Position Details
UoB Sports and Fitness
University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK
Full time starting salary is normally in the range £30,062 to £31,900, with potential progression once in post to £35,883
Grade: 5
Part Time (14 hours per week)
Fixed Term contract up to October 2027
Closing date: 9th August 2026
You may be required to work weekends.
Our offer to you
People are at the heart of what we are and do.
The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university. We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success.
We are committed to helping the people who work here to develop through our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential. With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide-range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to be able to develop your career at the University.
We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate. We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are, and how we work.
Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working. In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries.
The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site. On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens.
Find out more about the benefits of working for the University of Birmingham
Background
This role will create a fresh and important dimension to the operations of both Athletics Talent Hub and University Athletics Club. The role would allow us to target specific elements of pathway growth but, at the same time, build wider impacts. In context:
- Hammer Talent Event Lead
- Co-ordinating regional and national athlete and coach development days
- Work with the other England Athletics Technical Event Leads to agree content, dates, venues, deliverers & bookings
- Female throws coach developer
- Talent Hub hammer coach
- Coach and POC for hub-based hammer athletes
- Engaging and developing West Midlands regional athletics clubs and their coaching workforce
- YTP hammer coach & throws co-ordinator
- Potential for International team staff roles
Role Summary
Your role will be to plan, coordinate and deliver the Hammer coaching programme of the Athletics Hub, focusing on the development of a high performance culture for University of Birmingham Sport, optimising performance in competitions, as well as raising the profile of the University of Birmingham as a performance sport university and increasing increase sport participation. You will work with the Head Coach and club committee in order to lead the development of Hammer Coaching. In order to flexibly use resource you may be given the opportunity to work elsewhere in the department or the wider University.
Main Duties
Coaching - to work in collaboration with the Head of Athletics in order to coordinate and deliver high quality coaching sessions for the advancement of skill and performance of club individuals, teams or squads.
- Planning the development, set-up and running of all event specific coaching sessions.
- Promoting an enjoyable and inclusive atmosphere, by acting professionally and displaying good coaching conduct at all times.
- Ensuring good practice is applied throughout all sessions by adhering to NGB and UOB policy and procedures where applicable.
- Responsible for team selection and performance, determining selection and the standards required and providing constructive feedback where applicable.
- Motivating and encouraging team members, showing commitment to the development of athletes and teams, and making recommendations for individual and team performance improvements.
- Developing annual plans of competition / e v ents including setting target objectives for the sport and individuals.
- Keeping knowledge of BUCS and sports specific rules and regulations up to date, and using this knowledge to implement any changes to rulings, advising UBS of any implications on budget, team performance or club development.
- Acting as a mentor, referring athletes to appropriate support services where necessary.
Club Management and Development
- Supporting the development of student leadership skills, particularly in club committee members, through effective communication and support of club administration, and through ensuring an inclusive, professional culture both on and off the pitch.
- Liaising with the Head of Athletics over the development of sessions, athletes and other coaches and club development, attending meetings where necessary.
- Assisting in managing disciplinary issues raised with club members, liaising with the Club Development Manager and the University Discipline Manager where necessary.
- Reviewing budgets and providing budget recommendations through working with the Head of Athletics.
- Work with the UBS Marketing and Scholarship Team as appropriate in the effective promotion and publicity of the Hub’s event specific programme.
- Assisting the UBS team in hosting events such as Open Days and Alumni Sports Days.
Other duties
- You will be required to be conversant with and work to UBS' S Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults Policy and Procedures
- You will actively participate in job chats and personal development reviews on your own performance, and agree objectives and targets and work to achieve these within agreed timescales.
- You will provide general progress reports, project updates and proposals to the Head of Athletics and Club Development Manager as required.
- You will undertake any other duties that may reasonably be required and which can be accommodated within the postholder's grading.
- Treats everyone with dignity and respect in line with current equality legislation.
- Respond to equality and diversity issues in line with relevant university policies and procedures
- Other relevant criteria from our equality and diversity duties document.
Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience
- GCSE Maths and English (minimum Grade C/4) or equivalent level 2 qualifications.
- UKCC Level 3 coaching award (or equivalent).
- First aid qualification.
- An in-depth understanding of coaching styles and practical delivery.
- Knowledge of the sport's organisation at national & regional levels in the UK Knowledge / understanding of equity and diversity related to sporting provision.
- Motivational and mentoring skills (especially in the context of performance players).
- Ability and track record of working as part of a busy team and working effectively under pressure to tight deadlines.
- A commitment to the development of your sport at all levels and understanding of the sports development process.
- Effective problem solving and decision-making skills.
- Ability to establish and maintain an environment of winning and success.
- IT skills including competence in the use Microsoft Word and Excel.
- Positive attitude towards CPD.
- Experience of managing a small team and its range of responsibilities.
- Experience of successfully leading others, preferably in both direct supervision of other paid employees and of volunteers.
- Understands the importance of equality and diversity in the workplace
- Ability to identify and respond to equality and diversity issues in line with relevant university policies and procedures relating to equality and diversity.
- Other relevant criteria from our equality and diversity knowledge, skills and experience document.
DBS required
The University is committed to safeguarding and we promote safe recruitment practice, therefore all associated pre-employment checks will be undertaken before any appointment is confirmed. Due to the nature of the work undertaken in this role all successful applicants will be subject to a satisfactory DBS clearance prior to appointment.
Informal enquiries to Andy Paul, email: [email protected]
View our staff values and behaviours here
Use of AI in applications: We want to understand your genuine interest in the role and for the written elements of your application to accurately reflect your own communication style. Applications that rely too heavily on AI tools can appear generic and lack the detail we need to assess your skills and experience. Such applications will unlikely be progressed to interview.
We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website .
