Facilities Development Manager

BACKGROUND

England Hockey’s mission is to “share the love of hockey and work together to make hockey more visible, relevant and accessible to all”.  The current focus for the organisation is delivery of its 5 objectives within the 2023-2028 strategic plan which can be found here.

England Hockey is the National Governing Body for the sport of Hockey in England and is responsible for the management and development of the sport from grass roots to elite activities. We:

• Have a membership comprising clubs (750+), counties (42), and Areas (8) that affiliate to it. Approximately 160,000 individuals play in the club system, with an estimated 20,000 playing at university/colleges. C.900,000 children play at school. More than 15,000 coaches, umpires and officials are supported / developed.  
• Have an income/expenditure of average £9m p.a. The Chief Executive is directly responsible for the operational budget but the Board, chaired by the Non-Executive Chair, approves the annual plan and budget.
• Employ 75 staff, and contract with approximately 50 part time consultants mostly in the performance and coaching area. Circa 50 volunteers work at national level to run the sport, with thousands more running the great bulk of grass roots hockey.
• Are currently the ‘nominated country’ on behalf of Great Britain Hockey to qualify and prepare the Great Britain squads for the Olympics. The England Hockey Chief Executive, Performance Director and Head Coaches represent Great Britain as well as England Hockey. There is a Great Britain President to chair the Great Britain board which meets three times a year.

Nature and Scope:

England Hockey’s facility work is critical and focuses on the need to protect, improve and develop hockey facility provision. An updated Facilities Strategy, alongside the development of a facility loan scheme, provides an exciting opportunity for the facilities team to collectively improve and increase hockey provision across the country. Working as part of the wider Development Department, the Facility Development Manager will be responsible for supporting the implementation of the England Hockey Facilities Strategy, helping to develop effective working relationships with clubs, Sport England, other NGBs, local authorities, education sites, and Industry partners, and demonstrating effective working practices to ensure appropriate resource is focused on the right projects / work areas at the right times. The role is predominantly home-based, with responsibility for managing a portfolio of projects/Playing Pitch Strategies within a set geographical area as required by England Hockey.  To carry out the role, applicants are required to hold a current, clean driving license, have access to their own vehicle, and be willing to undertake site visits.  Occasional visits to England Hockey Head Office in Bisham, Marlow are also required.

KEY TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Manage the day-to-day implementation of local facility plans, as per the EH Facilities Strategy.  Work with the Club Development Managers to select projects/sites for support/investment using data and insight where available to support wider business objectives (Youth Strategy, ED&I, Loan Scheme)
• Case manage identified projects on a live project list, in order to protect, improve or develop facilities used for hockey – this will include all aspects of facility development including planning, design, technical guidance, revenue generation and financial modelling
• As part of the facilities team, ensure effective hockey representation on all relevant Sport England facility planning and funding meetings and consultations
• Contribute to the delivery of EH Strategic outcomes (protect, improve, develop) within Local Authority areas in the production of the Playing Pitch Strategies
• Help to maximise investment into hockey facilities from external sources (s106, Grants, CIL etc)
• Support the production of EH’s technical facility guidance, and associated resources
• Support the set up and delivery of the EH Facilities Loan Scheme, as required
• Contribute to the development and delivery of a facilities education and support programme for clubs
• Develop and maintain strong working relationships, externally with key industry partners and NGB’s and internally with other colleagues, teams and departments
• Alongside the Facilities Team Manager, proactively work with external stakeholders across the sport construction industry to keep updated on changes and innovation covering all aspects of a build (design, construction and maintenance)
• At all times, act as an ambassador for, and promote the best interests of, EH.
• Undertake such other duties as may be required from time to time that are consistent with the responsibilities of the post and the needs of EH.