Background  

Sport England is investing in local communities, specifically in those places where it is hardest to be active.  

 Physical activity is vital for our physical and mental health, from walking to work to playing sports with friends.  

 But not all of us have the same opportunities to be active. 

 When children don’t have safe spaces to run and play, when adults are working long hours and constantly worrying about making ends meet, it makes it harder to be active and healthy. 

 Through placed-based working we can work deeply in a place, developing meaningful partnerships with communities and the organisations that support them – this is why we are calling the work ‘Place Partnerships’. With these partnerships in place, we can better co-design opportunities which make it easier for residents to be active when they step out of their homes.

To achieve this, we need to:  

• work together, from community members to voluntary organisations to local government.  

• build networks and develop relationships in place  

• break down the barriers that get in the way of being active.  

• strengthen communities in a way that is reflective of their unique needs, relationships and geography.  

 We are looking to build extra capacity to support the work in several places and consequently are looking to recruit for a number of roles.  

 Find out more  

 Just watch this film to find out more about the ethos and learning behind creating change in places.  

 Values and behaviours are critical to this work.  The values, mindsets and behaviours listed below have been pulled together from learning from place-based work in other areas of the country. We are looking for people who work this way.  

• Curious and reflective  

• Open and honest (integrity)   

• Humble and approachable   

• Enthusiastic & passionate (caring to make a difference)   

• Courageous and disruptive (willing to do things differently and challenge status quo)  

• Comfortable with uncertainty and complexity, with a positive approach to risk/failure  

• Values driven and outcomes focused (purpose over process)  

• Flexible, agile and responsive    

• Resilience and perseverance   

• Collaborative, inclusive, engaging & empowering (involving people in finding solutions)  

• Empathetic (takes time to understand lived experience)  

• Genuine commitment to tackling inactivity, inequalities & discriminatory practices  

• Non-hierarchical (leadership at all levels)  

 Place Partnership work in Ashfield 

Ashfield, and the community of Leamington, is one of the places that has been identified to be part of a bigger programme of work, funded by Sport England. This exciting new role will enable people living in the Leamington area of Sutton in Ashfield to be more active and lead healthier lives.     

Ashfield has a strong industrial background, with some amazing people living and working there. But for a while now some people living in certain parts of the district have been finding it hard to be active and lead a healthy lifestyle, and we want to collectively do something about this.  By working deeply in the community of Leamington, in close partnership with a range of organisations, we want to identify the barriers and co-design opportunities that make it easier to be active where they live, helping to improve health and wellbeing.    

This role will be employed by Active Partners Trust (the employing body for Active Notts), hosted and based within the Mid Notts Place Based partnership at the Ashfield Health Village in Kirby with support and guidance from key partners; Ashfield District Council, Nottinghamshire County Council Communities Team, Public Health and Ashfield Voluntary Action.  

Ashfield Place Partnership Lead  

This role will lead the Place Partnership work in Ashfield. Working with the Leamington community and building collaboration across a range of partner organisations, the focus will be on understanding the needs of the community and what it will take to break down the barriers that get in the way of being active.   

Ashfield Place Partnership Lead will have the following areas of responsibility: 

 Overall 

• Building on work to date, co-ordinate, manage and drive this first stage of Place Partnership work in Ashfield (for the Leamington area).  

 Understanding and insight - informed by the community   

• Identify and provide the necessary support to individuals and community organisations (building on the insight and understanding that already exists) to ensure the capture of local intelligence and insight from residents in creative, empathetic and structured ways.  

• Ensure lived experience and resident voice is understood and acted on by partners at various levels of the system, including through the Ashfield Be Healthy Be Happy management group and the Mid Notts PBP Health inequalities subgroup.   

•  Develop a clear understanding of the assets and strengths that could enable physical activity amongst partners across the whole community, health and wellbeing system. 

 Grow Collaboration 

• Working with colleagues and place-based partners, agree a set of principles for how we will work together. 

•  Build collaboration and shared purpose amongst partners to support the Place Partnership work. 

•  Engage with and build effective working relationships with all parts of the wider physical activity, health and wellbeing and wider system. To include: - Ashfield District Council (Health and Communities, Housing, Parks, Planning, Community Safety) Nottinghamshire County Council (Adult Social Care, Communities team, Children and Young People's services, Public Health, Education), Ashfield Voluntary Action, local Community and Voluntary Sector organisations, Everyone Active, Primary Care Network and Integrated Care Board (ICB).  

 Leadership and workforce development 

• Working with key partners, co-design a Workforce Development plan that complements the Sport England Leadership programme and supports the workforce within local communities. 

 Learning and Evaluation  

• Understand and implement the local evaluation and learning from the work, with support from the Evaluation and Learning Lead. This is not limited to but will include:  

• Developing a local Theory of Change  

• Working with partners to undertake a self-assessment of system maturity.  

• Provide the capacity needed to support the Moving Communities platform.  

•  Create spaces to facilitate connections between the partners and community and develop safe spaces and environments for learning.  

•  Share insight, knowledge and learning with colleagues and partners in Ashfield, within APT and Sport England to grow a collective understanding, narrative and strengthen the future place partnership approach.  

  Preparing for the future   

• Work with colleagues to prepare and submit a bid to Sport England for the full award. Ensure this is based on a good understanding of the lived experience of communities and the systemic barriers to physical activity that exists.  

•  Work with local system partners to identify where additional local funding and resources can be sourced to help develop the work further now and in the future.  

•  Identity and bring into the work new partners who may be able to support residents living in Leamington to be more active.  

 Governance and management 

• Convene and co-ordinate the Leadership Group to oversee the work. 

• Manage a small budget to enable community engagement events/activities.  

• Ensure a commitment to Safeguarding and Equity and Diversity through all work internally and externally.  

We are looking for someone to join us who: 

• Is committed to reducing inequalities, recognising some communities need more support, and has an understanding of the role physical activity can play in this.  

• Is passionate about working in Leamington and recognises the importance of understanding its residents’ needs. 

• Understands the relationship between physical activity and health. 

• Has strong leadership skills, including the ability to work in complexity, adapt as necessary and inspire distributed leadership. 

• Can build strong collaboration across the Leamington community and the wider district of Ashfield, through developing shared purpose and trusted relationships.  

• Is able to apply principles of co-production in enabling change. 

• Understands the importance of values and behaviours in creating the culture and environment for place-based working. 

• Is self-reflective, self-aware and adapts own behaviours. 

• Has strong interpersonal skills and understands the value of being humble 

• Is an excellent communicator – writing, speaking and presenting to a variety of audiences. A good listener – inquisitive and curious. 

• Is able to use a range of IT platforms and equipment. 

• Understands the value of learning and evaluation and is able to embed this within place-based work in Leamington and the wider district of Ashfield. 

• Is analytical and able to interpret and understand data and insight and use it to inform the work. 

• Is motivated and able to plan, organise and prioritise own workload to meet deadlines. 

• Can travel to meetings in and around Ashfield and to an office base in Ashfield Health Village in Kirby. 

  For more details of the vacancies and terms and conditions visit Place Partnerships recruitment - Making Our Move