Sport & Recreation Officer

NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY; Newcastle upon Tyne; On-site; GBP 27,000 - 29,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Holiday package

Pension schemes

Health & wellbeing initiatives

Job summary

Newcastle University Sports is recruiting a Sports Facilities Assistant to help run the indoor and outdoor facilities safely and effectively. You will monitor, clean, maintain and supervise activity areas and equipment, ensuring the safety and enjoyment of our gym users and class participants.

Working in a team in a busy sports environment, you will engage with customers, deliver gym inductions, support reception services, and respond to accidents with calm professionalism.

Qualifications

• Strong customer service skills and ability to interact with diverse users.
• Experience in sport and leisure environment.
• Knowledge of sports training principles.
• Interest and participation in sport and recreation.
• Basic MS Office or IT skills.

Responsibilities

• Control, monitor and supervise the users, equipment, and facilities.
• Deliver gym inductions and tours.
• Deliver a friendly Reception Service in the facilities.
• Deal with accidents and emergencies professionally.
• Clean and maintain the facilities and the immediate external environment.

Skills

Customer service

Sports & leisure experience

Sports training principles

Interest in sport

MS Office / IT skills

Education

Sport and recreation qualification (level 2) or Fitness Instructor Qualification

Job description

Salary: £27,319 with progression to £28,778 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 11 September 2026

Our vision at Newcastle Sport is for everyone, students, and staff, to find their passion in sport. Our campus facilities have recently benefited from a £30 million investment, that includes 3 new high-tech artificial pitches, world class gym, and 8 court sports halls amongst other superb recreational spaces including bar and café. We are proud of our modern facilities in the heart of Newcastle City Centre where we offer group fitness classes as well as friendly team games up to high-level competitions.

There's a huge range of ways for our customers to get involved:

• 65 sports clubs
• a mix of cardio, strength, HIIT, cycling and yoga classes every week
• leagues, tournaments, and competitions

Our Sports and Recreation Officers work as part of a team responsible for the safe and effective running of the Sports. As part of this, you would be responsible for the control, cleanliness, and maintenance of our activity areas and equipment to make sure our customers are kept safe. We will support and fund you to become qualified in First Aid every 3 years. We work on an 8-week rotational pattern, and this covers our opening hours of 07:00-22:00 weekdays and 09:00-21:00 on weekends. For example, a typical term time weekday shifts maybe either 06.45-14.30 or 14.30-22.30. We can provide you with an example of a typical rotation if you would like to get in touch.

You work as part of a team responsible for the safe and effective functioning of the Sports Facilities and its operations in line with the normal operating procedures and emergency action plans. You will control, monitor, clean, maintain and supervise the use of all activity areas, equipment and associated services for the benefit and safety of all users.

Interviews will be held on Wednesday 30 September 2026

We are keen to hear from people who can demonstrate excellent customer service skills and who are driven to want be part of our established friendly team.

The Role

To work as part of a team responsible for the safe and effective functioning of the indoor and outdoor sports facilities and its operations in line with the facilities normal operating procedures and emergency action plans.

To control, monitor, clean, maintain and supervise the use of all activity areas, equipment and associated services for the benefit and safety of all users.

Key Accountabilities

• Control, monitor and supervise the users, equipment, and facilities
• Deliver a high-quality interactive service within the gym to support our customers, performing gym inductions and tours
• Deliver a friendly and efficient Reception Service in the facilities
• Deal with accidents and emergencies professionally and calmly
• Clean and maintain the facilities and the immediate external environment of the building
• Carry out and document regular building, activity area and equipment checks to ensure that everything is 'fit for purpose'
• Set up activity areas and equipment for a wide range of sports and special events in line with manufacturer and national guidelines
• Maintain all equipment storage areas in a clean, neat and tidy condition
• Support with general duties to ensure the effective functioning of the indoor and outdoor sports facilities including delivery and collection of post, moving of equipment, and receiving the delivery of goods
• Participate in training courses designed to improve personal skill levels and knowledge
• To open up and close down the indoor and outdoor sports facilities as required following the normal operating procedures
• To have a flexible approach to operational tasks and to carry out other duties in line with the level of the post as directed by the Sports Facilities Supervisor, Senior Sports Supervisor and / or Sports Facilities Manager

The Person

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Strong demonstrable customer skills
• Previous work experience in a sport and leisure environment
• Sound knowledge of sports training principles
• Interest and participation in sport and recreation
• Basic MS Office skills or IT skills

Attributes and Behaviour

• Flexible approach to work
• Good interpersonal skills
• Be able to work alone as well as part of a team
• Organised approach to work
• Good communicator
• Ability to problem solve

Qualifications

• Sport and recreation qualification to the equivalent of level 2 or relevant Fitness Instructor Qualification

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a Gold Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC. We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.

Requisition ID: 29713