Senior Development Manager London Sport

Sporting Equals; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 43,000 - 52,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working options

Hybrid central London office

Travel across London

Job summary

Sporting Equals is seeking a Senior Development Manager to lead the Place Expansion programme for Barking & Dagenham, London. The role involves convening the B&D PIPP, managing budgets, and coordinating with London Sport and Sport England to drive activity across communities.

The post requires strong relationship-building skills, experience with co-design, and a commitment to equality and inclusion for Londoners. Flexible working options and travel across London are included.

Qualifications

• Ability to engage London’s diverse communities and build trusted relationships.
• Experience of managing substantial budgets.
• Proven ability to develop and communicate a clear plan for complex programmes.
• Experience of and ability to foster collaborative partnerships using co-design principles.
• Commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion in London.

Responsibilities

• Lead and convene the Place partnership group (B&D PIPP) and oversee programme management.
• Ensure stakeholder engagement and cross-sector support for the work.
• Support procurement and contracting processes.
• Act as the link between the Place partnership group, London Sport and Sport England.
• Drive delivery across multiple streams within the Place Expansion programme.
• Integrate learning and sport development activities within the place.

Skills

Stakeholder engagement

Budget management

Project management

Co-design and co-production

Equality and inclusion

Strategic planning

Relationship building

Job description

Closing Date: October 20th, 2026

We’re looking for a Senior Development Manager to lead the work of London Sport in delivering the Place Expansion programme in Barking & Dagenham, as part of Sport England’s national Place Expansion programme.

Find out more by joining our online candidate information session on Thursday 8th October at 2pm at this link or by watching the recording on our YouTube channel after the session.

Please see the recruitment pack on our website for full details.

The work is led by a Place Partnership group, the Barking & Dagenham Physical Inactivity Place Partnership (B&D PIPP). The post holder will be required to lead the evolution of the existing Place partnership group through the Full Award period, including building broadening representation from the VCSEF sector and statutory organisations, ensuring enhanced governance arrangements are in place and beginning the process of transitioning the work to be led by a locally based organisation.

The work to be delivered by the Partnership through Full Award will include substantial direct capacity building with VCFSE organisations engaged in the partnership, further insight gathering to understand the local system and place‑specific barriers to physical activity, and substantial Monitoring Evaluation and Learning (MEL) work. The work will also include a programme of “test and learn” projects to gain practical insights into how to increase levels of physical activity amongst the priority audiences in Barking & Dagenham.

This demanding role will lead and convene the B&D PIPP group, provide programme management support, ensure relevant stakeholders are engaged and supporting the work, support procurement and contracting processes and act as the link between the Place partnership group, London Sport and Sport England.

What You’ll Do

• Develop an in-depth knowledge of Barking & Dagenham, including the needs and priorities of the local communities
• Co-produce plans with relevant stakeholders at all levels (in both the statutory and VCFSE sectors) to identify how we will collectively develop sport and physical activity within the place
• Effectively manage a large investment budget
• Proactively share knowledge and learning about the place through Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) frameworks
• Effectively manage projects from ideation and planning through to delivery and completion
• Ensure ways of working align to London Sport’s strategy
• Integrate wider support and learning into the place, including Sport England’s Universal Offer
• Foster a strong relationship with Sport England as the ‘funder’ of the Place Expansion programme

Who You Are:

• An ability to engage London’s diverse communities and build trusted relationships with key organisations and individuals within those communities in Barking & Dagenham. Experience of working in Barking & Dagenham a positive.
• Passionate about improving the lives of Londoners and its communities.
• The ability to work effectively with multiple stakeholders from the VCFSE sector and statutory bodies.
• Experience of and the ability to foster collaborative partnerships and plans by identifying shared opportunities, using principles of co-design and co-production.
• A can-do positive attitude and flexible, solution-focused approach. A proven ability to develop and communicate a clear plan to deliver a complex programme of work across multiple streams, with the ability to iterate and flex plans as needed and in response to feedback from stakeholders and evolving priorities. The ability to drive plans forward to achieve progress and impact.
• A practical understanding of project management techniques, with experience of effectively delivering successful projects/programmes that benefit underserved and underrepresented Londoners. Experience of managing substantial budgets.
• Ability to demonstrate an understanding of, and commitment to, equality, diversity and inclusion in relation to London.
• Lived experience of day-to-day life in London, with experience of living or working in Barking & Dagenham a positive.

Key Details:

• Full-time (35 hours per week). We are open to discussing flexible working options.
• Salary: £ 47,277 per annum if full-time
• Fixed-term contract until March 2028
• We use a model of 2 plus days per week in our central London office and working from home, with regular travel required throughout London

Timeline:

• Deadline for applications: EoD on Tuesday 20th October
• Interviews: w/c 2nd November

Download the full recruitment pack here – Senior Development Manager Recruitment Pack – External