Cricket Ireland Active Clubs Coordinator Fixed Term Contract Candidate Brief BACKGROUND Cricket Ireland is the governing body for the game at both performance and participation levels throughout Ireland, representing the interests of both the men s and women s game. The future of Irish Cricket is incredibly bright following the performance of the men s senior team in the past seven ICC World Cup events and significant improvement of the women s senior team, having qualified for the 2014 World Twenty20 for the first time. This success has resulted in the rapid growth of the organisation and significant increase in turnover, particularly commercially, through partnerships with blue-chip multi-nationals and support from the two Sports Councils and ICC. Cricket is one of the fastest-growing sports in Ireland, and the successes mentioned above have seen interest and engagement in the sport reaching heights that have not been experienced previously. Cricket Ireland is an ambitious, visionary and driven organisation and, wanting to build on the successes outlined here, released the Strategic Plan Driving forward, generating pace to much acclaim in 2012. Here, a roadmap for the future of the sport in Ireland was laid out involving all environments from grass roots to high performance underpinned by the desire to be playing Test cricket by the year 2020. Cricket Ireland is seeking two full-time Active Clubs Coordinators, one each for the Northern Cricket Union area and North West Cricket Union area. Active Clubs is a new multi-year investment programme developed and administered by Sport Northern Ireland, with funding from the National Lottery Fund. The aim of the Active Clubs Programme is to support and enable accessible and sustainable participation opportunities through sports clubs. This investment programme seeks to employ through Governing Bodies a network of Active Clubs Coordinators to work with sports clubs in order to assist them with developing new and innovative interventions aimed at increasing their club membership. Post holders will also be responsible for creating the potential for the realisation of a range of opportunities for training, learning, education and capacity building for coaches and volunteers. The role will have a responsibility for increasing cricket club membership in Northern Ireland with varied focus areas including youth, female participation and areas of higher social need, by developing and implementing innovative initiatives and programmes. The postholders will be based
at the Cricket Ireland offices at Stormont in Belfast for the Northern Cricket Union post, and Bready Cricket Club for the North West Cricket Union post. The successful candidates will report into the Regional Development Officer in the Northern Cricket Union or North West Cricket Union dependent on post and have a linked association to the National Development Manager. They will also work closely with the Cricket Ireland Development Team. The Development arm of Cricket Ireland s Cricket Department has experienced genuine success over the last five years. Particular highlights include winning the ICC Europe and ICC Global Development Awards in 2012, the ICC Europe Award for Women s Participation in 2013 as well as substantial increases in Participation figures. These sit alongside more unheralded but no less significant improvements, such as the growth of Coach Education, Girls and Women s cricket and Club Accreditation. The start date for these roles will ideally be late June/early July 2015. The closing date for applications is 4pm on Monday 1 st June 2015. This post is supported by Cricket Ireland is an Equal Opportunities Employer
JOB DESCRIPTION 1. PURPOSE OF THE JOB: The Active Clubs Coordinator will be responsible for the development, implementation and management of programmes and initiatives aimed at supporting and enabling accessible and sustainable participation opportunities through cricket clubs. Post holders will work with cricket clubs, either in the Northern Cricket Union or North West Cricket Union dependent on appointment, to assist them with developing innovative initiatives and interventions to increasing club membership, and to create a range of training, learning, education and capacity building opportunities for coaches and volunteers. 2. SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES: To establish and maintain a comprehensive knowledge of the needs of the cricket clubs engaged in the Active Clubs project. To initiate the establishment of new cricket clubs where the need is identified, and support the sustainable development of existing clubs. To assist clubs with the development and implementation of new and innovative sustainable participation initiatives. To maximise cricket opportunities by developing and maintaining strategic partnerships with a range of key stakeholders for example Local Authorities, Governing Bodies of Sport, Umbrella Organisations, Community and Voluntary Organisations, Statutory Organisations, Sports Clubs, Schools, Education Authorities and Health Organisations - to contribute to the delivery of programmes and initiatives. To identify, deliver and disseminate examples of good practice in the development of sustainable participation initiatives in a variety of settings and, in particular, for targets groups of the Active Clubs Programme i.e. o People aged 14-25 years o Women and Girls o People from areas of high social need To work in conjunction with linked Regional Development Officers to instigate, promote or develop club/school links to improve player pathway opportunities. To gain knowledge of local and national funding sources and support clubs with relevant applications.
