Position Details
UoB Sport & Fitness
Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK
Full time starting salary is normally in the range £27,546 to £29,171, with potential progression once in post to £32,595
Grade: 4
Part Time, 0.5 FTE (17.5 hours per week)
Fixed Term contract up to July 2028
Closing date: 2 nd September 2026
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
Campus Services (CS) employs over 900 staff with a turnover exceeding £65m in the last financial year. CS plays a key role in the quality of the student, staff and visitor experience, providing services across diverse areas such as the University’s sporting facilities, food and beverage, cleaning, conferencing, hotel operations, day nurseries, Portering, post, branded and own-brand retail outlets, visitor services and attractions (e.g., Winterbourne House & Gardens), student housing, transport, waste disposal and recycling. CS is a highly commercial organisation operating within the University context and has an ambitious strategic agenda, in terms of growing our service profile across both our Birmingham and Dubai campuses.
Sport & Fitness is responsible for operating the University of Birmingham's extensive sport and recreation provision. It caters for the whole sports continuum from elite athlete to beginner; it supports 6,500 members, 40+ performance clubs, over 50 sports scholars and offers an extensive participation and intra-league programme. It stages big events for a number of British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS), national governing bodies and external groups, with spectator numbers reaching 3,000 for an individual event and has recently hosted the Commonwealth games for Hockey and Squash competition as well as swimming and athletics training venues. It serves the many different user groups drawn from the University – societies, medical school, groups of friends and departments, and the city – athletic, swimming, football, rugby, hockey, and gymnastics clubs, as well as many schools, local authority groups and the more commercial providers.
Role Summary
Birmingham has a proud and illustrious sporting history and we are looking to appoint a Tennis Development Officer (TDO) to continue this tradition. The Tennis Development Officer plays a key role in the delivery of Tennis across participation, competition and workforce.
As Tennis Development Officer you will support and grow the tennis provision at the University of Birmingham, ensuring an appropriate pathway for all levels in collaboration with a range of teams and across a number of offers. Working alongside the Tennis development Manager & Participation team you will work to grow the recreational offer available to students and the community including the development and delivery of a tennis offer including the Active Residents programme in partnership with our Accommodation team.
You will also support the development of student coaches by signposting them to relevant opportunities and coordinating internal development opportunities and sharing of bet practice.
Main Duties
Tennis Club Delivery
- Deliver Student club coaching across a variety of BUCS and Development based teams throughout the academic year.
- Develop a Summer programme of Matchplay and competition to utilise the courts to cater for seasonal interest in tennis
- Supporting the delivery of padel sessions on and off campus.
Participation Programme Delivery
- Deliver a year round Social Sport and ‘Try a Sport’ tennis programme, including Tennis Xpress, Cardio Tennis, and dedicated tennis session for participants aged 50+, providing accessible and engaging opportunities for players of all ages and abilities to participate and develop their skills
- Developing and delivering annual plans of competition and events, including ladder leagues and end of term tournaments for the participation programmes
- To develop and deliver, in partnership with the Participation Development Officers, an engagement programme for residents of University Student Accommodation to support their wellbeing and belonging
- Assist the Tennis Development Manager and Participation Development Officer in developing the LTA workforce objectives.
Workforce Delivery
- Supporting the development of existing Tennis workforce at the University.
- Create opportunities for workforce (coaching, officials and other roles) to progress and encouraging prospective individuals to become qualified and gain experiences.
- Signposting students and community to relevant LTA courses.
- Work in partnership with local clubs and organisations to showcase opportunities for volunteering within the area.
- Work directly with university placement/internship students providing direct support and development plans.
Wider Role duties
- Assisting the University if Birmingham Sport and Fitness on various events such as Open Days, Recruitment Days etc.
- Attend and represent the University of Birmingham at LTA events.
- Provide annual reports to the LTA.
Other Duties
- You will be required to be conversant with and work to UBS'S Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults Policy and Procedures
- To assist the University in Open Days and participation events such as Sports Fair, Alumni Open Day and other UBS Big Events.
- 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 Tennis 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.
- Supports equality and values diversity, moderates own behaviour to avoid unfair discriminatory impact or bias on others.
Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience
- GCSE Maths and English (minimum Grade C/4) or equivalent level 2 qualifications.
- Minimum LTA Level 2 (or equivalent qualification) or higher
- An understanding of BUCS rules and regulations.
- Knowledge of student sport and the complexities of working in a student environment.
- Good understanding of National Governing Body competition structures and delivery methods.
- Understanding of equity and diversity relating to sporting provision.
- Motivational and mentoring skills, including empathy of working in a student environment.
- 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 sport at all levels and an 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.
- Extensive experience in administrating sports clubs within these structures.
- Experience of successfully leading others, preferably in both direct supervision of other paid employees and of volunteers.
- Energy, commitment and enthusiasm to work evenings and weekends as required.
- Understands the importance of equality and diversity in the workplace.
- Ability to identify and respond to equality and diversity issues in line with relevant policies and procedures.
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 Amy Preston, 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 .
