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Who we are
Our vision is that everyone in England feels able to take part in sport or physical activity, regardless of age, background or ability.
Towards an Active Nation, our 2017-2021 strategy, is our plan to get more people from every background regularly and meaningfully involved in sport and activity, and to deliver a more productive, sustainable and responsible sport sector.
And it’s not just about increasing the number of people taking part in sport and activity – the health and social benefits that getting active can have, including mental wellbeing and individual development, sit at the centre of our work.
Our recruitment process
We’ve made our recruitment process as easy and straightforward as possible.
Online application
Our initial online application form is a key part of the process, as the information you provide will be used in our shortlisting process.
We’ll ask you to provide details of your relevant skills and experience and any qualifications that may be relevant.
For select roles, you might need to provide a CV as well as a covering letter. It’s a good idea to take some time to make sure your CV is current and fully reflects your experience and achievements, and that your covering letter aligns with our provided job specification.
Interview
Once you submit your application, we’ll review it. If we feel you’re suitable we’ll invite you to an interview – this could be a telephone interview, a face to face interview or in the format of an assessment centre, depending on the position you’re applying for.
There may also be additional testing as part of our selection process and/or a second stage interview depending on the role you’re applying for.
We appreciate every application sent through to us, so if you’re unsuccessful on this occasion, we’ll let you know by email and your careers portal will also be updated.
Anonymised recruitment
Our recruitment system adopts 'anonymised recruitment’ to complement our unconscious bias training and support our Diversity Action Plan.
This removes the candidate’s name and other identifying factors such as age and gender, so we can ensure we hire based on merit only.
Benefits of working at Sport England
We offer an attractive benefits package to all our employees, including:
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Annual leave
Annual leave entitlement of 32 days, in addition to public holidays (pro-rata for part-time colleagues). -
Pension scheme
You’ll have access to a Group Personal Pension Plan (run by AVIVA). Read moreRead lessEmployees can contribute up to 6.5% of their salary and we’ll contribute up to 11%.
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Travel season ticket loans
We provide interest-free loans for season tickets and other work-related travel costs up to the value of £7,500.
Read moreRead lessThis is applicable for those who’ve successfully passed their six-month probationary period.
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Healthy Lifestyle Benefit
We offer financial support for employees to do regular fitness-based activity. Read moreRead lessAn allowance of £500 per annum is available to every employee, which is automatically added onto your salary every month.
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Cycle to Work Scheme
The Cycle to Work Scheme supports our commitment to promoting healthy living. Read moreRead lessThis is done by allowing you to sacrifice part of your salary to get a bike on which you won’t be required to pay VAT.
Please note that tax and national insurance won’t be deducted.
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Family-friendly policies
To support families, we offer enhanced maternity, paternity and shared parental leave, in addition to statutory rights. We also offer flexible working options. All are subject to qualifying conditions.
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Confidential counselling service
A confidential counselling service is available to all employees free of charge. Read moreRead lessThis service offers professional counselling and information services designed to help with a range of problems in the workplace or at home.
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Commitment to development
Personal growth is a key component to the success of our organisation - this is why we invest in your learning and development opportunities. -
Work-life balance
We offer flexible working, you can read more information about our flexible working policies by getting in touch with our Human Resources and Development team.
Our values
Our values define who we are as an organisation and highlight what we do to go the extra mile to set us apart. From creating an organisation we all enjoy, believe and thrive in, to creating a positive employer brand and effective partnerships with our stakeholders.
We are Collaborative
One team, committed to delivering together and working with others to make a difference to people’s lives.
We are Ambitious
Determined in pursuit of our goals, prioritising work and partnerships that will most advance our mission, help us succeed and make a positive impact on the nation.
We are Inclusive
Harnessing our collective strength and respecting difference to create the conditions for everyone to engage and to excel.
We are Innovative
Curious, optimistic and relentless, we question established ways of working and learn from each other and from our experiences.
These values are an integral component to our recruitment and selection processes. This approach is intended to attract and select employees on the basis that their individual values and behaviours align with our values.
Of course, skills, experience and aptitude will continue to be important, but by integrating values into our selection processes, we ensure that we recruit the right people not only with the right skills, but with the right mindset.
Our commitment to diversity
Diversity is critical for our organisation to be successful. We strive to further equality and diversity in the workplace and the sports sector as a whole.
