Vacancy -- Chair - Sport Wales

The Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism is seeking to appoint a new Chair to Sport Wales – could you be the person we are looking for? This is an exciting opportunity for an individual who is passionate about sport and believes in the positive and lasting impact physical activity can have on our health and wellbeing. The successful candidate will be able to build a strong team and have excellent communication, influencing and negotiating skills.

Responsible to the Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism, Sport Wales is a Welsh Government Sponsored Body (WGSB), funded largely by grant-in-aid from the Welsh Government.  It is also responsible for distributing funds from the National Lottery to sport in Wales. Sport Wales works in association with other key sport and active recreation providers and delivery agents, particularly local government, national governing bodies of sport and the voluntary sector.  It is responsible for co-ordinating and helping to deliver the Welsh Government’s Programme for Government commitments to encourage sport and active recreation. http://gov.wales/about/programmeforgov/about?lang=en

Sport Wales’ operational priorities and performance targets are informed by:  

- The Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism’s Annual Remit Letter.

- Wider policies and priorities of the Welsh Government, in particular the Well Being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.  This requires Sport Wales to integrate all its work into supporting of all of the seven well being goals as well as the five governance elements of the Sustainable Development Principle.

- The four objectives set down when the Sports Council for Wales (now trading as Sport Wales) was established by Royal Charter in 1972. 

The four broad objectives are to:

• Increase participation in sport and active recreation;

• Raise standards of performance and excellence;

• Improve the provision of sporting facilities;

• Provide technical information and advice about sport, recreation and active lifestyles.

Sport Wales operates two national centres; the Welsh Institute of Sport in Cardiff and the Plas Menai National Watersports Centre in North Wales. 

The Sport Wales Board currently consists of 9 members along with a Chair and Vice-Chair. The Board currently holds 6 meetings a year across Wales.

You will be accountable to the Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism for Sport Wales’ performance and delivery of strategic priorities.  Developing and maintaining a close relationship with the Deputy Minister and key members of the Welsh Government is a crucial part of the Chair’s role. 

Leadership

• Provide effective leadership to Sport Wales and its Board, in particular defining and developing its strategic direction, participating in the corporate planning process and representing the views of the Board to the general public.

• Work with other members to discharge the functions of the Board which will comprise:

o Delivery of the Board’s corporate/business plan in response to the Deputy Minister for Culture Sport and Tourism annual Remit Letter;

o Ensuring that governance arrangements are sound and that there is probity and propriety in the workings of the Sport Wales;

o Putting into action the Welsh Government’s policies and priorities including equal opportunities and diversity issues, by working with key stakeholders to ensure an integrated approach for the delivery of sport in Wales;

o Maximise the benefits from major high profile national and international sporting events (such as the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games), by providing a sustainable sports legacy;

o Addressing the needs of sport both nationally and locally, taking responsibility for deciding how resources are deployed to meet Sport Wales’ strategic objectives.

o Supporting the Welsh Government’s efforts to increase levels of physical activity throughout the population of Wales.

Relationship with the Chief Executive

• Establish and build a strong, effective and a supportive working relationship with the Chief Executive, providing support and advice while respecting executive responsibility;

• Conduct an annual appraisal to ensure the Chief Executive is held to account for achieving agreed strategic objectives.  Provide relevant training and development opportunities. 

Governance

• Ensure that the governance arrangements are working in the most effective way. 

• Build an effective Board, initiating change and succession planning for Board appointments through the OCPA regulated process;

• Annually consult with and appraise Board members on their roles and assess their performance;

• Plan, preside over, and facilitate Board and committee meetings;

• Ensure Sport Wales’ commitment to equality and diversity.

Communication and External Relations

• Act as an ambassador for Sport Wales

• Promote effective relationships between non-executive members, the executive team and staff within Sport Wales;

• Develop, manage and maintain good relationships with interested parties both nationally and locally.  Interest parties include:

o Welsh Government

o Sport Governing Bodies

o Sports Associations

o local authorities

o local communities

o the business sector

o the voluntary sector

o elected community representatives

o the media

The Welsh Government acknowledges the importance of developing and growing bilingual capabilities in public appointments in Wales, and welcomes applications from candidates who demonstrate their capability to work in both English and Welsh.  The following list of language requirements represents an objective assessment by the recruiting body of the Welsh language skills required to undertake the duties of this particular post.

You will need to demonstrate the following essential criteria:

• An understanding of the benefits of elite and community sport to the wider policy agenda and a keen interest in ensuring those benefits are shared across Wales.

• An understanding of how sport can improve the health and wellbeing of people and communities across Wales; 

• A desire to drive and support all partners to build on Wales’ record medal hauls at recent Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth Games to deliver greater success in the future.

• A good knowledge of the sporting landscape across the UK.

• An understanding of the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 and how Sport Wales can contribute to its goals.

• Strong communication skills with the ability to build strategic working relationships with all stakeholders, including Ministers and Government, Board Members, and the press and media.

• The ability to respond creatively and strategically to changing political and operational environments. 

We would welcome applicants with experience in a related field, such as health, community development or education. We would also welcome applications from people from under-represented groups.

Desirable

• Welsh Language Skills.  The ability to communicate through the medium of Welsh is desirable.  All candidates are expected to display an awareness of the linguistic profile of Wales and support compliance with the forthcoming Welsh Language Standards. 

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To apply for this role, click on the ‘Apply’ button below. The first time you apply for a post, you will need to complete a registration form for the Welsh Government’s online application system.  You will only need to register once, and you will be able to keep yourself updated on the progress of your application, and any other applications you make, via your registered account.

Once you’ve registered, you’ll be able to access the application form.  To apply you will need to submit two supporting documents. The first, a document outlining how your knowledge, skills and experiences meet the criteria for the role as outlined in the information for candidates.  This document should be no more than 2 sides of A4.  Your application may be rejected if you exceed this limit.  The second document is a full, up to date CV.  The two documents should be uploaded to the ‘Reasons for applying’ section of the online application form.

In your application, you will also be asked to provide details of any activities which have helped you to develop skills that would be useful in a public appointment role, and list the organisations for which you undertook these activities.  We also need to know about any political activity that you’ve undertaken over the last 5 years. 

It is recommended that you register for an account and access the application form as soon as possible so that you see how the application form is structured, before starting to prepare your evidence.  You don’t have to complete the application form all in one go.  You can save your responses, and log in and out as required, until you’re ready to submit – just follow the guidance in the application form.

If you need any further assistance in applying for this role, please contact the Welsh Government’s Corporate Shared Service Centre Helpdesk on 029 2082 5454 or SharedServiceHelpdesk@wales.gsi.gov.uk 

For further information about Public Appointments in Wales, please visit www.gov.wales/publicappointments