Sports administrator job profile

To be a sports administrator you'll typically need to demonstrate your interest in sports, either by joining a sports club, carrying out related voluntary work or getting involved in university activities and societies

As a sports administrator, you'll help to ensure the smooth running of a sports organisation, which may range from reception work at a local sports club to marketing or human resources at a major sports club. There are also opportunities in sports funding bodies and local authority sports development.

You will have a similar range of responsibilities to administrators in other fields but you'll typically focus on organising events and running sports facilities. Additional duties are likely to include promoting the services your club offers, responding to queries from users, fundraising, and possibly working with budgets and dealing with supply chain management. You'll often find opportunities to take on higher levels of responsibility fairly quickly.

Sport has gained in political and social significance, with growing public awareness of its contribution to personal health, community development and the national economy. As a result, there is increasing demand for higher quality and more diverse provision, and staff are expected to possess a range of personal skills and attributes.

Responsibilities

Your responsibilities will depend on the level of your post and the employing organisation, ranging from routine administration to managing complex projects, budgets and resources. The work frequently addresses regional, national, political and ethical agendas.

Specific responsibilities vary considerably but you could be expected to:

carry out administrative duties, using systems and processes relevant to the organisation
respond to enquiries and requests for information from other organisations and members of the public
ensure administrative systems, processes and databases are efficient and well managed
provide administrative support to managerial staff and heads of organisations
organise meetings, training, coaching, festivals, conferences and other events
promote sport in schools
work with students or young people
liaise with local sports councils, regional committees and national governing bodies
consult with clients, members, the community and local sporting organisations
advise sports clubs on areas such as organisation, funding, promotion and regulations
manage budgets, control finance allocated for community activities and sometimes coordinate or raise sponsorship
undertake or commission research and collate, map and monitor data
produce promotional literature, reports and event materials and liaise with marketing and media organisations
make presentations to grant-making bodies and/or relevant authorities
manage, supervise and train staff, and sometimes run an office
support colleagues to encourage and develop sport in the local, regional, national or international community
serve on regional and national government think tanks and task groups
participate in the resolution of political and ethical issues, such as conflicts of interest between partner organisations, use of banned substances and breaches of regulations.

Salary

Typical starting salaries for administration positions in the sports industry can vary and range from £17,000 to £22,000.
Salaries may increase to £24,000+ with experience and increased responsibility.
At director level or as senior manager of a large sports facility, your salary could increase to over £45,000.

Pay can vary widely depending on the size and type of employer, your level of responsibility, the popularity of the sport you work in and its ability to generate money and/or attract government and lottery funding. For example, you may find that pay is higher within one of the five major UK sports (football, rugby, tennis, cricket and athletics) as they can generate substantial income from sponsorship and televised events.

Salary may also be affected by the sport's status in recognised international competitions, such as Commonwealth Games, World Cup, or Olympics. Public authority roles are usually paid according to a structured pay scale.

Income figures are intended as a guide only.

Working hours

Working hours will depend on the type of role you're in. For example, if you carry out office-based administration you may work regular hours of around 9am to 5pm. If however, you work within the reception area of a sports club or on events and tournaments, your hours will be determined by the opening hours of the club and the times of events which you may need to attend.

In these instances you may work a shift pattern and it's also likely that you'll be expected to work unsocial hours including evenings and weekends.

Part-time hours are usually available depending on the type of role you're working in. Self-employment and freelance work are not as common, although some senior sports administrators may act as consultants to event organisers.

What to expect

Some jobs are restricted to specific locations related to the offices of sports' governing bodies, but these increasingly have regional satellite offices.
Many parts of the sector are highly commercialised, so a level of business awareness and a professional approach are expected when dealing with the public and other contacts.
Dress code, ranging from sportswear to business dress, depends on the nature of your role and your employer.
Travel within a working day is frequently required, for example, to visit clubs, sports development officers, accountants, sponsors, educational institutions, event organisers and media organisations. Overnight absence from home may sometimes be necessary.
Opportunities for international travel vary between roles and employers. Sports administrators working for national or international bodies or clubs are more likely to travel than those based in smaller local organisations.

Qualifications

Although this area is open to graduates from all degrees, HNDs and foundation degrees, the following subjects may increase your chances of finding employment:

business, management or marketing
education or physical education
health management or health promotion
leisure studies or recreation management
sports science, sports management or sports development.

If you have an HND or foundation degree you may need to demonstrate high-level skills and motivation in order to compete with honours degree graduates.

Entry without a degree, HND or foundation degree is sometimes possible, dependent on relevant experience and vocational or sports-specific qualifications. It may be possible to start in an entry-level administration post and then work your way up to higher levels of responsibility as you gain experience.

A pre-entry postgraduate qualification is not needed, although students who have not studied business or management modules could increase their chances with a postgraduate or professional qualification in this field. Search for postgraduate courses in business. You should look at the particular role within sports administration you'd like and investigate whether a postgraduate qualification would be beneficial.

