We're interested in your motivation, but also in your mindset; how you approach complexity, pace, and change that doesn't always follow a plan.

• Tell us about a time you helped hold people or partners to account in a way that built trust rather than eroded it.
This could be from work, volunteering, or anywhere you've had to navigate power, tension, or different agendas with care.
• How do you recognise when systems change is happening, and when it isn't?
We don't need a textbook answer. We want to hear how you spot movement (or drift), and what you pay attention to when trying to shift something deeper than outputs., Please note we're not responsible for the content of job ads, as they're posted by the recruiter. We'll aim to resolve the reported issue and we'll use your feedback to improve the quality of our ads.

You don't need to tick every box; if you care about making a difference, we want to hear from you. We're looking for two Place Leads to help drive our work in Stoke-on-Trent and East Staffordshire. Each role will be rooted in its local area, but both will work across the whole county, helping us build more connected, inclusive systems that support people to be active in ways that matter to them. This work is part of a wider investment from Sport England, focused on changing how systems support people to be active. That means shaping how physical activity is understood, prioritised, and embedded, not just in programmes, but in policies, partnerships, and everyday decisions. That includes health, local government, community development, and beyond. You'll work with partners, communities, and decision-makers to make sense of what's already happening, spot where things are stuck, and help shift both the culture and the practice. The work will be messy, layered, and relational. Some days will be about strategy. Others will be about trust. You'll be part of a small, committed team working across policy, systems, community insight and practice. And you'll be trusted to bring your own judgement, experience, and clarity to the role. If you're someone who can see the potential in people and systems, even when they're tired or fragmented, we'd love to hear from you. Role Outcomes:
• Improve wellbeing outcomes for families as part of place expansion work
• Connected, vibrant, proactive system of partners working in core priority places
• Grassroots, community organisations in our priority places are part of decision making
• Robust learning and evaluation framework in place the can effectively demonstrate the our impact across systems and directly for people living in place
• The people who need to understand and demonstrate system leadership do
• Coordinated, coherent approach has been developed to place based working in areas of focus.
What does this mean day to day?
• You'll spend time listening to what's emerging in communities, building trust with partners, and making sense of how insight, decisions, and action travel across the system.
• You'll support our governance groups, coordinating agendas, shaping recommendations, and helping hold people gently but clearly to account for the things they've committed to.
• You'll track where energy is building, where its leaking, and where attention needs to shift. That means spotting patterns, asking difficult questions, and making sure conversations lead to decisions, and decisions lead to change.
• You'll need to hold contradictions without forcing resolution: where different truths exist at once, where progress creates new tensions, and where outcomes are unclear. Critical thinking is key; this role is as much about reflection and challenge as it is about delivery.
• Some days you'll be co-designing a development session. Other days, you'll be reflecting on what's working, what's drifting, and how we bring things back into focus. You'll be supported by a small team who care about doing this work well, with clarity, kindness, and a shared sense of purpose.
  
  Generous annual leave allowance: 27.5 days upon commencement of employment plus bank holidays. This rises by an additional 1 day of leave per year after 2 years of continuous employment, up to an additional 5 days leave in total. (Pro rata for part time staff)
• Three concessionary days leave over Christmas and New Year (pro rata for part time staff)
• Death in service scheme up to the value of three times actual salary
• Volunteer day to spend either as a team or individual helping out with an organisation or cause you select
• Up to 8% employer contribution to pension scheme
• Reimbursement of the cost of a standard eye test as a user of visual display equipment
• Health & Wellbeing Cashplan - including access to a virtual GP any day anytime, Discounts to gym memberships, Retail discounts such as cinema tickets and your weekly shop.
• Access to Cyclescheme
• Annual CPD courses offered by Staffordshire University
• Online skills training platform - for employees to use to broaden their professional and personal development across a range of online courses.
• Access to counselling service.