Organisation
Lawn Tennis Association
Location
The National Tennis Centre Roehampton, SW15 5JQ
Salary Range
N/A
Contract Type
Full Time
Closing Date
30 April 2023
Job Description
The LTA’s vision is “Tennis Opened Up” and its mission is to make tennis Relevant, Accessible, Welcoming and Enjoyable for all.
The LTA Competitions team sits within the Participation Directorate and works with teams from across the organisation and external partners to deliver a calendar of international, national, regional, county and recreational competitions, in order to grow the number of adults and juniors competing across GB. The team support and service competition at every level of the competitive structure, including the attraction, retention and development of a competition workforce (Officials and Organisers) and develop the competition structure to help grow and sustain participation. The team has responsibility for co-ordinating a calendar of disability competitions and managing the GB Representative Teams for Visual Impaired (VI), Learning Disability (LD) and Deaf tennis.
The primary aim of the role will be to develop a strategy to grow competition at all levels with a focus on the recreational end of the game, providing leadership for this key area of tennis within and outside the organisation, and excellent management of the competition team, ensuring a collaborative approach with the wider competition landscape.
Key Accountabilities
Strategy & Management
• To work with the Participation Director, Executive and Leadership Team colleagues to plan and develop a national recreational competition strategy for regional coordination and local delivery.
• To manage the Competitions Team and provide direction and support to the regionally based Competition Development Partners in the development, planning, and delivery of competition at a local level across GB.
• To work with the Heads of Regions and Competition Development Partners to set regional competition targets that are aligned to the national strategy and support competition growth.
• To manage the competition budget, including regular reporting with the Finance Team.
• To develop a yearly operational team plan, team objectives and line manage the team and direct reports, including carrying out regular reviews of progress against the competition strategy and plans.
Competition
• To develop and deliver competition products, based on insight, that will support more people playing tennis across the key delivery channels of clubs, parks, education and community.
• To develop and scale our plans for Junior Recreational Competition, including the delivery of the LTA Youth Competition.
• To develop plans to scale the number of adults taking part in park competition via Local Tennis Leagues in conjunction with the Regional Team and Parks Team.
• To oversee the successful planning and delivery of Team Competition including LTA National League, LTA Youth Schools and County Cup competition, working with and through key stakeholders including the organiser network, to ultimately achieve growth in the number of players taking part.
• To lead and manage competition support including the ITF World Tennis Number, LTA rankings and the Competition Management System including online entry, TTP, LP.
• To work closely with the Technology and Digital Transformation Teams to ensure the competition services for players, parents and the workforce are robust, reliable and developed to support improvement in the delivery of competition at all levels.
• To work with the Performance Team to develop the Performance Competition Calendar.
• To lead and manage the competitive framework from local to national level competition including sanctioning / grading, disability competition and the 10U competition framework.
• To lead and manage the Officiating team to develop and deliver plans to grow the competition workforce, including referees, umpires and competition organisers.
• To oversee the servicing of the Competition Discipline System and the production of the Competition Regulations, working with the Legal team.
• To lead and manage the disability competition programme for VI, Deaf, LD and Wheelchair players at a local, regional and national level and the GB disability performance activities for VI, Deaf and LD.
• To work with Seniors Tennis GB to develop and grow the provision of competition for ‘seniors’ ensuring alignment with the LTA and competitions team.
General
• To work cross functionally, particularly with the Participation Team, to ensure plans are joined up and delivered in a connected way at a national, regional, county and local level.
• To work with the Marketing & Communication teams to develop and implement communication and marketing plans to raise awareness of competitions in order to attract more participants.
• To work with the Commercial team in delivering the commercial strategy for competition, including the delivery of any contractual rights.
• To create, build and sustain effective working relationships and networks with key partners particularly others in similar roles in other sports, National Tennis Association and professional bodies, learning best practice to improve the delivery of competition.
• To work with the Property and Operations Teams on plans to ensure the provision of strategically important tennis competition venues.
