Post Title: Project Officer – MSK Pathway
SBU/Department: Herts Sport & Physical Activity Partnership
FTE: 1 FTE (working 37 hours per week)
Duration of Contract: Fixed Term – Until 31st March 2027 – extension subject to continuation of external funding.
Annual Leave: 25 days plus standard public holidays and an additional 4 days including the closure of our office between Christmas and New Year
Location: Herts Sports Village, University of Hertfordshire, De Havilland Campus, Hatfield, AL10 9EU. AccessAble Guide
The Herts Sport & Physical Activity Partnership (HSP) is a dynamic organisation committed to improving lives through sport and physical activity. We work with a wide range of partners to tackle inactivity, reduce inequalities, and create opportunities for everyone to lead an active lifestyle.
At HSP, we are all about getting everyone more active, so we encourage applicants to apply from all backgrounds to help us build a diverse and inclusive team that is truly representative of the people and communities of Hertfordshire who we work tirelessly to support.
The MSK Rehabilitation Pathway is a targeted programme designed to support economically inactive adults in Hertfordshire who are living with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions. Delivered in partnership between HSP and the University of Hertfordshire’s Institute of Sport (IOS), the project will provide free, clinically robust rehabilitation and support participants to transition into inclusive, community-based physical activity. With a focus on reducing health inequalities, the pathway removes cost and access barriers to facilitate those from deprived and marginalised communities to access MSK services. Once residents enter the pathway they will be supported through rehabilitation and sustainable behaviour change techniques to improve their physical function, pain and condition management and confidence, leading towards improved wellbeing and employability. The project is funded for three years by Hertfordshire County Council Public Health, as such we would expect this post to extend to three years in length, subject to continued funding by meeting agreed objectives.
Why Join Us?
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Be part of a passionate team driving positive change.
- Work on an exciting project that impacts the community.
- Opportunities for professional development and career progression.
- Flexible working arrangements and a supportive environment.
Ready to make a difference?
This role offers variety, responsibility, and the chance to make a real difference in the lives of people across Hertfordshire.
We are looking for Individuals who are passionate about improving community health and supporting people from all backgrounds to become more active, with empathy and insight at the heart of their approach.
Main duties and responsibilities
We are seeking a motivated Project Officer to lead the community physical activity elements of the innovative Musculoskeletal (MSK) Rehabilitation Pathway. This is a key role supporting adults living with MSK conditions, particularly those most affected by health inequalities, to become and remain physically active. This is role working on an exciting new project, where you will lead and coordinate operational delivery of the community physical activity and behaviour-change elements of the MSK Rehabilitation Pathway, ensuring smooth transitions from clinical rehabilitation into sustainable community opportunities.
You will work closely with clinical colleagues, including a Lead Therapist, to align rehabilitation and community physical activity support.
The project officer will build and maintain strong partnerships with local physical activity providers and act as HSP’s representative for the MSK Pathway, serving as a key point of contact and representing the Partnership at meetings and events.
You will communicate effectively with partners across health, community, voluntary and local authority sectors. You will support the marketing and promotion of the MSK Pathway and associated activity offers. The project officer will support the development and delivery of online MSK education resources, including webinars and practical guidance, working alongside clinical partners to ensure accuracy and accessibility.
You will collect, analyse and report on participant engagement, outcomes and pathway performance, working with the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer to evidence impact.
The Project Officer will contribute to reporting requirements for Hertfordshire County Council Public Health, ensuring timely and accurate submission of monitoring data and narrative updates.
The project officer will champion equality, diversity and inclusion by ensuring the MSK Pathway supports underrepresented groups and contributes to reducing health inequalities across Hertfordshire.
Skills and experience required
You will have proven experience of managing or coordinating projects, ideally within physical activity, health, wellbeing or community settings. You will have the ability to create good working relationships with a range of partners both internal and external. Ideally you will have an understanding of behaviour change, physical activity for health and/or MSK conditions (or a willingness to develop this knowledge). You will have an understanding of engaging participants and supporting progression into sustainable community opportunities.
You will have the ability to use spreadsheets and database systems and ability to provide monitoring reports for the projects . You will have strong communication skills including confidence to present information to large audiences both in person and virtually.
You will have a committed approach to issues related to equality and diversity.
Qualifications required
You will be educated with an undergraduate degree or equivalent level 6 qualification or proven experience.
Please view the job description and person specification for a full list of the duties and essential criteria. Please attach a personal statement showing clearly how your skills and experience match the Person Specification.
Internal applicants – please ensure you apply via your employee self-service portal.
We regret that we are unable to offer UKVI sponsorship for this post; applicants will either hold UK Right to Work or demonstrate access to UK Right to Work before an offer is made.
Contact Details/Informal Enquiries: Tom Horey -
[email protected], Senior Project Officer
Closing Date: 30 July 2026
Interview Date: 12 August 2026
Reference Number: REQ000532
Date advert placed: 09 July 2026
HSP / UH is committed to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (see our latest EDI Policy & Action Plan) and building a diverse community, and we want our staff to represent diverse life experiences and different cultural heritage. We welcome applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of their protected characteristics, and recognise there are different ways applicants may achieve the criteria in this document. We particularly encourage applications from ethnically diverse and candidates with disabilities who are under-represented in HSP.
We offer a range of support systems to support people with different needs (e.g. Inclusion Passport, Peer Support Groups) and we are a ‘Disability Confident’ employer and we will ensure reasonable adjustments are considered to enable accessibility and inclusivity for all. UH has also achieved Athena Swan Bronze accreditation which recognises and celebrates good practices in higher education towards the advancement of gender equality.
We offer a range of employee benefits including generous annual leave, flexible working (within the HSP guidelines), discounted Sports Village memberships, personal and professional development and family-friendly policies. #GoHerts