As an employer, we aspire to being a diverse, inclusive and responsible organisation. Our aim is to have a workforce that can reflect and understand the communities we serve.
We respect and value our individual characteristics and differences, so staff can fully realise their potential. That’s why we aim to ensure that the people who work for us are the best they can be.
And as part of striving to further equality and diversity in our own organisation, we’ve set a target of ensuring that, by 2026, we’re representative of the population and the people we serve, at all levels within the organisation.
We’re also taking steps to ensure we have diverse candidates for all roles at Sport England, and also to improve retention and job satisfaction for all colleagues – especially those from diverse backgrounds.
These steps include:
- Support for employee networking groups
- Positive action initiatives to support career development for BAME colleagues
- Continuing to support the Race at Work Charter
- Ensuring our recruitment processes are debiased, transparent, equitable and fair
We recognise the achievements, talent, passion and experience in our staff, who can help deliver our strategic outcomes – you don't have to be sporty to work at Sport England.
Accreditations
Our accreditations mean we’ve been assessed by leading national and international assessors and accreditation bodies against recognised standards and operate to the highest levels of equality, diversity and inclusion.
Leaders in Diversity
We’re proud to have been accredited Stage 3 for Leaders in Diversity recognising our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.
Stonewall’s Diversity Champion
We're an accredited Stonewall Diversity Champion. Stonewall focuses on working with organisations to bring equality to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer people at home, school and work.
A Mindful Employer
Mindful Employer is a UK-wide initiative run by Devon Partnership NHS Trust, providing employers with easy access to professional workplace mental health training, as well as information and advice. Our goal is to help empower organisations – large and small – to take a lead in supporting the mental wellbeing of staff.
Disability Confident employer
We’re part of the Disability Confident scheme and in 2018 became a recognised Disability Confident Employer organisation (Level 2).
It's a voluntary scheme which encourages employers to support and promote disabled people and reinvent what disability means in the workplace. This encompasses a number of voluntary commitments to encourage employers to recruit, retain and develop disabled staff, such as offering work experience opportunities and implementing a flexible recruitment process.
Our summer internship programme
We offer a 12-week summer internship programme to help students gain hands-on experience within the grassroots sport sector, where they’ll be able to play a key role.
Our 2019 applicants could choose from seven programmes across parts of our organisation, including:
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Marketing
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Insight/research
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Legal
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Volunteering
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Investment (grants management).
Given the breadth of work within our organisation, our internships always cater for a broad range of interests and are open to all students with at least one year left to complete their degree.
Unfortunately, due to coronavirus (Covid-19) we’re unable to offer a programme in 2020. We'll publish information about 2021 as soon as possible.
Frequently asked questions
There are lots of things we’re asked about when it comes to our recruitment process – the answers to the most common questions are all below.
If you have a question about applying for a role at Sport England, please see if your question is answered here first. If you can’t find the answer, please get in touch with us by emailing hrrecruitment@sportengland.org – we aim to respond within 48 hours.
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I’m not really sporty – can I still apply?
Absolutely, we’re looking for people who are great at their jobs, not those who are great at playing sport. Read moreRead lessWe implement a merit-based system where neither activity level nor demographics come into play. Instead, we’re looking for ambitious, capable and professional individuals who can further our aims towards building an active nation.
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How do I apply?
Our initial application form is based online - you'll need to register on our careers portal and create an account.
Read moreRead lessThis will provide you with a username and password that you’ll need every time you log in to the site.
Once you’ve entered your personal details, click on ‘current vacancies’ which will give you access to our recruitment portal. This is where you’ll find our most current list of roles we’re recruiting for. If you’re interested in applying, click ‘apply now’ and this will take you through to the application process.
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Why can’t you take my CV and covering letter instead?
We’re committed to diversity and inclusion – one way to support this commitment is to take out information that could unconsciously affect the success of an application such as postcode, date of birth, name and gender. Read moreRead lessWe acknowledge that this increases the length of our application process, but our values are a crucial component of our company ethos, which is why we only accept applications through our online portal.
If you have a disability and are unable to submit an application, please email us via hrrecruitment@sportengland.org.
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What is a selection/assessment tool?