• To be part of the LTA Leadership Team and to contribute and support the wider strategic plans for British Tennis.
Person Specification
Essential previous experience of:
• Excellent knowledge and understanding of the Sports Industry and Sports Development.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to liaise and communicate with people at all levels, across a variety of internal and external stakeholders.
• Willingness and conviction to clearly communicate own view and opinion on an issue / topic.
• The ability to lead and motivate team of people.
• Positive and hard-working attitude with a can-do mentality.
• Ability to work quickly and get things done in a pressurised environment.
• Strong organisational, time management and prioritisation skills, with evidence of developing and delivering plans to support objectives.
• The ability to think at a strategic level and develop strategic plans.
• The ability to make key decisions and be accountability for national projects.
• Ability to negotiate with key partners and contractors in a pressurised environment.
• The ability to develop, maintain, and strengthen partnerships with others inside or outside the organisation.
• Experience of setting expectations, leading and motivating a team to deliver to stretching targets.
• Experience of developing strategies and translating these into operational plans to ensure delivery against measures of success.
• Experience of managing and working with contractors and third-party partners.
• Experience of leading a cross functional team to deliver shared objectives and targets.
• Experience of managing multiple projects and working with a broad range of partners and stakeholders.
• Excellent personal presentation and communication skills to quickly establish credibility.
• Experience of setting and managing budgets
• Full UK Driving Licence
• Excellent IT skills (Word/ Excel/ PowerPoint/Outlook)
Person Specification
Desirable previous experience of:
Strong technical knowledge of Tennis Competition and Officiating
• Knowledge and understanding of officiating, rules and regulations.
• Excellent knowledge of (national) competition structure, bodies, rules and regulations and player scheduling.
• Experience of working in a similar role with a track record of achieving results.
• Excellent knowledge and understanding of project management methodologies and experience of managing multiple projects.
• Officiating or Event Management Qualification
• Degree in Sports Management or similar qualification
Our Benefits
What we can offer you
We are proud of the range of benefits we can provide:
• Retail discounts from brands including Adidas, Dunlop, Crew Clothing, AMC & many more
• 25 days of annual leave
• Enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption, and shared parental leave
• Free use of our Gym, Tennis & Padel courts and access to various sporting clubs upon joining
• Priority access to our colleague ticket offers for all LTA Major Events, including Wimbledon
• Eligible to participate in the LTA Annual Bonus Scheme, subject to meeting the set criteria in force at the time (depending on your role)
• You will be eligible to receive life assurance cover up to the value of three times your basic annual salary (more depending on your role)
• Private Healthcare cover
• An Employee Assistance Programme that offers anonymous and confidential, emotional, and practical support 24/7 for you and your immediate family
• Pension (up to 10% contribution from employer)
• Cycle-to-Work scheme, eye care vouchers and season ticket loans
• Free parking & bike racks at the National Tennis Centre, plus electric vehicle charging points
• Staff lockers and discount on all food purchased at our Deuce Café
• Social activities all year round which encourage you to get to know your fellow colleagues
Our Culture
The LTA, through its vision “Tennis Opened up”, is committed to creating a diverse environment where all colleagues feel included and a strong sense of belonging. We are proud to actively invite applications from all candidates who meet the essential criteria and can work in the UK. We commit that everyone will receive equal consideration for employment irrespective of your ethnicity, religion, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, age, any disability, marital or civil partnership status, and pregnancy or maternity status.
The LTA Tennis Foundation is a new tennis charity that partners with brilliant people and organisations to improve lives through tennis. It shares the LTA’s vision of ‘Tennis Opened Up’, and it wants to use our sport to make a real difference to people across the whole country. All LTA colleagues have the chance to get involved with the LTA TF, with some directly involved in delivering and leading its work.
To truly deliver our vision of “Tennis Opened up”, we believe it is critical that the LTA plays our part in contributing to a healthier and more sustainable society. We want to grow tennis in Britain, but do so in a responsible way, protecting and supporting the environment and working with everyone in the sport to tackle our climate impacts. We are committed to ensuring a lasting future for tennis in Britain, and our Environmental Sustainability Plan sets out how we will do this.
