UK Sport - Associate pools to support the Coaching, Leadership, Talent and Culture Teams in their work with Olympic and Paralympic performance programmes

Identification register:

• GB-COH
• GB-PPON

Address 1: 10 South Colonnade

Town/City: LONDON

Postcode: E14 4PU

Country: United Kingdom

Companies House: RC000765

NUTS code: UKI42

Email: procurement@uksport.gov.uk

Organisation type: Public authority - central government

Type: quality

Name

Experience and Essential Criteria

Description

Experience - Please demonstrate the breadth & depth of professional expertise in relation to the associate role description for criteria outlined below

Essential Criteria

Qualifications & Accreditation

Accredited executive coach (EMCC, ICF, AoEC, or equivalent) at a senior practitioner level or above.

Evidence of ongoing supervision and CPD in line with professional coaching standards.

Experience

Significant experience coaching senior leaders in complex, high-pressure environments.

Proven track record of coaching for behavioural change, leadership effectiveness, and system impact.

Experience working with strategic leaders on themes such as values-based leadership, self-awareness, performance under pressure, and managing change.

Knowledge & Skills

Deep understanding of executive coaching methodologies and adult learning principles.

Highly developed interpersonal and communication skills, including the ability to listen actively, challenge constructively, and hold difficult conversations.

Skilled in supporting leaders through complex, fast-moving, and often contradictory system challenges.

Strong personal awareness, presence, and reflective capacity, and triangulation with UKS, sport and coachee.

Values & Attributes

High integrity and professionalism; models confidentiality, respect, and trust.

Commitment to inclusive practice and cultural humility.

Comfortable working with high challenge and high support.

Strong alignment with the purpose and values of high-performance sport and its people.

Desire to engage in a collaborative, reflective coaching network.

Desirable Criteria

Experience working within or coaching in elite or high-performance sport environments.

Understanding of the performance landscape in Olympic/Paralympic, professional, or pathway sport systems.

Experience of working with diverse leadership groups, including across gender, disability, ethnicity, and multidisciplinary teams.

Background in leadership development, organisational psychology, or systems thinking.

Ability to contribute to evaluation and learning processes within a broader leadership development offer.

Part 2

Evidence of impact - Please demonstrate the impact of your professional practice in relevant contexts and domains for the Associate - Support for Executive Leadership in High Performance Sport role. You are invited to provide up to three case studies, each with a 500 word limit.

Weighting: 70

Weighting type: percentageExact

Type: price

Name

Costing

Description

Please outline the cost (day rate or hourly rate) in relation to the benchmark provided in the role descriptor for which you wish to be considered. You are also invited to offer a further 250 description of the added value which you can provide to the associate work through your portfolio and professional network.​

Session Rate (2hrs)

£700 + VAT

Weighting: 20

Weighting type: percentageExact

Type: quality

Name

EDI and sustainability

Description

EDI & Sustainability - 1. EDI, Please outline your unique experiences and expertise in regard to inclusive practice, and describe the value of this the associate pool role descriptor for which you wish to be considered. This response is a maximum of 500 words. 2. Sustainability, please outline the your aims to reduce negative environmental impact and drive net positive impact. Again, this response is a maximum of 500 words.

Weighting: 10

Weighting type: percentageExact

Type: quality

Name

Experience and Evidence

Description

Part 1

Experience - Please demonstrate the breadth & depth of professional expertise in relation to the associate role description for criteria outlined below

Essential Criteria

Qualifications & Accreditations

Relevant degree or professional training in leadership development, coaching, psychology, or organisational development.

Commitment to ongoing CPD and reflective practice.

Experience

Proven experience delivering leadership or team development in high performance or elite environments to enable cultural change (sport, military, business, etc.).

Experience working directly with senior leaders, coaches, or technical staff in environments that demand results under pressure.

Experience facilitating complex group dynamics and supporting teams through challenge, transition, or change.

Knowledge & Skills

Strong knowledge of high-performing team dynamics, leadership theory, and cultural development in performance contexts.

Skilled in designing and delivering engaging development interventions, both face-to-face and virtually.