To work with linked staff to plan and coordinate a programme of training, education and learning opportunities for coaches and volunteers. To work with linked staff to plan, organise and deliver opportunities for learning and sharing best practice e.g. seminars. To ensure effective monitoring, evaluating, record keeping and reporting of programmes and initiatives against pre-determined project level key performance indicators and general programme expectations and conditions. To assist in the management of budgets for the development and implementation of Active Clubs related programmes, initiatives, equipment, training and events. To attend meetings and prepare written and oral reports and presentations as necessary relating to the post. 3. GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES: To develop and maintain high quality, friendly, efficient and effective systems to ensure the smooth running of this project. To identify and implement opportunities for the development of this project that arise from national and regional initiatives in sport and physical activity related fields. To actively promote and contribute to the strategic and operational work of Cricket Ireland and in particular the Development Team, its programmes and events. To keep abreast of current and emerging trends and developments within the sector. To commit to the Cricket Ireland Appraisal process and continual professional development programme in order to provide an appropriate level of professionalism and support to all programmes and stakeholders. To carry out any other duties that, from time to time, may reasonably be required by your Line Manager. This job description is not to be regarded as exclusive or exhaustive. It is intended as an outline indication of relevant roles and responsibilities and is subject to amendment in light of the changing needs of the organisations involved in this programme. 4. WORKING RELATIONSHIPS:
Performance Director National Development Manager Regional Development Officers/Managers Coach Education Officer Finance and Administration Officer Provincial Unions Cricket Clubs Schools, Colleges and Universities Local Council Authorities Education Authorities Community and Voluntary Organisations Health Organisations Other Sports Governing Bodies Other Sports Clubs Sport Northern Ireland 5. REMUNERATION: 24,396
PERSONNEL SPECIFICATION: The Active Clubs Coordinator will be responsible for the development, implementation and management of programmes and initiatives aimed at supporting and enabling accessible and sustainable participation opportunities through cricket clubs. Post holders will work with cricket clubs to assist them with developing innovative initiatives and interventions to increase club membership, and to create a range of training, learning, education and capacity building opportunities for coaches and volunteers. 1. QUALIFICATION AND ATTAINMENTS 1.1 * A degree or equivalent qualification which can be proven relevant to the post OR * 4 years full time (or part time equivalent) experience working in a similar role in a position of responsibility for at least three of the following areas; Development of Sports Clubs Developing delivery programmes to increase sporting participation Developing Coach/Volunteer education programmes Developing youth work programmes Developing relationships and working with partnership organisations Desirable Criteria 1.2 Hold a current Cricket Coaching Qualification that is at least UKCC Level Two standard or equivalent 1.3 A postgraduate degree in Business Studies or Sports Development 1.4 Hold certificates of attendance at First Aid and Child Protection/Safeguarding courses 2. RELEVANT EXPERIENCE 2.1 * 2 years experience, full time (or part time equivalent) of supporting the development of sports clubs, volunteers and/or coaches
2.2 * Demonstrable experience of forming partnership with key stakeholders 2.3 * Demonstrable experience of collating and delivering monitoring, evaluating, record keeping and reporting information 2.4 Demonstrable experience of developing and implementing plans to support the development of sports clubs, volunteers and/or coaches 2.5 Demonstrable experience of developing new and innovative approaches to increasing participation within sports clubs Desirable Criteria 2.6 Demonstrable cricket coaching experience in a paid or voluntary capacity, ideally in a range of environments including schools / clubs / youth and community settings 2.7 Demonstrable experience of identifying and disseminating good practice in sports development 2.8 Demonstrable experience of using a flexible and creative approach to engage individuals and groups from varied backgrounds 2.9 Demonstrable financial management experience including the development and administration of budgets 3. KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING 3.1 * A knowledge and understanding of the issues and challenges within sports clubs 3.2 * A knowledge of cricket and cricket structures in Ireland and beyond 3.3 * A knowledge and understanding of the principles of sports development Desirable Criteria 3.4 An awareness of sporting provision and priorities within the locality 4. SKILLS AND APTITUDES 4.1 * Excellent organisational, planning and delivery skills
4.2 * Excellent time management skills, ability to prioritise, work under pressure and meet tight deadlines 4.3 * Self-motivated and positive with the ability to engage and enthuse a wide range of individuals 4.4 Excellent interpersonal, communication and presentation skills written and oral and ability to work independently as well as part of a team 4.5 Reliable, dependable, trustworthy, enthusiastic and well-presented 4.6 Competent in the use of Microsoft Office including Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint Desirable Criteria 4.7 Ability to motivate enthusiasm amongst coaches and volunteers 4.8 Ability to act on own initiative and take decisions within policy 5. CIRCUMSTANCES 5.1 * Must be able to work flexible hours, some of which may be in the evenings, at the weekend or at short notice 5.2 * Access to a form of transport that will permit the post holder to meet the requirements of the post Note to Applicants: * Only those applicants who clearly demonstrate relevant achievement, experience, knowledge and understanding of these will go forward to the next stage in the recruitment and selection process. The selection panel reserves the right to consider Desirable Criteria during the short-listing process should candidates remain on an equal footing following the application of the. All offers of employment are subject to receipt of satisfactory Access NI checks.