The LTA Competitions team sits within the Participation Directorate and works with teams from across the organisation and external partners to deliver a calendar of international, national, regional, county and recreational competitions, in order to grow the number of adults and juniors competing across GB. The team support and service competition at every level of the competitive structure, including the attraction, retention and development of a competition workforce (Officials and Organisers) and develop the competition structure to help grow and sustain participation. The team has responsibility for co-ordinating a calendar of disability competitions and managing the GB Representative Teams for Visual Impaired (VI), Learning Disability (LD) and Deaf tennis.
The primary aim of the role will be to develop a strategy to grow competition at all levels with a focus on the recreational end of the game, providing leadership for this key area of tennis within and outside the organisation, and excellent management of the competition team, ensuring a collaborative approach with the wider competition landscape.
Key Accountabilities
Strategy & Management
• To work with the Participation Director, Executive and Leadership Team colleagues to plan and develop a national recreational competition strategy for regional coordination and local delivery.
• To manage the Competitions Team and provide direction and support to the regionally based Competition Development Partners in the development, planning, and delivery of competition at a local level across GB.
• To work with the Heads of Regions and Competition Development Partners to set regional competition targets that are aligned to the national strategy and support competition growth.
• To manage the competition budget, including regular reporting with the Finance Team.
• To develop a yearly operational team plan, team objectives and line manage the team and direct reports, including carrying out regular reviews of progress against the competition strategy and plans.
Competition
• To develop and deliver competition products, based on insight, that will support more people playing tennis across the key delivery channels of clubs, parks, education and community.
• To develop and scale our plans for Junior Recreational Competition, including the delivery of the LTA Youth Competition.
• To develop plans to scale the number of adults taking part in park competition via Local Tennis Leagues in conjunction with the Regional Team and Parks Team.
• To oversee the successful planning and delivery of Team Competition including LTA National League, LTA Youth Schools and County Cup competition, working with and through key stakeholders including the organiser network, to ultimately achieve growth in the number of players taking part.
• To lead and manage competition support including the ITF World Tennis Number, LTA rankings and the Competition Management System including online entry, TTP, LP.
• To work closely with the Technology and Digital Transformation Teams to ensure the competition services for players, parents and the workforce are robust, reliable and developed to support improvement in the delivery of competition at all levels.
• To work with the Performance Team to develop the Performance Competition Calendar.
• To lead and manage the competitive framework from local to national level competition including sanctioning / grading, disability competition and the 10U competition framework.
• To lead and manage the Officiating team to develop and deliver plans to grow the competition workforce, including referees, umpires and competition organisers.
• To oversee the servicing of the Competition Discipline System and the production of the Competition Regulations, working with the Legal team.
• To lead and manage the disability competition programme for VI, Deaf, LD and Wheelchair players at a local, regional and national level and the GB disability performance activities for VI, Deaf and LD.
• To work with Seniors Tennis GB to develop and grow the provision of competition for ‘seniors’ ensuring alignment with the LTA and competitions team.
General
• To work cross functionally, particularly with the Participation Team, to ensure plans are joined up and delivered in a connected way at a national, regional, county and local level.
• To work with the Marketing & Communication teams to develop and implement communication and marketing plans to raise awareness of competitions in order to attract more participants.
• To work with the Commercial team in delivering the commercial strategy for competition, including the delivery of any contractual rights.
• To create, build and sustain effective working relationships and networks with key partners particularly others in similar roles in other sports, National Tennis Association and professional bodies, learning best practice to improve the delivery of competition.
• To work with the Property and Operations Teams on plans to ensure the provision of strategically important tennis competition venues.
• To be part of the LTA Leadership Team and to contribute and support the wider strategic plans for British Tennis.
Person Specification
Essential previous experience of:
• Excellent knowledge and understanding of the Sports Industry and Sports Development.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to liaise and communicate with people at all levels, across a variety of internal and external stakeholders.
