About Us

Continuum is a successful, market leading sport and leisure consultancy company. We provide a wide range of services to all areas of the sport and leisure industry. Our vision is to maximise the social, physical and economic impact of sport and physical activity by strengthening the sector and levering in additional investment. To do this, we are driven, agile, collaborative, inclusive, positive and we always work with integrity.

Established in 2001, we have continued to go from strength to strength. Our work is nationally recognised, and we have achieved Sport England Framework Partners status for Grants Management, Strategic Outcomes Planning and Leisure Service Delivery and Needs Assessment (Active Environments). Our service offer includes:

o High quality programme management services and support for the delivery of national programmes.
o Content development.
o Stakeholder engagement.
o Strategic planning linked to increasing levels of participation in physical activity and sport, playing pitches, indoor and outdoor sports facilities.
o Feasibility studies, options appraisals and supporting the development of planning applications.
o Securing and assessing grant funding.
o Gathering insight and evaluating the impact of projects, programmes and investments.
o Interim management.

We have a diverse and ever-expanding Client base from within the public, private and not for profit sectors including; Sport England, National Governing Bodies of sport, Local Authorities, Active Partnerships, national and local charities, leisure operators, educational organisations, sports clubs and groups, and developers.

We are passionate about helping organisations achieve real, lasting results across the sport and leisure sector.
 
About the Job

Description: Research Consultant

Job Purpose: To support stakeholder consultation and client engagement, project and programme administration, content creation, research and data collection, evaluation, funding applications, marketing and website development.

Reports to: Consultant / Senior Consultant.

Holidays: 29 Days PA inclusive of statutory Bank Holidays.

Job Duties

Research, content production and evaluation:
o Support primary research and data collection via surveys, stakeholder interviews, discussion groups and events.
o Undertake desk-based research using a variety of secondary data sources.
o Prepare maps using postcode and census data.
o Collate and support the analysis of data to evaluate programmes and project outcomes.
o Support the production of written content, infographics, reports, numerical analysis and case studies.
o Create content for and support the management of website content, social media channels and online forums.
o Prepare and support the delivery of presentations.
o Support the production of tenders.

Support stakeholder and client engagement:
o Organise online, in-person meetings and stakeholder events.
o Support the production and distribution of communications to stakeholders and clients.
o Develop and maintain positive relationships with clients and stakeholders.
o Undertake site visits.

Project and programme administration and coordination:
o Coordinate information.
o Produce and circulate minutes and action logs.
o Monitor inboxes and online forums.
o Create and maintain clear and transparent record keeping systems.
o Respond to enquiries.
o Organise site visits.
o Provide support to the wider team.

Person Specification

Qualifications:
o A minimum of Grade C in GCSE English and Maths or equivalent (essential).
o A minimum of degree or similar qualification in a subject area that complements our service offer (desirable).

Skills and Experience – Essential:
o Minimum of 6 months experience of working in a professional office environment.
o Excellent verbal communication skills with the ability to confidently and professionally communicate with people at all levels, conduct face to face and telephone consultations and liaise with organisations and members of the public.
o Excellent written communication skills with experience of preparing written analysis, reports, letters and other materials to the highest standards using plain English and referencing relevant evidence.
o Strong numeracy skills and experience of analysing numerical datasets.
o Proficient in the use of ICT and experienced in using Windows packages especially Word, Excel and Powerpoint. The successful candidate will be able to format Word documents and Powerpoint presentations, create and apply formulas in Excel, prepare Excel databases and will be experienced in using search engines to aid research.
o Experience of utilising primary and secondary research tools and techniques for the purposes of consultation and analysis. The successful candidate will have some experience of preparing and analysing questionnaires, conducting interviews and reviewing historic studies/data sets.

Skills and Experience – Desirable:
o Experience of working within the sport and leisure, marketing/communications, public, or third sector.
o Working knowledge of the wider value of sport and an understanding of the various sectors of the leisure industry.
o Experience in producing written content and/or other forms of content, promotional/marketing materials and wider communications, including social media and websites.
o Experience of record keeping and file management.
o Experience of supporting consultation efforts.

Personal Qualities – Essential:
o Passionate about sport and its ability to improve lives.
o Well organised and punctual.
o Analytical with good attention to detail.
o Personable.
o Confident communicator.
o Good telephone manner.
o Dynamic, friendly, team player with the ability to work individually.
o Hard working and calm under pressure.
o Loyal and eager to develop within the company.
o Able and willing to work overtime as and where required.
o Driver with clean driving licence and access to a car (desirable).

Inclusion:
We pride ourselves on being an open and welcoming organisation. We recognise the value of having a diverse and inclusive workforce. We would especially welcome applications from:
o People from Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups.
o Members of the LGBT+ community.
o Disabled people.
o People with lived experience of the power of sport and its ability to tackle inequalities and improve lives.

Please submit: o A CV outlining your experience, skills and training/qualifications. o A completed Application Form (please email to request). o A completed Equalities and Diversity Monitoring and Evaluation Form (please email to request). Please email recruit@continuumleisure.co.uk to request and return all completed forms by 17:00 on the 14th April 2023. Please note that any applications that do not contain a CV, application form and equalities and diversity monitoring form, cannot not be considered. All short-listed candidates will be required to undertake a written test and attend an interview in London between 27th April and 2nd May 2023.