Sport Welfare Officer

Active Cornwall is part of a national network of 42 Active Partnerships collaborating with national partners and uniting the movement for Sport England in Cornwall tackling inactivity and reducing inequalities. We are hosted by Cornwall Council in the Community Wellbeing Directorate and part of the Communities Service.

In this role you would play a pivotal role in the 16‑strong Active Cornwall team helping to drive Sport England’s response to The Whyte Review (published July 2022) in Cornwall. This review questioned the level of safeguarding responsibility delegated to volunteers at a regional/local level and included a proposal to fund a professional national network of Sport Welfare Officers in England.

The Sport Welfare Officer Network (SWO network) supports National Governing Bodies (NGBs) and their local clubs assisting and supporting club welfare officers. This is your opportunity to be an active part of a local, regional and national network and make a difference here in Cornwall.

As our Sport Welfare Officer you will lead a portfolio of welfare‑related programmes contributing to Active Cornwall’s vision where inequalities are no longer a barrier to an active life. This portfolio includes:

• Working with NGBs and their local clubs to promote good practice and create safer club environments and improve experiences for children, young people and adults.
• Ensuring good governance within Active Cornwall.
• Complementing the work of the existing safeguarding structure inside and outside sport.
• Holding relationships with statutory services such as the Local Authority Designated Officers (LADOs).
• Raising awareness of safeguarding with parents/carers and participants either inside or outside sport.
• Sharing good practice locally and providing feedback to NGBs either sub‑regionally, regionally or nationally.
• Contributing to the establishment of good welfare practice with safer club environments for participants and sports clubs moving from welfare compliance to an effective safeguarding culture.

This is a full‑time (37 hours per week) fixed‑term maternity cover role for 12 months to provide welfare support to the network of club welfare officers across Cornwall and to successfully deliver the Sport England Sport Welfare Programme objectives.

This is a hybrid role with a mix of office outreach and home working. Some out‑of‑hours work is required to coincide meetings with the club welfare officers, many of whom are volunteers within their clubs.

You will be able to understand and focus on customer needs and work well with colleagues and partners, taking responsibility for your work, environment and your development. You will be resourceful and able to apply expertise and problem‑solve to deliver good partner outcomes and possess excellent communication, interpersonal and team‑working skills.

You will ideally have experience of welfare‑related leadership and qualifications, training in welfare‑related courses, awards and services, alongside knowledge of professional welfare issues, priorities, policies, procedures and infrastructure both outside and within sport. Skills in dispute resolution, negotiation and mediation would be equally valuable, as would experience of workforce development and deployment within the welfare sector, including training, networking and engagement with the voluntary sector.

Please read the role profile for the full details of this role attached in this advert.

Active Cornwall is hosted by Cornwall Council. The Council’s ambition is to be an employer of choice, a high‑performing Council and a learning organisation. We likewise commit to providing a reward and benefits package to attract, motivate and reward our employees and offer a range of flexible working options to our staff. This helps provide our employees with a greater work/life balance whilst still ensuring that service needs are met.

• A competitive salary band 3 (31,870–39,159 per annum).
• A defined benefit pension scheme based on your career average earnings, including the option for extra voluntary contributions.
• 26 days paid annual leave plus bank holidays, with…