High-level facilitation, communication, and relational skills - able to connect with a wide range of people quickly and meaningfully.

Comfortable navigating ambiguity, pace, and the tensions that come with high performance environments.

Values & Attributes

Values-led and reflective, modelling integrity, humility, and discretion in all interactions.

Committed to inclusive, person-centred practice that celebrates difference and builds belonging.

Emotionally intelligent, with the ability to offer high support and high challenge.

Collaborative, curious, and motivated by enabling others to be their best in service of collective performance.

Desirable Criteria

Accreditation or training in relevant tools or approaches (e.g., team diagnostics, facilitation, psychometrics).

Experience working within high performance sport (e.g., NGBs, institutes, professional clubs, Olympic/Paralympic pathways).

Understanding of the UK high performance system and its leadership and cultural priorities.

Trained in relevant frameworks or tools (e.g., Lencioni, Strengths Profile, Insights Discovery, Team Coaching).

Familiarity with systems thinking, adaptive leadership, and psychological approaches to team development.

Ability to evaluate the impact of development work and contribute to organisational learning.

Experience of working with Board to review effectiveness, and to explore and address culture challenges and opportunities.

Part 2

Evidence of impact - Please demonstrate the impact of your professional practice in relevant contexts and domains for the Associate - Support for Culture & Senior Team Leadership in High Performance Sport. You are invited to provide up to three case studies, each with a 500 word limit.

Weighting: 70

Weighting type: percentageExact

Type: price

Name

Costings

Description

​Cost - Please outline the cost (day rate or hourly rate) in relation to the benchmark provided in the role descriptor for which you wish to be considered. You are also invited to offer a further 250 description of the added value which you can provide to the associate work through your portfolio and professional network.​

Day Rate (8hrs)

£1,200 + VAT

Weighting: 20

Weighting type: percentageExact

Type: quality

Name

EDI and sustainability

Description

EDI & Sustainability - 1. EDI, Please outline your unique experiences and expertise in regard to inclusive practice, and describe the value of this the associate pool role descriptor for which you wish to be considered. This response is a maximum of 500 words. 2. Sustainability, please outline the your aims to reduce negative environmental impact and drive net positive impact. Again, this response is a maximum of 500 words.​

Weighting: 10

Weighting type: percentageExact

Type: quality

Name

Experience and evidence

Description

Part 1

Experience - Please demonstrate the breadth & depth of professional expertise in relation to the associate role description for criteria outlined below

Essential Criteria

Knowledge, Skills and Experience:

Demonstrable experience of operating effectively and ethically within the unique demands of Olympic, Paralympic, Professional and/or other high-performance sport environments;

Ability to plan, implement and evaluate bespoke programmes of learning that support coaches' personal and professional development;

Capacity to adopt approaches that build organisational and system-level capability for sustained support of coaching in high-performance sport;

Skills to support long-term behavioural change through contextually-situated and relational practice;

Possess subject matter expertise in one or more domains relevant to coaching in high-performance sport.

Values and Attributes:

Ability to establish and maintain ethical, inclusive, and support-oriented relationships;

Principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) embedded into all aspects of professional practice;

Evidence of commitment to learning and professional development as a people development practitioner.

Practice that demonstrably promotes coach well-being and wellness;

Sustained engagement in supervisory practice to help understand and negotiate the ethical dimensions of practice.

Desirable Criteria

Relevant professional and/or postgraduate qualifications;

Endorsement through a programme of learning aligned with CIMSPA's professional standards;

Ability to critically engage with diverse perspectives on the practice of sport coaching;

Experience working in interdisciplinary environments where subject matter expertise is used collaboratively to support coaches and performance support teams;

Ability to use a variety of evaluative strategies to assess progress and growth in practice relationships.

Part 2

Evidence of impact - Please demonstrate the impact of your professional practice in relevant contexts and domains for the Associate - Support for Coaching in High Performance Sport. You are invited to provide up to three case studies, each with a 500 word limit.

