Job Title: Active Leeds Development Officer (Young People Leadership)

Salary: PO1 £38,220 - £40,777

Hours: Full Time

Contract: Fixed term 2-year contract (up to March 2028); secondment opportunity would be considered with line manager approval

Location: John Charles Centre for Sport / localities around the city

Get Set Leeds Project (Sport England Place-based Working)

Be part of an exciting new opportunity by joining our delivery team as an inspiring, inclusive and highly motivated individual on the 2-year Sport England funded Get Set Leeds Project.

As a Development Officer with a focus on young people, you’ll thrive on working with those that are less active, managing co-produced projects and exploring innovative ideas, turning them into practical solutions.

Working across priority wards, you’ll collaborate with partners and young people to design and deliver mentoring, training and development programmes that are tailored to meet their needs. The overall aim is to decrease inactivity levels by creating environments to maintain healthy lifestyles.

The Get Set Leeds project forms one of the priorities of the Physical Activity Ambition: ‘Leeds is a place where everyone moves more every day’ and feeds into the Best City Ambition of Health & Wellbeing, Inclusive Growth, Strong Communities and Sustainable City.

Leeds City Council is one of the largest employers in the region with over 14,000 employees. We seek to recruit and develop talented individuals who embody our council values and ambitions.

About the role:

The Development Officer role will become part of a team that work with local residents in priority wards, focusing on where health inequalities are the greatest to build capacity and capabilities.

The postholder will engage, motivate and support young people in leadership opportunities across different settings and work with a wide range of partners to develop, implement and ensure sustainable mentoring provision for young leaders. You will contribute to creating positive experiences for young people

Fundamental to this role is the Get Set Leeds ways of working - building trusted long-term relationships, having shared co-production principles, being visible and connected to a place; actively listening and engaging with communities, and harnessing community voice to bring about change.

The Officer will be insight driven and contribute to the effective monitoring and evaluation of the overall Project (based on local evaluation priorities and Sport England’s national evaluation and learning process). This will include contributing to the evidence base of how being active / engagement in sport and physical activity can contribute to wider outcomes such health, economic and social benefits.

About you:

As a Development Officer (Young People Leadership), you will bring to the role:

Knowledge & experience of inactivity, health, recreational and sport and physical activity development work
Experience of working with disadvantaged communities and those underrepresented in sport and physical activity.
Able to demonstrate working with young people and families and have experience of working with schools
Able to demonstrate excellent organisational skills & able to meet tight deadlines for complex projects
Be committed to understanding and embracing Leeds City Council Values and Behaviours

What we offer you

We take pride in offering the best employee experience, with benefits including:

a competitive salary and annual leave entitlement plus statutory holidays
membership of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund with generous employer contributions
flexible and hybrid working arrangements subject to service requirements
a clear career pathway and continuing professional development opportunities
a range of staff benefits to help you boost your wellbeing and make your money go further

How to apply

Please complete the online application form

For internal applications, secondment opportunities will be considered with line manager approval.

Read our guidance for further advice on completing your application.

If you have any queries or would like an informal chat about the role please contact Gill Keddie, Development Manager Gill.Keddie@leeds.gov.uk or Katy Bowden, Development Manager Katy.Bowden@leeds.gov.uk

We welcome applications from everyone and actively seek a diverse range of applicants from all backgrounds and cultures. We particularly encourage applications from, but not limited to, women, carers, veterans as well as LGBT+, ethnically diverse, disabled and care experienced people.
This role is based in the UK. Home Office guidance states that candidates must evidence their right to work in the UK prior to commencing employment, either as a UK or Irish citizen, under the EU Settlement scheme or having secured any other relevant work visa.

If you do not have the right to work in the UK, you must consider your own eligibility for sponsorship for a particular role through the Skilled Worker visaroute before applying. To be eligible for sponsorship you'll usually need to be paid the standard salary rate of at least £41,700 per year or meet one of the other eligibility criteria. Please ensure you are eligible before applying.

Job Description

Job purpose:

Working as part of a team, you will contribute to Get Set Leeds project as part of our Sport England Place Based working. The Get Set Leeds project forms one of the priorities of the Physical Activity Ambition: ‘Leeds is a place where everyone moves more every day’ and feeds into the Best City Ambition of Health & Wellbeing, Inclusive Growth, Strong Communities and Sustainable City.

You will focus on areas of deprivation within key localities where health inequalities are greatest and on population groups that are less active. This role will have a focus on young people.

