Creating sporting opportunities in every community

Applying for a role at Sport England

Thank you for your interest in working for Sport England. There are a number of documents
available to help you apply for a role with us.

These documents include:

 This guidance
 An Application Form
 The role’s job description and person specification
 Information on the benefits available to Sport England employees.

Don’t forget that valuable information on our work, our targets and the outcomes we intend to
achieve can be found on our web-site www.sportengland.org. We highly recommend that all
applicants visit our web-site to understand our role in promoting community based sports
prior to submitting an application form.

An important note on applying for a role at Sport England.

If you apply for an advertised role within Sport England it is important that you fully complete
and submit your application using Sport England’s Application Form. Unfortunately we are
unable to accept CVs or speculative applications.

Submitting your completed application form

To be considered for a role at Sport England your completed Application Form must be
received by the closing date. We cannot accept late applications. Your completed
Application Form should be returned electronically to hrrecruitment@sportengland.org

Completing the Application Form

Completed Applications Forms will be considered for shortlisting on the basis of the match
against the skills, experience and qualifications set out in the person specification for the post.
The Application Form is a key part of the selection process. Throughout the selection process
Sport England will be looking for examples and evidence of how you meet the selection
criteria outlined in the role’s person specification. It is therefore important that you take time to
address these in your Application Form. We cannot make assumptions about your
achievements and abilities, so it is vital that you make it clear on the Application Form how
you feel you match the requirements for the role.

The Application Form has been designed in Word and can be completed on your computer.
The boxes will automatically expand as you type.

Section One – Job Details

It is important that you indicate on the top of the Application Form the name, location and job
title of the post that you are applying for. These can be found in the advert or in the
information found on Sport England’s web-site. Location is particularly important as Sport
England has offices in nine separate locations and some roles may be located in more than
one location.

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Section Two – Personal Details

Enter your personal details in full so we are able to contact you if your application is shortlisted
and you are invited to interview. For speed and efficiency please note that all written
communication will be via the email details you supply.

As we monitor the success of our recruitment advertising in the section we have also asked
you to highlight where you found the job vacancy e.g. if you applied for the role after seeing
an advert on the on-line section of the Guardian please state ‘Guardian On-line’ or if you
applied for the role after seeing an advert in the Sunday Times please state ‘Sunday Times’.

Section Three – Eligibility to work in the UK

It is important that Sport England verifies your eligibility to work within the United Kingdom
(UK). Sport England is unable to sponsor applicants who do not already possess the right to
work in the UK. Further details on who can work in the UK can be found on the web-site of
the UK Border Agency www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk.

Section Four– Employment History

Please provide details of your employment history, starting with your most recent employer. It
is important that you state your current annual salary. There is also a box to complete if you
have any gaps in your career as it is important for us to understand your entire career history.
If you were previously employed by Sport England please state the dates of your employment
with us.

Section Five – Education history

Please provide details of any educational or vocational qualifications you have obtained or are
currently pursuing.

Section Six – Demonstration of your suitability for the role.

This is the important part of the Application Form. Please indicate briefly (no more than 1,500
words) why you are applying for this job. You should highlight here any particular skills and
previous experience you have that you feel makes you a strong candidate. When doing so,
you should remind yourself of the key knowledge and skills required for the job as detailed in
the job description and person specification.

Points to consider when completing this section of the Application Form:

 We are looking for you to provide specific evidence of your individual skills and
previous experience.
 Give a range of examples – if possible, use different situations or challenges you faced
rather than rely on just one experience. This helps to evaluate how you tackle different
challenges and not just your behaviour in a ‘one off’ situation.
 If your example involves a team task, tell us about what your role within the team was
as opposed to telling us what the team did and what their general achievements were.
 Avoid making statements. Please provide supporting evidence. For example ‘I have
excellent communication skills as I deal with people all day’ is a statement. You need
to explain what makes your communication skills excellent, describe the situation
where your communication skills had a positive effect and how.
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One way of expressing this is to adopt the STAR approach and split the evidence that
supports your application into four categories Situation, Task, Action and Result. The action
will form the main part of your response and the result will be your conclusion. A basic
example would be:

Situation - how, when, where, with whom?

Task - what situation or the task you were faced with?

Action - what action did YOU take?

Result - what results did you achieve?

Please remember this section should be no more than 1,500 words in length.

Section Seven – References

Please provide details of two referees. Any referees that you provide must be able to
comment on your ability to undertake the role. One referee must be your current or most
recent employer.

If you have not worked since leaving education please provide details of the last academic
institution at which you studied and the name of the tutor best able to comment on your
ability to undertake the role.

Section Eight – Further information and Declaration

The declaration asks you to sign and date the form to confirm that the information you have
given is true and accurate and provide information on CRB Disclosures and Data Protection.

How do I know that Sport England is an Equal Opportunities employer?

Sport England actively promotes diversity in both sport and employment and we welcome
applicants from all parts of the community. An interview will be guaranteed for people with
disabilities who meet the job requirements and, where necessary, reasonable adjustments
to work arrangements will be made. Recruitment information is available in Braille,
audiotape and large print on request.

To assist us in the monitoring of diversity, applicants are asked to complete our Diversity
Questionnaire (MS Word) when applying for roles at Sport England. This form will be
separated from your Application Form and will not be made available to the short-listing
panel.

Updated: May 2009

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