Weighting: 70

Weighting type: percentageExact

Type: price

Name

Cost of services

Description

​Cost - Please outline the cost (day rate or hourly rate) in relation to the benchmark provided in the role descriptor for which you wish to be considered. You are also invited to offer a further 250 description of the added value which you can provide to the associate work through your portfolio and professional network.

Day Rate (8hrs)

£750 + VAT

Weighting: 20

Weighting type: percentageExact

Type: quality

Name

EDI and sustainability

Description

EDI & Sustainability - 1. EDI, Please outline your unique experiences and expertise in regard to inclusive practice, and describe the value of this the associate pool role descriptor for which you wish to be considered. This response is a maximum of 500 words. 2. Sustainability, please outline the your aims to reduce negative environmental impact and drive net positive impact. Again, this response is a maximum of 500 words.

Weighting: 10

Weighting type: percentageExact

Type: quality

Name

Experience and evidence

Description

Part 1

Experience - Please demonstrate the breadth & depth of professional expertise in relation to the associate role description for criteria outlined below

Essential Criteria

Qualifications & Accreditations

Relevant professional qualifications in Human Resources, Recruitment, or Organisational Development (e.g., CIPD Level 5 or equivalent).

Evidence of ongoing professional development in EDI, recruitment strategy and approaches, or employment law.

Experience

Demonstrable experience in providing talent or recruitment advisory services in complex, high-performance, or elite-level environments.

Proven experience supporting or leading end-to-end recruitment processes, from attraction through to onboarding.

Experience supporting organisations to embed inclusive, innovative, recruitment practices and challenge bias in decision-making.

Experience building strong, consultative relationships with hiring managers, leaders, and performance SLTs & NGB Executive.

Knowledge & Skills

Strong understanding of recruitment and selection best practice, including role evaluation, role design, assessment, and onboarding.

Skilled in advising on inclusive attraction strategies, talent pipeline development, and equitable selection processes.

Working knowledge of relevant employment law, GDPR, and safeguarding considerations in recruitment.

Excellent communication, facilitation, and relationship-building skills.

Ability to balance strategic thinking with practical delivery, adapting advice to diverse organisational needs.

Values & Attributes

Operates with integrity, fairness, and confidentiality in all interactions.

Committed to creating environments where diverse talent can be attracted, seen, and supported.

Values collaboration, learning, and partnership in delivering sustainable impact.

Curious, proactive, and solutions-focused, with a strong sense of service and accountability.

Reflective and responsive to feedback, trends, and emerging challenges in the talent space.

Desirable Criteria

Experience advising or working within high-performance sport, NGBs, or elite teams.

Familiarity with the talent demands of performance roles (e.g., coaching, technical leadership, medical/science).

Knowledge of UK-wide equality legislation and its application in high-performance or sport recruitment contexts.

Experience contributing to leadership or succession planning strategies.

Accreditation in relevant tools or methods (e.g., psychometric assessments, inclusive recruitment training).

CIPD Level 7 or equivalent

Part 2

Evidence of impact - Please demonstrate the impact of your professional practice in relevant contexts and domains for the Associate - Support for Recruitment & Talent Management in High Performance Sport. You are invited to provide up to three case studies, each with a 500 word limit.

Weighting: 70

Weighting type: percentageExact

Type: price

Name

Cost of service

Description

Cost - Please outline the cost (day rate or hourly rate) in relation to the benchmark provided in the role descriptor for which you wish to be considered. You are also invited to offer a further 250 description of the added value which you can provide to the associate work through your portfolio and professional network.​

Day Rate (8hrs)

£ 650 + VAT

Weighting: 20

Weighting type: percentageExact

Type: quality

Name

EDI and sustainability

Description

EDI & Sustainability - 1. EDI, Please outline your unique experiences and expertise in regard to inclusive practice, and describe the value of this the associate pool role descriptor for which you wish to be considered. This response is a maximum of 500 words. 2. Sustainability, please outline the your aims to reduce negative environmental impact and drive net positive impact. Again, this response is a maximum of 500 words.​

Weighting: 10

Weighting type: percentageExact