Head of Hockey – Campus Services – 42883 – Grade 7 Full-time

Campus Services Hockey Programme Manager

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £36,636 to £46,049 with potential progression once in post to £48,822

Grade: 7

Full Time, Permanent

Closing date: 25th February 2026

UK travel may be required for this role

Our offer to you

People are at the heart of what we are and do.

The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university. We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success.

We are committed to helping the people who work here to develop through our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential. With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide-range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to be able to develop your career at the University.

We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate. We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are, and how we work.

Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working. In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries.

The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site. On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens.

Background

Campus Services (CS) employs over 1000 staff with a turnover exceeding £65m in the last financial year. CS plays a key role in the quality of the student, staff and visitor experience, providing services across diverse areas such as the University's sporting facilities, food and beverage, cleaning, conferencing, hotel operations, day nurseries, Portering, post, branded and own-brand retail outlets, visitor services and attractions (e.g., Winterbourne House & Gardens), student housing, transport, waste disposal and recycling. CS is a highly commercial organisation operating within the University context and has an ambitious strategic agenda, in terms of growing our service profile across both our Birmingham and Dubai campuses.

Sport & Fitness is responsible for operating the extensive sport and recreation provision of the University of Birmingham. It caters for the whole sports continuum from elite athlete to beginner; it supports 6,500 members, 40+ performance clubs, over 50 sports scholars and offers an extensive participation and intra league programme. It stages big events for several British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS), national governing bodies and external groups, with spectator numbers reaching 3,000 for an individual event and has recently hosted the Commonwealth games for Hockey and Squash competition as well as swimming and athletics training venues. It services the many different user groups drawn from the University – societies, medical school, groups of friends and departments, and the city – athletic, swimming, football, rugby, hockey, and gymnastics clubs as well as many schools, local authority groups and the more commercial provider.

Role Summary

The role will be responsible for delivering and developing the University's flagship hockey programme, working with the next generation of emerging talent to succeed across our BUCS and National Hockey League teams.

The successful candidate will have overall responsibility for the hockey programme, including coaching philosophy, style, development and performance of the club, including the appointment and development of coaching staff. They will have direct responsibility for the performance of the 1st teams in BUCS and of our National Hockey League teams, including direct coaching our national league teams.

From the point of recruitment to maintaining the fantastic performance environment for our athletes, the post-holder will ensure a high-quality student experience is maintained throughout the club, steering a culture consistent with our values. They will do this working with a team of experienced coaches and multi-disciplinary team comprising specialist support practitioners within a sector-leading dual-career environment.

Main Duties

• Run training sessions for first and second teams, directly coaching the first team, with the support of an assistant coach
• Attend BUCS & National League matches of the first team and other teams where appropriate
• Lead regular multi-disciplinary team meetings with the Performance Support team to optimize development of the players' and teams' performance
• Lead hockey's recruitment strategy to attract the best players to the university, including identification of players, managing communications and attending key recruitment events
• Responsible for the recruitment, development and management of hockey coaches including mentoring, individual CPD plans, reviews and job chats
• Identify and propose appropriate hockey events which the University might bid to host, with the aim of helping recruitment, raising profile and/or generating income
• To develop effective links and relationships with England Hockey and home nations NGB to ensure player pathways are successfully maintained

Club Management

• Work with the Club Development team to ensure University of Birmingham meets all relevant rules and regulations including but not limited to: officials; safety; facilities; and coordination of disciplinary cases
• In conjunction with the BUCS administrator, ensure the efficient coordination of club fixtures including liaison with the Operations team to support match day set-up
• Lead and advise the club committee in the management of the club (including the budget), ensuring all values of Sport are upheld

Other duties

• You will actively participate in job chats and personal development reviews on your own performance, and agree objectives and targets and work to achieve these within agreed timescales
• Undertake any other duties that may reasonably be required, and which can be accommodated within the post holder's grading

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

You will need to evidence:

• Educated to A Level standard, or equivalent level 3 qualification such as a Level 3 NVQ, or level 3 national diploma or relevant facilities work experience evidencing the skills and ability to undertake the role.
• Minimum of GCSE grade C or 4 in Mathematics and English at GCSE or equivalent level 2 qualification or relevant work experience evidencing numeracy and literacy.
• UKCC Level 3 coaching award (or equivalent).
• Due to the nature of the work undertaken in this role all successful applicants will be subject to a satisfactory DBS clearance before appointment.
• An in-depth understanding of coaching styles and practical delivery.
• Knowledge of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010, and how to actively ensure in day-to-day activity in own area that those with protected characteristics are treated equally and fairly.
• Knowledge of the sport's organisation at national & regional levels in the UK.
• Two years' experience of working in a sports development or similar environment either in voluntary or paid basis.
• Understanding of BUCS rules and regulations.
• Experience of financial / budgetary responsibilities.
• Effective problem solving and decision-making skills.
• IT skills including competence in the use Microsoft Word and Excel.
• Positive attitude towards CPD.
• Experience of successfully leading others, preferably in both direct supervision of other paid employees and of volunteers.

Dimensions

You may directly manage others in this role but, even if you do not, you will still be expected to act as a role model and coach members of the team. You will not normally manage a budget in this role.

Planning and organising

You will be required to manage and prioritise a varied and complex workload to deliver within required time frames, and make a substantial