About Active Partners Trust (APT) 

As one of 42 Active Partnerships (APs) across England, Active Partners Trust, working in Derbyshire and Notts, teams up with local councils, community groups, businesses, healthcare organisations, charities, schools and more to find out what's needed. That means asking questions, making suggestions, sharing our knowledge, finding the right partners, and spotting opportunities, all to make movement part of everyday life. Because when we all work together, we can better understand, reach, and support the people who need it most.

Making our Move – Uniting the Movement in Notts and Derbyshire is a plan that guides our and partners’ work towards our shared vision ‘Together we will address inequality and empower everyone to be active in a way that works for them’

Making Our Move sets out the need for a collective response based on an in-depth understanding of people and communities, that builds a consistent message and way of working, removes the barriers to participation, builds capacity from within and makes physical activity the norm for people who live and work in our communities. We need to see change at all levels and across many sectors.

To do this, we need the best team, with the right attitude, work ethic, behaviours and commitment to make this happen. You’ll need to be able to identify with our core values and behaviours that define us as an organisation – they are who we are and what we stand for. Our values: Make a Difference. Integrity. Collaborate. Inclusive. Passionate.

Derby Place Partnership Neighbourhood Lead

Purpose of the role

This role will be based in Derby initially but may change subject to the needs of the role.

This role has two main purposes:

Place - work in Derby, in communities and neighbourhoods experiencing the greatest inequalities. This is to facilitate an understanding of the people who live there, the organisations that work there, and how being active does or doesn't fit it. Then use this insight and learn to work with organisations and residents to develop new or support existing activities and behaviours to encourage people in these communities to move more. This will include working out how, with residents and community partners, national and local programmes can support the needs in the place.

Theme - support a key area of work across the whole organisation, working with colleagues and partners to agree approaches, plans and make new relationships. Examples of themed work areas include environment, health, Children & Young People inequalities and investment, etc. Neighbourhood Leads need to understand our communities and neighbourhoods, connect with people, and enable change. 

To find out more about the Derby Place Partnership work, click here Derby Place Partnership

Derby Place Partnership Neighbourhood Lead will have the following areas of responsibility:

Grow our understanding of people and communities:

• Build and maintain relationships with community and public sector organisations working in the places where people experiencing the greatest inequalities live and find and attend the relevant networks and groups to do this. Through these relationships, deepen our understanding about what supports or stops people who live in these communities and neighbourhood from moving more. Listen to their lived experience, motivations and barriers.

• Capture and share what you are seeing and hearing. This might be through regular internal reports, through conversations with your colleagues and with other organisations, locally, regionally, and nationally.

• Identify stories about people and communities' lived experience of everyday movement. Work with our marketing team to creatively capture and share this.

• Support community organisations and partners to understand and follow an insight-led approach that uses learning to make future decisions in their work.

Support and develop people and organisations:

• Identify and support the leaders within communities who can influence others to move more. Identify what support/training would help them to do more and help them access this. Share this insight with local partners to inform decision making and practice.

• Encourage and enable people and community organisations to be involved in designing opportunities and services that are right for them. Open doors for them to join in or share their insight and voice in the meetings you attend.

• Bring people and community organisations together to discuss how they could collaborate to encourage people in their neighbourhood to move more. Support them to work out what role they can play and what help they may need.

• Create opportunities for community organisations to share and evaluate their experiences and learn together. Support them to capture this to help improve and/or adapt their services and activities.

• Support the Geographic Lead working in your places to deliver the Sport England-funded place work and other ongoing work with partners in the districts. 

Target and align investment:

• Support new and existing community organisations to use their resources where insight shows the need is greatest.

• Support new and existing community organisations to apply for new funding (from Sport England and other funders) to meet the identified needs in our places, working alongside APT’s Funding Lead.

• Reduce duplication, help join up local health and physical activity work, and initiatives in communities experiencing the greatest inequalities. 

Organisational delivery:

• Provide vision, leadership and commitment in safeguarding,  equity and diversity matters, with internal and external colleagues and stakeholders. 

• Be accountable for the achievement of identified actions in the annual operational plan and regularly record change on APT systems. 

• Support the management of external contracts e.g. with external consultants, for programme delivery, adhering to organisational financial policies and procedures. 

• Provide vision, leadership and commitment in safeguarding, equity and diversity matters, with colleagues, community partners and stakeholders. 

We are looking for someone to join us who:

Essential

Demonstrates the ability to develop strong collaborative partnerships, unite stakeholders around a shared vision, apply co-production approaches, and drive positive change.

Understands the importance of values and behaviours in creating the culture and environment for place-based working, such as being self-reflective, self-aware and adapts own behaviours. 

Is an excellent communicator – engaging in meetings, writing, speaking and presenting to a variety of audiences. A good listener – inquisitive and curious and can use a range of IT platforms and equipment.

Has experience of community engagement, facilitation or workforce development.

Has proved project management and coordination skills.

Desirable

Has experience of working in Derby and understands the needs of its residents. 

Understands the relationship between physical activity and health. 

Understands the value of learning and evaluation and can embed this within place-based work, across a number of communities and partners within a specific footprint.

Is able to travel to meetings in and around the East Midlands.

Understands ways to reduce inequalities, recognising some communities need more support, and understands the role physical activity can play in this.

Voluntary/community or public sector experience.

Can effectively facilitate group-based conversations so that everyone has a voice.

Is analytical and able to interpret and understand data and insight from a range of sources and use it to inform the work.

Please note that these are the skills we want you to tell us about in your application as we’ll be assessing candidates against them.

Your main place of work will be Derby City Council offices, with some travel required across the East Midlands to work with local partners and for team meetings, and with flexibility to work at home on occasion.  

If you’re passionate about addressing inequalities and physical activity, we welcome your application. We encourage people to join our organisation from all walks of life; you don’t need experience in the sport and physical activity sector to work for us. Disabled people and those from ethnically or culturally diverse communities are underrepresented in our workforce and are particularly encouraged to apply.

Please note that we will not be able to apply for a certificate of sponsorship for this role. Proof of Right to Work in the UK is essential and will be requested during the application process.

If you want to find out more about the role to help you decide whether to apply, you are welcome to email Daisy Giuliano at recruitment@activepartnerstrust.org.uk.

How to Apply

Complete the anonymised work-related questions by Sunday 25th October 2026 11:59pm. 

Submit your CV whilst completing your application – please note your personal details will remain anonymous whilst shortlisting decisions are made. 

Stage 1 interviews (online): Thursday 5th November 2026 (for 30 mins). 

Stage 2 interviews (in person): Monday 9th November 2026 in Derby.

This post is funded by Sport England Lottery Funding.