary £35,000 - £45,000 FTE, with salary offered subject to experience and location Location London or Manchester or Bristol Contract type Fixed Term (Full time) Closing date 7 April 2026 Interview date 13 April 2026 Job Description Access Sport is a national charity with a vision that no one should be
excluded from the life-changing benefits of community sport. We are on a mission to make inclusion the norm in community sport by tackling the access barriers faced by disadvantaged and disabled young people.
We do this by training, equipping, and supporting community sports
clubs, organisations, and volunteers to provide inclusive programmes,
unleashing their potential to transform the lives of underserved young
people in their local communities.
This work is either place based (Changing Places) or sport focussed
(Changing Sports). All the clubs we support are invited to join our
Inclusive Club Network.
In 2024/25 Access Sport engaged over 34,000 disadvantaged and
disabled young people, with a strong representation from ethnically
diverse communities, girls, and previously less active young people. Read more about our impact in our Annual Review. A number of videos
showcasing our work can be found on our YouTube channel. These
include a recent film about Access Sport and a dedicated film about our Inclusive Training and Learning.
Role purpose
Summary
Access Sport is seeking an Inclusive Training Lead to develop, grow and continually improve our inclusion training offers, working across our programmes.
This post holder will provide organisational leadership for our inclusive
training and learning work, including shaping strategy, expanding
partnerships, managing our facilitator network and ensuring our training creates measurable impact for disadvantaged, disabled and
neurodivergent young people.
They will oversee the design, delivery and continuous improvement of our training offers, equipping coaches, volunteers, young leaders and
community clubs with the skills and confidence to create inclusive
community sport environments.
Working across our programmes and externally across the sector, the
post holder will:
• Lead the strategic direction, management and growth of Access
Sport’s inclusive training offers
• Develop sustainable training partnerships and income generation
opportunities
• Manage and develop our national facilitator workforce
• Act as organisational lead for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and
Belonging (EDIB) practice and learning
• Ensure our training meaningfully contributes to Access Sport’s
strategy and mission of making inclusion the norm in community
sport.
Responsibilities
Strategic leadership
•Develop and deliver a multi-year strategic plan for Access Sport’s
inclusive training offer aligned with Access Sport’s core strategy.
• Identify growth opportunities, including new audiences, income
streams, delivery models and partnerships.
• Lead innovation in training design, ensuring our offer reflects
sector developments, community need and lived experience.
• Develop and manage strategic training partnerships with National
Governing Bodies, Active Partnerships, community groups,
networks and other national bodies.
• Position Access Sport as a recognised leader in inclusive sport
training nationally.
• Oversee the planning, monitoring and performance of the training
portfolio, setting and reporting against targets for reach, quality, income and impact.
• Represent Access Sport externally as a subject matter expert in
inclusive training and learning.
Training development, quality and innovation
• Lead the design, development and evaluation of new and existing
training offers across inclusion themes.
• Establish and maintain quality assurance frameworks to ensure
consistent, high-impact delivery nationwide.
• Embed inclusive learning design principles that respond to diverse
learning needs and environments.
• Commission and collaborate with subject matter experts, partners
and lived experience contributors.
• Expand blended and digital learning approaches, including online,
bite-size and practice-based learning.
Facilitator network management
• Manage, recruit, support and develop Access Sport’s national pool
of training facilitators.
• Deliver facilitator induction, development and quality assurance
processes.
• Maintain a strong community of practice among facilitators to
share learning and maintain standards.
Organisational EDIB leadership
• Act as Access Sport’s lead for EDIB learning and capability
building.
• Contribute to the implementation and monitoring of Access
Sport’s EDIB strategic framework and action plan.
Monitoring and evaluation
• Lead the monitoring, evaluation and learning framework for
inclusive training.
• Use data, feedback and evidence to drive continuous
improvement and demonstrate the impact of our training offer.
• Work collaboratively with our Monitoring & Evaluation Lead and
Senior Communications Manager to evidence outcomes for
funders and partners.
