entertaining your community
Introduction
Sport and fitness have become central to so many people’s lives. And they are becoming more popular by the day. Most towns boast a sports or leisure centre, run by the council. These range from small centres offering gym facilities to large complexes encompassing everything from a swimming pool to an ice rink and offering the latest in fitness classes.
As a sports facility manager, you are responsible not only for making sure that everything runs like clockwork; you also make sure that you provide what the public want, structuring and developing new services - and ensuring that your customers know all about them.
Work Environment
The sports facility manager is based at the centre they manage, in clean, warm surroundings.
If you are responsible for managing a number of centres, you will most likely need a valid driving licence, since you will be travelling to and fro to check everything is working well and to sort out any hitches.
You are likely to work in comfortable, sporty clothes and may even wear a ‘uniform’ similar to your staff - a sweatshirt or tracksuit and trainers for instance.
Although your staff will probably work shifts, you are more likely to work normal daytime council hours - 37 per week.
Daily Activities
Your day begins with a check over what has happened while you have been away - talking to the staff to see whether anything needs sorting out and touring the facility to see that everything is clean, welcoming and in working order. You pick up any problems and make sure that action is taken on them, either by you or by your staff.
Once back in your office, you plan the day ahead. You are likely to have a number of duty managers and possibly a catering manager who report to you, so you will have programmed in regular chats with them to assess progress, sort out problems and plan priorities.
You will be thinking about and developing new services, discussing them with the appropriate staff and recruiting new ones where necessary.
It is also your job to make sure that the routine administrative tasks are kept up to date - such as filling in accident report forms and processing invoices for payment, monitoring the week’s takings and plotting staffing costs against financial targets.
Your role may also encompass setting budgets and devising marketing strategies - deciding on the group of people you want to attract and working out how to reach them. You make sure that the public knows what is going on and you will probably liaise with a representative in the council’s leisure services department and work with your staff to plan and run special events.
Through the day you chat to customers, listening to their opinions - on quality of service, staffing levels and facilities - and making sure they are happy with the way things are run. You also monitor what is on offer at your centre and make sure that it is delivering a top quality service to the community.
Skills & Interests
You need:
- good organisational skills - in managing both your own time and the running of the facility
- leadership and management skills - with ability to motivate staff and ensure they feel valued
- an interest in people - making customers feel welcome
- attention to detail - the facility needs to be clean and safe for the public to use
- a good understanding of figures, dealing with budgets and financial forecasts.
Entry Requirements
Most sports facility managers have a sport and leisure-related qualification, although there is no set route of entry. There are plenty of courses at all levels that could start you on the sports facility management ladder, including:
- GNVQ/GSVQ in Leisure and Tourism
- NVQs/SVQs at levels 2 and 3 (some facilities offer Apprenticeships)
- BTEC/SQA National or Higher National awards in Leisure Studies and related subjects
- Degree courses in subjects such as Sport and Recreation Studies, Leisure Studies or Recreational Management.
A fitness qualification can be a useful addition, backing academic qualifications with practical experience. Once employed as a sports facility manager, you can study for the professional qualifications of the Institute of Leisure and Amenity Management (ILAM) or the Institute of Sport and Recreation Management (ISRM).
Estimated salary range
£19,101- £22,194
Please note that salary information is a guide only and there may be local agreements in place. For further information about salaries for particular positions, please contact your local council directly.
Future prospects & opportunities
There may be opportunities for promotion, either running a larger number of facilities or working on strategic management within the council offices.
There are also opportunities in sports facilities in the private sector.
Related Occupations
Follow this link to view a list of all related occuptions in Entertaining Your Community.
Alternatively, follow this link to view all career profiles placed in the same job area.
Further Information & Services
Institute of Leisure and Amenity Management www.ilam.co.uk
Institute of Sport and Recreation Management
www.isrm.co.uk
SkillsActive www.skillsactive.com
You may find further information about this area of work in your local Connexions service/careers office/school careers library - under MA.
What should I do next?
Look for current local government Sports Facility Manager vacancies in the following places:
- LGjobs.com - the official recruitment website for local government.
- Weekly, bi-weekly or monthly jobs bulletins produced by local councils themselves, available from libraries, community centres, town halls/main civic buildings and central council personnel departments.
- Local council websites.
- Local newspapers
- National newspapers - The Guardian is particularly well known for its public sector job advertisements on a Wednesday.
Find out about the council and get some work experience if possible by:
- Making the most of work experience placements arranged through your school, college or university.
- Contacting councils close to your home to find out about the work experience opportunities they offer.
- Talking to someone who does the job you are interested in - ring your local council to see if someone can spare some time.
- Making an appointment to see a careers adviser for more specific information about jobs and training.