Please download Recruitment Pack

About us

Active Sussex is the brand name of the Sussex County Sports Partnership Trust (SCSPT), the countywide organisation for sport and physical activity recognised by the national body Sport England.

It is one of 42 Active Partnerships across England with the role of supporting increased participation in sport and physical activity for all members of the community.

Encompassing the counties of East & West Sussex, as well as the City of Brighton & Hove, Active Sussex is a partnership of public, private and voluntary sector organisations who are collectively committed to increasing participation in sport and physical activity across the county, adding value by working together.

Taking an insight driven approach, Active Sussex strives to understand where the inequalities lie to inactivity and is agile in its approach in connecting with a range of partners, to improve sport and physical activity opportunities for our inactive communities, attract funding and investment into the county and to improve coordination, networking and collaboration across the sector in Sussex.

Understanding intersectionality is essential to combatting the interwoven inequalities seen within communities with regards to inactivity levels and to help deliver against Sport England new 10 year vision - Uniting the Movement. 

To get a feel for the range of work that the trust undertakes, please visit The Active Sussex YouTube channel.

About you and the role

Increased physical activity can have a transformational impact on people’s lives, especially for those that move the least. Achieving this requires us to be working at a system level with a wide and complex network of partners and stakeholders - from community engagement to strategic influence.

Our Trustees are ambassadors and influencers, and are committed to tackling inequalities and ensuring our system work prioritises removing barriers to participation.

With several trustee terms coming to an end, we are now looking for new people to join the Board and support the Trust on its journey to set a new ambitious and innovative strategy from 2023.

The Active Sussex Board are currently looking to appoint four Independent Trustees, including the role of Chairperson.

As a Trustee You will:

• Provide strategic leadership - setting strategic goals within the business plan and ensure that effective monitoring is in place to evaluate progress

• Contribute to effective board performance and management

• Be a visible role model for Active Sussex by promoting and champion the Trusts vision and work within their own sector and its networks

• Advocate for sport and physical activity in Sussex

• Ensure that the diverse range of partners, communities and demographics are represented in the decision making process, in line with the Sport England Good Governance Code

• Provide a two-way network of communication between partners within their own sector, its associated networks and Active Sussex

Details of the additional functions of the Chairperson, statutory duties expected of all Trustee and the person specification can be found in the Recruitment Pack.

Favourable skill-sets

To ensure the continued good governance of the organisation and to drive our strategic direction to tackle inequalities to physical activity we are particularly seeking skills in the following areas:

• Financial Management & Accounting

• Human Resources

• Engaging and listening to communities

• Active Environments (this relates to the places and spaces that can impact moving more)

We are actively seeking new voices and of those who have faced inequalities and barriers to being active in Sussex. Training and support can be provided to help you excel as a trustee, so please don’t be put off if you’ve never been a trustee before. We will work with applicants to make adjustments where needed to make it easier to become and be a trustee, so please get in touch if you would like to talk this through.

Active Sussex aspires to have a diverse Board, and welcomes applications from people who are involved (or would like to be) in our networks, particularly those from ethnically diverse communities, people living with a long term health condition and/or disability and self-identifying women. Given less than 3% of charity trustees are under 30 and as such are missing young people’s perspectives, we encourage young people (over 18) to apply to increase representation of this age group on our board. 

Read more about our commitment to the principles of equality of opportunity and how we actively champion diversity through our own work and with our partners.

You'll benefit from:

• Contributing to an organisation who is driving physical activity transformation in Sussex, to make an impact on the lives and wellbeing of people from across Sussex. Being a trustee is one of the most powerful ways in which you can contribute to helping to get your local community moving more.

• Strategic experience

• Professional networks

• Developing skills and experience

• Team working

Next steps

All you need to do is read the information provided in the recruitment pack and start the process of applying by clicking on the yellow button on the top right.

You’ll answer some questions that are related to your skills relevant to this trustee position. After the advert closes, your answers will go through our sift process: all answers will be anonymised, randomised and then reviewed by a panel of reviewers.

If you are shortlisted, we’ll invite you to interview on Monday 20 June 2022.

If you are interested in finding out more about the Trust and speaking to some of the current trustees before you apply, then please join us for an informal Q&A session on Tuesday 3 May 5.30-6.30pm. Book your place or request a call here.