Sheffield is an amazing city with a proud heritage and an exciting future. As The Outdoor City, we’re known for our blend of vibrant urban life and exceptional green spaces. From our boundary with the Peak District to the highest proportion of green space of any city worldwide. Our ambition is simple: to create great neighbourhoods where everyone can thrive and enjoy healthier lives outdoors.
Our Parks and Countryside Service manages 4,130 hectares of green space across 800 sites – including 95 parks, 150+ playgrounds, 15 bike tracks, 181 woodlands, 81 allotments, 262 nature conservation areas and 16 Green Flag-awarded sites. We also operate three key visitor and education centres. In 2024–25, we invested £2.5m in improving our parks and open spaces, ensuring communities have access to high-quality places that support health, wellbeing and connection with nature. We’re fortunate to work alongside over 100 fantastic Friends groups, partners and community organisations who help bring these spaces to life.
We are now looking for an enthusiastic and people‑focused Business Development Officer to join our Business & Partnerships Team. This is an exciting opportunity to help grow our key visitor destinations and increase the income that supports the long-term sustainability of Sheffield’s parks.
About the role
You will play a central part in developing and running venue‑based activity at our Parks & Countryside visitor destinations, including the Ecclesall Woods JG Graves Discovery Centre, the Dorothy Fox Education Centre at the Botanical Gardens, and other venues as required.
Your focus will be on:
1. Growing commercial and community use of our venues
2. Building strong partnerships that expand events, activities and visitor experiences
3. Developing the profile of our destination sites to attract more visitors and generate new income streams
4. Overseeing the day‑to‑day running of venue-based activity, acting as the key customer contact
5. Supporting the ambitions of the Green and Open Spaces Strategy to enhance public enjoyment of our parks, woodlands and green spaces
This role is varied, outward‑facing and full of opportunity for someone who enjoys shaping places people love. Weekend work will be required due to the nature of the service.
Why join us?
You’ll be part of a progressive and passionate team committed to maintaining and improving Sheffield’s parks and green spaces for future generations. With increasing demand for our destinations, developing new income opportunities is essential – and this role is central to that ambition.
More information about our service can be found at:
We’re proud of what we do, and we’d love you to be part of it. If you’re excited by the chance to help grow Sheffield’s visitor destinations and support thriving green spaces, please visit our website and search ‘Business Development Officer’ to apply.
If you’d like an informal chat about the role, please contact Jo Pearce, Business and Partnerships Service Manager, at .
We are investing in our workforce and are promoting opportunities to our under-represented groups. We value equality, diversity and inclusion and are focused on increasing the diversity of our workforce, particularly the number of Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic, Disabled and LGBTQ+ people, so that our teams reflect the communities in the city we serve. We are also supporting staff with unpaid caring responsibilities to work flexibly.