Person specification
Skills/ experience
Essential
• Experience of leading or developing training programmes at
regional or national level.
• A passion for empowering and inspiring underserved and disabled
groups to reach their full potential through sport.
• Demonstrable expertise in equity, diversity, inclusion and
belonging in practice.
• Experience building partnerships across organisations or sectors.
•An understanding of the barriers that may affect participation in
community sport.
• Understanding the importance of safeguarding (training will be
provided).
• Strong written and verbal communication and an ability to
communicate with a diverse audience.
Desirable
• Lived experience of one or more of the underserved communities
we support i.e. D/deaf, disabled, neurodivergent, women and girls,
ethnically diverse communities and low-socio economic
backgrounds.
• Experience of working with or coaching young people from our
target groups; less active, disabled young people and young people
from the most deprived communities.
• Experience of working in, or knowledge of, the sport sector.
• Experience developing digital or blended learning approaches.
Personal attributes
• A passion for Access Sport’s cause and empowering underserved
and disabled children and young people to reach their full potential
through sport.
• A personal commitment to Access Sport’s vision and values
• Self-motivated, able to use initiative, and have a highly flexible
approach to work.
• Proactive and adaptable - ability to think creatively and use
initiative to achieve outcomes.
• Reliable and hardworking with the confidence to work
independently.
• A team player with good interpersonal skills.
• Committed to continuing personal and professional development.
In addition:
• The post holder must have the right to work in the UK.
• The post holder must be able to travel regularly within the UK.
• There will be some requirements to work on evenings or weekends,
for which time off in lieu (TOIL) can be taken.
Equal opportunities
We welcome and encourage applications from people of all
backgrounds. Access Sport is committed to creating an inclusive culture, through fostering a diverse workforce where everyone feels like they belong, differences are valued, and everyone can reach their potential.
We are actively seeking to diversify and create a workplace that is
welcoming for all, ensuring that our workforce is representative of wider society and the communities we support. If you need any adjustments to the recruitment process, at either the application or interview stage, please contact us. (details below).
We offer disabled applicants the option of requesting that their
application is considered under the terms of our Guaranteed Interview
Scheme (GIS). If you wish to apply under our GIS, please indicate this in your cover email. For more information, please visit our Join the Team page.
Background checks
As this role may, at times, involve working in a regulated environment
with young people, any offer will be conditional to satisfactory
background checks which includes a criminal record check with the
Disclosure and Barring Service and two references.
Staff benefits
Access Sport is an exciting and dynamic place to work. We pride
ourselves on being a close-knit and well-supported team with a clear
sense of purpose, delivering real impact. Inclusion is at the heart of
everything we do.
We are committed to supporting the development of our team members and, should you wish, there are opportunities for team members to get involved in different aspects of the charity, from the delivery of our programmes on the ground, to fundraising, events and advocacy.
Staff benefits include:
• Employee Assistance Programme - Access to a 24/7 confidential
helpline, counselling services and online information.
• Annual leave - 28 days annual leave, including 3 days between
Christmas and New Year, plus 1 extra day of leave per year of
service for the first 5 years. This equates to 33 days of annual leave
after 5 years of continuous service. Plus 8 days paid public holidays.
• Healthy living and wellbeing employer - We welcome staff to
embed regular exercise into their daily work lives and have
quarterly team away days.
• Volunteering/ personal development days - Two additional days of
paid leave each year to volunteer for an Access Sport club or other
charity, or to use as personal development days.
• Pension - 5% employer pension contribution.
• New Mums and Dads, including adoptive parents, can take
enhanced maternity and paternity leave.
• Flexible working and family-friendly - Hybrid and flexible working
arrangements which are family-friendly and provide flexibility
around caring responsibilities.
• 24/7 GP service to provide employees with a phone or video
appointment at a time and date that suits them.
• Cycle to Work scheme - saving up to 39% off a new bike and
accessories.
• Group Life Assurance for all staff on payroll.