Chief Executive Officer jobs in United Kingdom

Organisation: UK Sport

Salary: £218 per day / 2 days per month

Location: London

Contract type: Part time

Closing date: 21 January 2026

Interview date: 4 March 2026

The UK Sport Board is made up of 12 non‑executive Board Members, including the Chair from the Sports Councils of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Board is appointed by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.

Culture, Media & Sport

Audit & Risk

2 days per month

4 years

UK Sport is seeking to appoint four independent Directors as members to their Board who will bring experience and expertise in:

• elite performance sport leadership, strategy and operations (Olympic and/or Paralympic sport)
• major international sporting events leadership

One Independent Director will also take up the role of Chair of the Group Audit and Risk Committee and be responsible for:

• Chairing the Group Audit and Risk Committee, which oversees issues of risk, financial control and governance across UKS and UKSI
• Providing advice from the Committee to the Board on the completeness, reliability and integrity of assurances provided
• Chairing four GARC Meetings a year, plus one‑on‑one private meetings with the external and internal auditors, Accounting Officers of UK Sport and UKSI
• Shaping the agendas and planning for the GARC meetings with the UK Sport Director of Strategy and Business Enabling

The Board has corporate responsibility for ensuring that UK Sport complies with any statutory or administrative requirements for the use of public funds.

The Board is responsible for the strategic purpose, mission and ambitions of UK Sport, including the following:

• Delivering sustained success in Olympic and Paralympic Sport
• Maximising the inspirational impact of British elite athletes to deliver sporting, social and economic benefits
• Hosting a world‑leading portfolio of international sporting events
• Realising the aim to keep winning and winning well, to grow a thriving sporting system and to inspire positive change

Within this wider remit, individual Board Members support the Chair and CEO in:

• Promoting good practice, corporate leadership, diversity and inclusion and people development within the organisation of UK Sport
• Driving and measuring the effectiveness and efficiency of UK Sport as a body

UK Sport is the nation’s high‑performance sports agency, funded by the Government and The National Lottery. Its mission is to work in partnership to lead Olympic and Paralympic sport in the UK to world class success.

The UK Sport 10‑year strategy is aiming to create the greatest decade of extraordinary sporting moments; reaching, inspiring and uniting the nation.

The investment UK Sport delivers and the strategic direction it provides has helped British sports and athletes deliver 196 Olympic and 395 Paralympic medals at summer games following London 2012, alongside 12 Olympic and 19 Paralympic medals at winter games, from Sochi 2014 to date.

UK Sport has also helped to establish the UK as a leading host of international sporting events, including Euro 2028, Tour De France & Tour De France Femmes, European Athletics and World Table Tennis Championships.

https://www.uksport.gov.uk/about-us/our-board-and-panels

All candidates will need to demonstrate the following criteria:

• Interest: A clear passion and enthusiasm for Olympic and Paralympic sport
• Experience: Demonstrable experience in a high performance industry/environment and in strategic decision‑making and planning at a senior level
• Judgement: effective decision-making skills with the ability to critically analyse a wide range of information to make clear and objective evidence‑based recommendations to support the delivery of the organisation's objectives
• Communication and collaboration: Excellent communication, interpersonal and presentation skills and an ability to work across organisational boundaries to promote high standards

In order to apply you will need to create an account or sign in on: https://apply-for-public-appointment.service.gov.uk/roles/9067?titleSearch=&body=&department=1004&regulated=&bodyJustice=&remunerated=&status=open&sort=openingAt%3Adesc

Once you are logged into your account, click on 'apply for this role' and follow the on-screen instructions. To apply, all candidates are required to provide:

• equality information
• information relating to any outside interests or reputational issues
• a Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• a supporting statement
• a short professional biography (150 words)

We will ask you to check and confirm your personal details to ensure your application is accurate. You will also have the opportunity to make a reasonable adjustment request or apply under the disability confident scheme before you submit your application.

As part of your application, you will be asked to provide equality information including special category data (which may identify your race/ethnic background or health); you have the choice to opt out from sharing any equality data, by selecting ‘prefer not to say’. We use your personal information and special category data for a wide range of purposes, to enable us to carry out our functions as a government department. The data will be visible to departmental officials for the purpose of managing the Public Appointment Process for which you have applied. Data will also be available to other individuals involved in the process including Government Ministers, Advisory Assessment Panel members and members of the Commissioner for Public Appointments team, and our IT providers.

To monitor the diversity and inclusivity of our processes, your special category data may be shared with the Advisory Assessment Panel that is responsible for sifting candidate CVs and interviewing candidates. The Advisory Assessment Panel may use your special category data to help ensure Boards are representative of the United Kingdom. The data will help us understand the diversity of public appointees and to satisfy our public sector equality duty (PSED). You may opt out of this if you so wish by selecting “prefer not to say” for any or all categories, and your application will still be considered. You must opt out before the application deadline closes.

If you are offered an interview for a Public Appointment your data may be shared with the employees and Board Members of the Public Body for which you are applying, for the purposes of scheduling the interview, informing you of the outcome and providing feedback after the interview.

If you are successful in your application we will share your contact details with the Public Body so that staff can make arrangements for you to start your role.