Ever feel like your job hunt is like climbing a mountain and just goes on forever? If you work in the sporting or events sector, All About Sports Events is here to help!
If you've been made redundant or lost elements of your work flow over the last eight months you’re certainly not alone. Recently the International Labour Organisation published updated data through their Labour Force Survey on the current redundancy rates in the UK. Rates currently stand at 13.3 people per 1000 experiencing redundancy, the highest since records began in 1995.
Although this data doesn’t specifically identify the sectors that these redundancies have been made in, we don’t need the Office of National Statistics to tell us that the sporting, events and entertainment sector make up a large percentage of these redundancies.
That’s the bad news, the good news is with the vaccine programme kicking into action, there are more jobs and opportunities being advertised than we have seen since the start of the pandemic. Yes, it’s a competitive market out there at the moment, but knowing where to look for roles is one of the most important aspects of a job hunt, so we've given you a head start and done it for you. Get this right and give yourself the best possible chance of securing your next role in the sports and events industry.
This guide provides a comprehensive list of platforms and locations where jobs in the sports and events industry are posted.
Platforms
UK Sport Jobs
A wide range of roles are posted on the UK Sport platform, you can’t filter to role type but you can filter to the role region and sport that it's related too. Probably one of the most comprehensive job platforms for the UK sports industry, however it's worth being aware that a lot of unpaid internships and volunteering roles also get posted on here.
Global Sports Jobs
A really great job platform site that includes roles from the UK and internationally. Role types can be filtered removing irrelevant roles, helping to cut down scrolling time. Especially good for locating roles on international major events.
Careers in Sport
A long list of current roles in the sports industry, a pretty handy website that also includes a range of other resources and workshops that could help you with your job search.
Indeed
Not often a favourite of job seekers, but has its place in the sports industry and jobs market. We recommend using it as a platform to find roles and then apply directly rather than through Indeed.
Sports Career Agency
A helpful jobs board with sector news and application tips. Useful for those who are looking for work within professional sports teams.
The Guardian Jobs
Not specific to the sporting industry but does provide a gem every now and again, so it’s worth including in your job role search.
A one stop shop for jobs, connecting with people in the same sector as you and promoting yourself. If you can’t find the role you are looking for, ask people if one is likely to come up in the future. It never hurts to ask!
Location Specific Platforms
Some very helpful organisations have put together location specific job platforms for those working in sport. Here’s just a few:
North Yorkshire Sport - https://www.northyorkshiresport.co.uk/jobs
Greater Sport, Manchester - https://www.greatersport.co.uk/jobs
Yorkshire Sport - https://www.yorkshiresport.org/get-involved/job-finder/
Sport Wales - https://www.sport.wales/careers/
Sport England - https://www.sportengland.org/careers
Sport in Herts, Hertfordshire - https://sportinherts.org.uk/educationandemployment/jobs/
SASP, Somerset - https://www.sasp.co.uk/jobs
Active Derbyshire - https://www.activederbyshire.org.uk/job-vacancies
York Sport - https://www.york-sport.com/careers/
My Job Scotland - https://www.myjobscotland.gov.uk/categories
Sport Scotland - https://sportscotland.org.uk/jobs/
Active Notts, Nottinghamshire - https://www.activenotts.org.uk/jobs
Sport Aberdeen - https://www.sportaberdeen.co.uk/work-with-us/current-vacancies
Sports Federations
From our experience roles at federations tend to be advertised predominantly on their own website, for this reason it is always worthwhile having the federations from the sports you are active within on your job hunt list. Federations job listing are normally very easy to find, here are just a few for example from the sports that All About Sports Events specialise in:
Cycling - https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/apply
Athletics - https://www.englandathletics.org/
Triathlon - https://www.britishtriathlon.org
Swimming - https://www.britishswimming.org
Big Players in the Sports and Event Business
A few of the larger companies that have a reputation for delivering great sports events, either as a business or as a marketing tool. Obviously, this is not a comprehensive list, but creates a good mindset for digging a little deeper to find those sports events roles.
