Junior Head Coach

Organisation: Loughborough Town Swimming Club Contract Type: Permanent Qualifications: Coaching Swimming: Swimming Coach Certificate or Level 2 Award Coaching Swimming: Assistant Swimming Coach Certificate or Level 1 Award Working Hours: Part time Location: Loughborough Salary: £16-£18 per hour dependent upon experience and qualifications Closing Date: 13th May 2024 23:59

Loughborough Town Swimming Club (LTSC) based in Leicestershire is looking for a Junior Head Coach.

Contract Location: Loughborough and swimming pools within the local area

Purpose

The Junior Head Coach will play a critical role in the leadership of Loughborough Town Swimming Club, working alongside the Senior Head Coach and the Committee, to achieve our collective aspiration to make the Club one of the best in the county and region for the diverse range of swimmers we serve.

Leading our junior section, you will be responsible for all aspects of coach development planning and delivery, supported by a team of paid and volunteer coaches as well as Young Volunteers. You will be responsible for team selection and attendance at junior galas as well as perform a range of administrative duties to ensure the smooth running of the junior section of the Club. A key function of the role will be to ensure close collaborative and supportive working with the Senior Head Coach, ensuring a ‘one club’ philosophy and approach.

Key Tasks :

• Jointly oversee, alongside the Senior Head Coach, the development and delivery of the swimming development pathway at the Club.
• Provide a clear and fair entry pathway into the club from Learn to Swim programs that are delivered locally and ensure a proactive approach to all trial swimmers wishing to join the Club.
• Lead the overall delivery of the Junior Section of the Club, including all junior swimmers and squads, coach scheduling, coach continuing professional development (CPD), session planning, swimmer performance monitoring and development planning, team selection for galas, etc
• Perform the Junior Head Coaching role, working with a range of sessional paid and volunteer coaches of all levels and experience to support the overall junior section of the Club.
• Select a programme of competitions and galas for our junior swimmers, including attending each of them; open galas, league galas, internal galas, county/regional/national championships and others as necessary.
• Jointly lead, alongside the Senior Head Coach, and support a regular coaching meeting of all paid and volunteer coaches.
• Mentor the coaching team, both paid and volunteers as well as Young Volunteers, that support the junior section of the Club.
• Work closely alongside the Senior Head Coach to oversee squad structures and management, swimmer movement and specifically, the transition arrangements when junior swimmers progress to the senior section of the Club.
• Work closely alongside the Senior Head Coach and Executive Committee to continue to ensure the club ethos is adhered to and to continue to embed the team spirit and family-friendly culture at Loughborough Town Swimming Club.
• Work closely alongside the Senior Head Coach and Executive Committee, further developing and maintaining the balance between supporting the development and potential of our many talented young swimmers and supporting our recreational swimmers to enjoy and foster a lifelong love of our sport within a competitive swimming environment.
• Work closely alongside the Senior Head Coach and Executive Committee to further grow and develop Loughborough Town Swimming Club in all aspects of its contribution to the local and regional swimming and broader sporting community.
• Active and supportive engagement with the Club Committee in all aspects of the role.
• Manage administration duties, with support from volunteer committee members, for the junior section of the Club through Swim Club Manager; including communicating with swimmers and parents, selecting swimmers for competitions and all other necessary administration duties. Along with complying with all General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and the Club’s privacy policy
• Ensure compliance with all Club policies and procedures as well as Swim England policies and procedures (i.e. Wavepower) and Code of Conduct at all times.
• Represent the Club as required, contributing to the wider county and regional swimming family alongside other clubs and associations.

This is not meant to be an exhaustive list of duties. The need for flexibility is required and the post holder is expected to carry out any other related duties that are within the employee's skills and abilities, whenever reasonably requested.

Relationships

Our new Junior Head Coach will report to a member of the Executive Committee. The successful candidate will be an integral and valued member of theLoughborough Town Swimming Club family and is likely to thrive through developing and maintaining close working relationships with the coaching and volunteer teams, specifically with the Senior Head Coach where a link between the juniors and senior squads is expected to be high quality, progressive and supportive of swimmer needs when making such an important transition. Other close relationships will be expected between the candidate and the committee and with the range of junior swimmers and parents where a friendly, welcoming and progressive culture is enabled where all swimmers can achieve their goals and aspirations in the development of their competitive swimming journey.

About You

Knowledge and Skills:

Excellent verbal and written communication skills for a range of purposes and to a range of people and groups

Able to build trusting and purposeful relationships with others; swimmers, parents, coaches, committee members and volunteers

Ability to develop and maintain a strong working relationship with the Senior Head Coach

Knowledge of the role and significance of volunteers in the delivery of club operations

Knowledge of databases and systems and the ability to use them for clear communications via Swim Club Manager (SCM) and data management and current GDPR

Knowledge of safeguarding and welfare policy, practice and procedure for both children and vulnerable adults and familiarity with the current Swim England WavePower document

Strong planning, administration and structural skills to ensure sound operational running of the junior section of the Club

Experience:

A minimum of 2 years experience coaching swimming

Experience teaching swimming to children and young people

Experience in working with children and young people

Qualifications:

Swim England Swimming Coach Certificate/ASA Level 2 Coaching Award, or Assistant Swimming Coach Certificate, working towards a Swimming Coach Certificate

Swim England Qualifications (SEQ) Level 2 Teaching Swimming Qualification or ASA Level 2 Award in Teaching Aquatics (QCF)

Evidence of CPD and continued learning in coaching children and young people and swimming.

Acceptable Enhanced DBS Certificate. There is a specific role requirement to have a Swim England DBS Certificate ahead of commencing the role.

GCSE Grade C or equivalent in Maths and English; or equivalent experience working at this level

Other

Full driving licence and access to a car to enable travel to the relevant swimming pools for training and galas

About LTSC

LTSC is a SwimMark-accredited competitive swimming club that has been an important part of the local sporting community for many years. The Club has seen significant membership growth in recent years and now has more than 200 swimmers from Juniors through to Masters, with swimmers competing at County, Regional and National Championships as well as being an active club in local leagues and open meets. Our junior section is home to around 90 swimmers from age 6 upwards and we manage and deliver a constant stream of new swimmers looking to join the club from other clubs as well as joining us as newcomers to the sport. Our home pool is Loughborough Leisure Centre but the Club uses numerous other local pools to support its training across both its junior, senior and masters sections.

LTSC prides itself on its welcoming, friendly and community culture which balances performance and participation for a diverse range of swimmers across the Club. We are seeking to continue our growth in alignment with our culture with a new Junior Head Coach who will thrive in a forward-thinking and progressive club, taking us to the next stage of our journey.

Please send a CV (no more than 2 sides of A4) and a covering letter (no more than 500 words) detailing how you meet the person specification, your motivation for the role as well as two references.

Please contact us if you would like any further details.

This vacancy may require the following qualifications:

• Coaching Swimming: Swimming Coach Certificate or Level 2 Award
• Coaching Swimming: Assistant Swimming Coach Certificate or Level 1 Award