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Sports development officers organise projects and training to encourage people to take part in sport and have a healthier lifestyle.
You could work: evenings / weekends; attending events or appointments
There will be
0.5% more Sports development officer jobs in 2027.
In your local area
In this role, you could:
You could work in an office, at a school, on a sports field, at a fitness centre or at a college.
Your working environment may be outdoors some of the time.
You can get into this job through:
You'll find it useful to have a foundation degree, higher national diploma or degree in a related subject like:sports development or management; sports coaching; sports science; leisure studies
It's important to get work experience in community sport during your studies as most employers expect this. Talk to your university careers service for help and advice on finding internship, year placement and volunteering opportunities.
You'll usually need:
You could take a course in college to give you some of the skills and knowledge to start out as a trainee in this role. Courses include:
You may need:
You can work towards this role by starting with an advanced apprenticeship as a community sport and health officer.
This typically takes around 16 months to complete as a mix of workplace learning and study with a college or training provider.
You can get useful experience by playing sports, volunteering as a coach, helping out on community and holiday sports schemes, or working with a local sports club.
This can help to build up your skills and confidence and may lead to getting professional coaching qualifications.
You can search for opportunities through:
You can apply directly for jobs if you've got some of the relevant skills and knowledge needed for this role, for example through coaching qualifications.
You'll need to:
There's a lot of competition for jobs, so getting work experience and making contacts through networking will give you more chance of finding work.
Having experience of playing or coaching a range of sports can also be useful.
You can find out more about careers in sport from The British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences.
UK Coaching has more on how to get coaching qualifications in any sport.
With experience you could become a sports development manager or a regional manager.
You may be able to move into policy development or work as a consultant on a freelance basis.
You can find out more about careers in sport from The British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences.
UK Coaching has more on how to get coaching qualifications in any sport.