We use assessments in addition to the interview as they provide a good opportunity for you to show off your potential in a variety of work-based scenarios. Read moreRead lessEqually, assessment tools can provide you with an opportunity to find out more about us, the role itself and what it is we’re looking for exactly.
This typically involves exercises related to the role, i.e. a presentation, data analysis, aptitude tests etc.
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Where are you based?
Our head office is located at 21 Bloomsbury Street, London, WC1B 3HF. Read moreRead lessWe also have offices based in Loughborough (SportPark, 3 Oakwood Dr, Loughborough, LE11 3QF) and Bisham Abbey (Bisham Village, Marlow Rd, Bisham, Marlow, SL7 1RR).
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How should I prepare for my interview?
Make sure you have a good look through the job specification and think of examples from your work or personal experience where you’ve demonstrated these competencies, skills and experience. Read moreRead lessIt’s also a great idea to look through our website and get a good grasp on the kind of work we do and how the position you’re interviewing for might fit in.
Don’t forget to bring your passport with you as we require proof of right to work in the UK. If you don’t have a passport, please see the following question.
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What if I don’t have a passport?
If you don’t have a valid passport, see our list of alternative documents that you can provide to prove your eligibility to work in the UK.
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Where will my interview take place?
If you’re invited to interview, you’ll receive an email asking you to log in to the careers site to book a time slot which operates on a first come, first-served basis. Read moreRead lessThe interview slots will specify where your interview will be taking place.
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Do you pay interview travel expenses?
Unfortunately, we’re not able to contribute to candidates’ travel expenses, so please bear this in mind before booking your interview. -
I’m having difficulty applying online – what do I do?
Please email the recruitment team and we’ll be happy to assist you.
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This can be arranged by emailing the recruitment team.
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How do I get notifications of new vacancies?
You can register for job alerts on our website which you’ll receive via email. Read moreRead lessThese email alerts are based on your profile information which you filled out when registering for the portal, so we’ll only send you job alerts for roles you’re interested in.
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Who can help me with technical problems?
If you’re having problems applying online, please email the recruitment team and we’ll try to solve the problem for you.
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Can I intern at Sport England?
Yes, we offer a 12-week summer internship programme which gives students an excellent opportunity to gain valuable experience within the sports sector.
You can read more about the programme elsewhere on this careers page.
Read moreRead lessWhether you're interested in grants management, research, legal services or volunteering, our internships offer you the opportunity to learn more and apply your skills.
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I didn’t get shortlisted – can I still get feedback?
We’re unfortunately unable to give individual feedback to applicants who didn’t get to the interview stage due to the large amount of applications we receive across a wide range of vacancies. -
What does ‘home based’ mean?
Simply put, home based means your home location will be your office as opposed to being based in one of our offices. Read moreRead lessWhere this arrangement is in place, we’ll liaise with you regarding the standard equipment and materials you’ll need to carry out your role.
You’ll also be reimbursed for any travel costs you undertake on Sport England business as outlined in our homeworking policy (for a copy, please email hrrecruitment@sportengland.org).
Please keep in mind that you’ll need a dedicated office space if you’re working from home as we have a duty of care to all our employees, so your workstation should meet all health and safety requirements outlined in our policy.
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When will I hear the outcome of my application?
We aim to inform all candidates of the outcome of their application within two weeks of the closing date.
Read moreRead lessHowever, there are occasions where the volume of applications means the shortlisting process can take longer than expected.
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I’ve been shortlisted for an interview but can’t attend any of the give time-slots – what do I do?
Please contact our recruitment team at hrrecruitment@sportengland.org and specify which dates you’d be able to attend, and we’ll try to accommodate these changes.
Read moreRead lessWe’ll advise if the interviews can only take place on the specified dates.
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How will I find out if my application has been successful?
We’ll keep you updated on the status of your application via the email address you used to register to our recruitment portal. Read moreRead lessWe’ll send you an email confirming the following phases of the recruitment process:
- When you start your application
- When you’ve submitted your application
- The outcome of the shortlisting
- Invitations to book an interview
- The outcome of your interview
- Any ad hoc information and updates.
If you don’t hear from us via email, please check your spam/junk folder. You can ensure our future emails come straight to your inbox by marking our email as ‘not junk’ or adding our email address hrrecruitment@sportengland.org as a contact.
If you’re still not receiving our emails, you can check the status of your application by logging into your profile and clicking on 'my progress updates.'