Competition can be intense, so making contacts and networking from an early stage is essential. Be prepared to gain experience through voluntary work and relevant university activities, and consider writing speculatively to employers.

Skills

The skills you'll require depends on the nature of your employer. For example, in a national sports club there will be an emphasis on commercial awareness, marketing and promotion, while in the public sector there will be added responsibilities related to funding and policy.

In general, however, you'll need to demonstrate:

a strong interest in sport and an awareness of the issues affecting the sports sector
good IT and administrative skills and a high level of attention to detail
commercial awareness and a professional approach
a high degree of self-motivation and a drive for change and improvement
an enthusiastic personality and resilience to deal with uncertainty
the ability to build and maintain effective relationships and to communicate well with a variety of people
good planning, organising and time management skills
the ability to work well in a team, in a dynamic and customer-focused environment
the ability to project a positive image of sport to people at all levels.

Knowledge of the locality where the job is based can also be useful.

Work experience

Pre-entry administrative experience is essential and may compensate for lack of formal qualifications. This can be from any sector and may be built up through part-time or vacation work. Recruitment agencies often advertise administration posts.

Sporting ability is not a pre-requisite but evidence of an interest in sport, such as being a member of a sports club or having a sports leader award or coaching badges, may be advantageous.

Having experience within specific job areas such as media, events organisation, IT, marketing or human resources, can significantly improve chances of career progression and a higher salary.

Find out more about the different kinds of work experience and internships that are available.

Employers

Sport is a growth sector - lottery funding and government initiatives for the development of sport in the UK have led to an increase in employment opportunities in many sports associations and governing bodies at local, regional and national levels.

Sports administration roles can be found in a variety of settings such as:

professional or amateur sports clubs (which vary hugely in size)
bodies responsible for the governing of a particular sport (such as the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) or the Football Association (FA))
local leisure clubs or health spas
school and university sports facilities.

Sport is increasingly a government policy priority for reducing obesity and promoting healthy lifestyles meaning you'll also find opportunities in central government and local authorities. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is the government department responsible for encouraging wider participation in sport, and there are many other bodies, including the National Lottery, that support much of the sporting activity in the UK today. There are five government-funded sports councils:

These sports councils distribute lottery funding and employ sports administrators and researchers.

Sport is becoming increasingly used as a means of community development and social inclusion, and there may be opportunities to move into a career in the charitable or community sector. In this case, experience such as working with minority ethnic communities, people with disabilities or young people will be valuable.

There may also be opportunities in international development organisations or non-governmental organisations providing voluntary projects overseas, such as sports coaching.

International opportunities exist for representing sports clients, and in branding, sponsorship, sales or consumer products licensing.

Look for job vacancies at:

You could also try websites of sports governing and organising bodies and of local authorities.

Professional development

A highly skilled, well-qualified and innovative workforce is essential to ensure the UK's sport and recreation sector remains successful at home and abroad. In light of this, some of the larger organisations have developed graduate training schemes to help ensure entrants are starting out with the correct levels of skills and knowledge.

Much of the training tends to be on the job and varies according to the role. Some sports administrators attend IT training and workshops on relevant legislation, or courses to develop professional skills and organisational abilities such as chairing meetings, influencing and negotiating, events management and time management.

CIMSPA has details of seminars, courses and conferences. A variety of courses exist to cover specific areas of sports administration. For those involved in club management, the Club Managers Association of Europe (CMAE) offers online courses and a management development programme.

Courses to enhance effectiveness and aid future career development include part-time options, which can be carried out while working, such as National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) or programmes in finance or marketing. Postgraduate or professional courses in management or business administration are another option.

Mentoring is evolving in some governing bodies and can be an excellent tool for personal and career development.

Visits to relevant organisations and attendance at conferences are also excellent ways of developing knowledge and useful contacts.

Career prospects

Opportunities for promotion depend on the size and nature of your employing organisation. If you start at a support or secretarial level, there may be opportunities to progress to a higher-level sports administrator role, then potentially to a managerial position. This route is more likely in a smaller organisation. You could become a manager of a team, a development officer or manager, or even managing director.

To achieve promotion at a higher level, such as to the role of chief executive, it may be necessary to move to another organisation.

As you build up experience, you may specialise in a certain sport and progress through relevant sporting organisations or you may specialise in a certain area of administration such as sports marketing or funding.

You may find career development opportunities through voluntary work or your own leisure time activities, where you can develop additional relevant skills and gain necessary practical experience.

Working as a sports administrator enables you to gain good all-round knowledge about the sector and related fields and to build solid contacts. Some people use their experience as an entry point for future careers in other aspects of sport or related areas, such as corporate sponsorship, media planning or health promotion.

Sports administrator