You will use relevant insight and intelligence to provide a clear evidence base for programmes of work and have an understanding of behaviour change models and their application

You will engage, motivate and support young people in leadership opportunities across different settings and work with a wide range of partners to develop, implement and ensure sustainable mentoring provision for young leaders. You will contribute to creating positive experiences for young people

Responsibilities

To develop strong and effective working relationships with key stakeholders, partners and other relevant organisations to develop opportunities
To lead the development and implementation of a young leader and mentoring programme; including designing and delivering training programmes to develop ambassadors and young leaders.
To mentor young leaders, empowering them to improve theirs and others wellbeing by using reward and recognition schemes.
To develop opportunities and pathways to improve the workforce of young leaders, volunteers and others such as coaches.
To use relevant local and national research, insight and knowledge to develop successful interventions / programmes of work
To establish effective communication mechanisms with relevant stakeholders, partners, community organisations and young people including but not limiting to reports, social media platforms and marketing assets.
To develop, deliver and coproduce programmes which enable positive experiences for young people
Facilitate a shared understanding of relevant principles such as trauma informed approach and physical literacy for those working in the sport, education, physical activity, recreation, play, health and youth sectors.
To work with evaluation partner(s) to develop data and insight methods to ensure that programmes are having a positive impact. To share learning and insight with partners and stakeholders
Commit to attending training and development about Evaluation and Learning (E&L) and contribute to E&L workshops and partnerships.
To contribute to understanding of the conditions which support young people to access employment, training, and education opportunities
To maintain regular contact with the young people and adults identified through the project and to be able to offer advice and information on any issues that arise that may prevent them from participating in the programmes.
To adopt a community development approach supporting key partners, organisations and groups to develop sustainable models of delivery within local communities
To identify external funding opportunities to assist organisations and groups in developing sustainable community sport and physical activity opportunities within local communities.
Work collaboratively to support the ongoing development and improvement of the Active Leeds Service and related programmes such as Breeze, promoting innovation, identifying, and finding solutions for areas for development.
To identify the issues preventing greater access to physical activity and sporting opportunities within communities and develop ways to overcome them.
To develop networks of communication including Ward members, Community Committees, voluntary and statutory agencies, community groups and individuals.
To help to address issues of social inclusion, integration, and inequality of opportunity within local communities through opportunities within sport and active recreation.
To direct and supervise the work of project workers, casual coaches, and volunteers
To effectively manage appropriate budgets in accordance with Leeds City Council’s Financial Regulations.
To undertake any other duties which may be assigned from time to time and that are commensurate with the grade of the post.
To undertake the accountabilities of the post in accordance with council policies including the Equal Opportunities and Health & Safety policies.

Qualifications

Relevant degree or equivalent professional qualifications are essential.

Essential requirements Candidates will only be shortlisted if they can demonstrate that they meet all the following essential requirements.

Knowledge & experience of inactivity, health, recreational and sport and physical activity development work
Experience of working at a strategic level.
Experience of organising sports and community development programmes; able to produce and implement development plans and work programmes.
Experience of working with schools, community groups, and council departments
Experience of developing innovative partnerships with regional and local organisations and networks.
Experience of marketing and promotion; ability to organise, promote and market activities / programmes.
Experience of working with disadvantaged communities and those underrepresented in sport and physical activity.
Knowledge of local and national school sport development initiatives.
Knowledge of local, regional, and national sports organisations relative to young people.
Knowledge of funding initiatives relative to sport for young people.
Knowledge of the benefits of participation in sport, physical activity, and active recreation.
Knowledge of IT software applications.
Knowledge of sport, physical activity, play and health intervention programmes
Able to communicate effectively with a wide range of organisations.
Able to work to tight budgets.
Able to project manage various programmes.
Able to demonstrate excellent organisational skills.
Able to meet tight deadlines for complex projects.
Able to work as part of a team and on your own initiative including identifying needs and resolving problems with practical solutions.
Able to prepare and present reports.
Able to conduct research programmes and capture and interpret detailed monitoring and evaluation data.
Able to demonstrate working with young people and families.
Able to have good inter- and intra-personal skills that transmit energy, commitment, and passion for improving health outcomes for young people.

Essential Behavioural & other Characteristics

Understand and embrace Leeds City Council Values and Behaviours and codes of conduct
Committed to continuous improvement in all areas and work towards delivering the Best City Ambition of Health & Wellbeing, Inclusive Growth, Strong Communities and Sustainable City.
Able to understand and observe Leeds City Council policies and procedures.
Carry out all duties having regard to an employee’s responsibility under Health, Safety and Wellbeing
Willingness to actively participate in appraisal, training and development activities to ensure up, to date knowledge and skills.
Flexible and adaptable to change to assist other services as required commensurate to grade.
Be aware of and support difference and ensure equality for all working in an anti-discriminatory manner, upholding, equality & diversity of Leeds City Council.
Recognise and appropriately challenge any incidents of racism, bullying, harassment, victimisation, and any form of abuse, reporting any concerns to the appropriate person
The Council has adopted a flexibility protocol and the role will be expected to work within these parameters.
Full, clean driving licence

Desirable requirements Candidates are not required to meet all the following desirable requirements however these may be used to distinguish between candidates.

Experience of preparing funding applications.
Experience of managing and motivating staff.
Experience of tutoring on education courses
Experience of event organisation.
Knowledge of employment programmes
Ability to translate strategic direction into practical actions.