• Willingness and conviction to clearly communicate own view and opinion on an issue / topic.
• The ability to lead and motivate team of people.
• Positive and hard-working attitude with a can-do mentality.
• Ability to work quickly and get things done in a pressurised environment.
• Strong organisational, time management and prioritisation skills, with evidence of developing and delivering plans to support objectives.
• The ability to think at a strategic level and develop strategic plans.
• The ability to make key decisions and be accountability for national projects.
• Ability to negotiate with key partners and contractors in a pressurised environment.
• The ability to develop, maintain, and strengthen partnerships with others inside or outside the organisation.
• Experience of setting expectations, leading and motivating a team to deliver to stretching targets.
• Experience of developing strategies and translating these into operational plans to ensure delivery against measures of success.
• Experience of managing and working with contractors and third-party partners.
• Experience of leading a cross functional team to deliver shared objectives and targets.
• Experience of managing multiple projects and working with a broad range of partners and stakeholders.
• Excellent personal presentation and communication skills to quickly establish credibility.
• Experience of setting and managing budgets
• Full UK Driving Licence
• Excellent IT skills (Word/ Excel/ PowerPoint/Outlook)
Person Specification
Desirable previous experience of:
Strong technical knowledge of Tennis Competition and Officiating
• Knowledge and understanding of officiating, rules and regulations.
• Excellent knowledge of (national) competition structure, bodies, rules and regulations and player scheduling.
• Experience of working in a similar role with a track record of achieving results.
• Excellent knowledge and understanding of project management methodologies and experience of managing multiple projects.
• Officiating or Event Management Qualification
• Degree in Sports Management or similar qualification
Our Benefits
What we can offer you
We are proud of the range of benefits we can provide:
• Retail discounts from brands including Adidas, Dunlop, Crew Clothing, AMC & many more
• 25 days of annual leave
• Enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption, and shared parental leave
• Free use of our Gym, Tennis & Padel courts and access to various sporting clubs upon joining
• Priority access to our colleague ticket offers for all LTA Major Events, including Wimbledon
• Eligible to participate in the LTA Annual Bonus Scheme, subject to meeting the set criteria in force at the time (depending on your role)
• You will be eligible to receive life assurance cover up to the value of three times your basic annual salary (more depending on your role)
• Private Healthcare cover
• An Employee Assistance Programme that offers anonymous and confidential, emotional, and practical support 24/7 for you and your immediate family
• Pension (up to 10% contribution from employer)
• Cycle-to-Work scheme, eye care vouchers and season ticket loans
• Free parking & bike racks at the National Tennis Centre, plus electric vehicle charging points
• Staff lockers and discount on all food purchased at our Deuce Café
• Social activities all year round which encourage you to get to know your fellow colleagues
Our Culture
The LTA, through its vision “Tennis Opened up”, is committed to creating a diverse environment where all colleagues feel included and a strong sense of belonging. We are proud to actively invite applications from all candidates who meet the essential criteria and can work in the UK. We commit that everyone will receive equal consideration for employment irrespective of your ethnicity, religion, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, age, any disability, marital or civil partnership status, and pregnancy or maternity status.
The LTA Tennis Foundation is a new tennis charity that partners with brilliant people and organisations to improve lives through tennis. It shares the LTA’s vision of ‘Tennis Opened Up’, and it wants to use our sport to make a real difference to people across the whole country. All LTA colleagues have the chance to get involved with the LTA TF, with some directly involved in delivering and leading its work.
To truly deliver our vision of “Tennis Opened up”, we believe it is critical that the LTA plays our part in contributing to a healthier and more sustainable society. We want to grow tennis in Britain, but do so in a responsible way, protecting and supporting the environment and working with everyone in the sport to tackle our climate impacts. We are committed to ensuring a lasting future for tennis in Britain, and our Environmental Sustainability Plan sets out how we will do this.
To Apply
https://ambition.lta.org.uk/vacancies/274/head-of-competition.html