Senior Officer - Education and Participation

AFC Wimbledon Foundation; Merton; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 32,000; Full time

Job summary

A community-focused sports foundation in Merton seeks a Lead Sports Coach to oversee education and participation programmes for children and young people. Responsibilities include managing coaches, ensuring project delivery aligns with KPIs, and promoting a safe and inclusive environment. Ideal candidates should have relevant qualifications, strong leadership skills, and experience in developing inclusive sports programmes. A full driving licence is necessary. The role offers a competitive salary and the opportunity to make a significant community impact.

Qualifications

• Emergency Aid and Safeguarding Children Certificates are mandatory.
• Full valid Driving Licence is required.

Responsibilities

• Lead all education and participation programmes.
• Oversee delivery of projects to achieve KPIs.
• Support Community Sports Coaches and conduct reviews.
• Ensure compliance with safeguarding policies and risk assessments.
• Collaborate on marketing and promotional materials.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder engagement

Communication

Organisation

Data analysis

Education

Relevant higher education qualification or minimum 2 years experience

Minimum UEFA C Licence

Level 3 1st4sport PESS qualification

Job description

Organisation AFC Wimbledon Foundation Salary £31,500 Location Wandsworth / Merton Contract type Permanent (Full time) Closing date 11 January 2026 Interview date 19 January 2026

Lead and oversee the delivery of all Education and Participation programmes, enhancing access and opportunities for children and young people in Wandsworth and Merton to play football in a fun and safe environment.

Expand and develop Football for All, Holiday Camps, and Player Development Centres (PDCs), in collaboration with the Player Pathway Team. Ensuring all sessions are financially viable and generating the agreed levels of charitable surplus.

Work closely with the Head of Sport & Education to develop and oversee the delivery of Stadium Schools and PL Primary Stars projects, achieving all agreed KPIs.

To provide support, advice and guidance to Community Sports Coaches. Equipping them to deliver the community sport and education initiatives as per the funder’s requirements, including responsibility for all one to ones and performance reviews.

Design and implement a year-round CPD calendar and conduct regular quality assurance visits.

Ensure all lesson plans, risk assessments and registers are completed and accessible upon request by line management or funding partners.

Collaborate with the Communications Team to create effective marketing and promotional materials to support recruitment and engagement.

Identify service gaps and development opportunities in partnership with the Head of Sports & Education and engage with potential partners and funders.

Manage and maintain all monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and data capture requirements as stipulated by funders. Supporting with 6 monthly reports.

To create a safe environment and act to protect all young people and vulnerable adults that are either in your care or attending AFC Wimbledon premises and report any concerns to the appropriate Safeguarding Lead. This includes producing risk assessments for all sessions and adhering to AFC Wimbledon’s safeguarding policies.

To act as an ambassador for diversity, equality, and inclusion, and demonstrate a positive commitment by treating others fairly in line with our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Policy and reporting any acts of discrimination through appropriate channels.

To ensure you are dressed in the appropriate season’s staff uniform always provided by AFCWF and that all equipment provided is in good working order prior to any delivery taking place. Reporting any broken equipment to your line manager or school as soon as possible.

Uphold and promote all AFC Wimbledon Foundation policies and procedures, and support others in doing the same, including Health & Safety, Safeguarding, Financial Authorisation, Confidentiality and GDPR.

Undertake additional responsibilities as agreed with the Line Manager.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Qualifications

• Relevant higher education qualification or a minimum of 2 years’ experience in sports coaching.


• Minimum UEFA C Licence or UKCC Level 2 coaching qualification.


• Level 3 1st4sport PESS or L3 / L4 LTA and HLTA qualification.

Emergency Aid and Safeguarding Children Certificates.

Ability to travel to activity and meetings across London and surrounding areas / Full Driving Licence.

Experience

• Proven experience in developing inclusive sports programmes for underrepresented groups.


• Experience of line managing full-time and casual staff.


• Familiarity with monitoring, evaluation, and quality assurance frameworks.


• Strong knowledge of local and national sports networks and providers.


• Experience working in educational and community-based environments.

Skills & Behaviours

• Ability to lead, motivate and influence participants, staff, and partners to work towards greater community outcomes.


• Strong stakeholder engagement and relationship building skills.


• Collaborative mindset with the ability to work across departments and organisations.


• Proficient in ICT, data analysis, and report writing.


• Excellent communication, organisational, and interpersonal skills.


• Confident, proactive, and approachable personality.