Red Bull - https://jobs.redbull.com/gb-en
North Face - https://www.thenorthface.co.uk/about-us/careers.html
Adidas - https://careers.adidas-group.com
Nike - https://jobs.nike.com
Charities
At the core of any charity is its fundraising team, for this reason charities often recruit major event consultants and event professionals to work with or alongside event organisers. Here are just a few charities that are associated with major sports events:
Cancer Research UK - https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-us/charity-jobs
British Heart Foundations - https://jobs.bhf.org.uk/vacancies/vacancy-search-results.aspx
Macmillan Cancer Support - https://www.macmillan.org.uk/about-us/working-with-us/careers-at-macmillan
Tourism Boards
Tourism boards are very often the driving force with federations to bid and deliver major events here in the UK, with this is mind it’s definitely beneficial to keep them included in your job search.
Visit Britain - https://www.visitbritain.org/vacancies-page
Visit Scotland - https://www.visitscotland.org/about-us/jobs-careers
Visit Wales - https://www.visitwales.com/working-with-us
Welcome to Yorkshire - https://industry.yorkshire.com/job-listings
Visit Cumbria - https://www.cumbriatourism.org/who-we-are/job-vacancies/
Visit England - https://www.visitengland.com
Visit Manchester - https://www.visitmanchester.com
Sport and Event Recruitment Agencies
Recruitment agencies are a great resource for job hunters, the cost lies with the employer so sending in CV's and your availability to recruiters is a no brainer! Here are a few good ones to get you started, but please be aware this is not an exhaustive list.
Live Recruitment - https://www.live-recruitment.co.uk/
EISG - https://www.eisg.com
Freelance Work Platforms
If you're working as a freelancer or want to explore the idea of freelancing, here are a couple places to start looking for short term contracts.
Sports Industry Group - https://www.sportindustry.biz/about-us/careers (ask to be added to their freelance database which was started in October 2020)
Upwork - https://www.upwork.com
Institutions and Universities
Universities are great places to work within the sports and event sector. Similar to federations, jobs tend to be advertised on their own websites so always have this as your first port of call. The below BUCs website also provides a great start for a university-based job hunt.
Major National and International Sports Events in the UK
When major events get announced event managers jump for joy, because they create huge amounts of employment opportunity (and opportunity to get quality experience which is equally important to most event managers). Here are just a few events that are planned across the UK in the next few years, roles are often posted to their dedicated sites or through federations/tourism boards.
2022 Commonwealth Games Birmingham - https://www.birmingham2022.com/get-involved/jobs/
2021 Rugby League World Cup UK - https://www.rlwc2021.com/careers
2021 Track Cycling Nations Cup - https://www.uksport.gov.uk/jobs-in-sport
2022 World Artistic Gymnastics Liverpool – https://www.uksport.gov.uk/jobs-in-sport
2023 Cycling World Championships Glasgow - https://www.visitscotland.org/about-us/jobs-careers
2021 Boxing Road to Tokyo - https://www.uksport.gov.uk/jobs-in-sport
2023 ISB World Games - https://www.uksport.gov.uk/jobs-in-sport
2022 Women’s Euro 2022 - https://www.uksport.gov.uk/jobs-in-sport
2023 Slalom World Championships Liverpool - https://www.uksport.gov.uk/jobs-in-sport
Contacts and Word of Mouth
Although it’s important to have a structured plan of places to look for your next role it's also hard to beat word of mouth. For every role out there advertised there is one that hasn’t quite gone live or the employer is just 'thinking about it' so get in there first by getting in touch.
We hope this is a relevant and useful resource for job hunting and aspiring sports and events industry people. If you would like further advice or to find out more about what All About Sports Events does please check out our website (www.allaboutsportsevents.co.uk) or email on hello@allaboutsportsevents.co.uk
All the best with your job hunt!
All About Sports Events
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