England Netball is seeking an experienced, passionate and ambitious individual to help lead our game at this critical time for the organisation and the sport as we look ahead to an exciting new chapter in our development.
England Netball has experienced its most successful decade in the sport’s history. We delivered the iconic Gold medal win at the Commonwealth Games in 2018, which transformed the sport both on and off the court. Our Vitality Roses received accolades on the global stage, winning much coveted awards including the BBC’s Sports Personality ‘Team of the Year’ and Sunday Times Sports Women ‘Team of the Year’, while England Netball won ‘Sport Organisation of the Year’ at the Sport Industry of the Year Awards in 2019. As a consequence we have been able to establish the organisation as a powerful influence for good within UK sport and the wider community. On the international stage we are amongst the leading nations of our sport and have earned the respect of long-time dominant nations Australia and New Zealand.
The growth in participation across the game, plus record-breaking crowds, landmark commercial partnerships with global brands including Nike, Red Bull, Vitality and Sky – and a never before seen level of momentum and visibility – have taken our game and our athletes to new levels.
We also hosted the Vitality Netball World Cup 2019 in Liverpool, the largest Netball World Cup competition ever held, with 120,000+ ticket sales and 6 million fans following the event. An explosion in participation followed, with the number of people playing the sport now having doubled over the last decade. England Netball membership had grown to an all-time high of 107,000 members before the pandemic.
England Netball is a thriving and vibrant organisation and although the sport was significantly impacted by the pandemic the whole netball family rallied together for the survival of the sport and once the sport was able to return in the 2021/22 season the membership level returned to pre-pandemic level.
This, coupled with the growth of the Vitality Netball Superleague which has seen viewing figures double and sold-out events in recent years, means the sport now faces a hugely exciting next stage of development.
Whilst the last two years have been a challenging, where the impact of the global pandemic has been felt from the grassroots to the elite game, the Board, executive, staff and an army of unwaveringly committed volunteers have dedicated themselves to supporting the sport and ensuring we are in the best possible shape to build back stronger than ever.
It is fitting therefore that we are now embarking on our ‘Adventure Strategy’ to fulfil our purpose ‘To lead a movement, on and beyond the court. To uphold an unapologetic focus on women and girls whilst opening the game for new audiences to belong, flourish and soar.’
England Netball prides itself on being a guardian of the game, but also aspires to demonstrate to the whole of society what a positive power for good the sport can be. The Vitality Roses provide great female role models for aspiring athletes but the wider Netball Family prides itself on being a compassionate, supportive and inspiring network for all members of society. Together we try to bring out the good in people; build confidence and aid the well-being of everyone engaged in our sport so that they can belong, flourish and soar. We recognise that as a sport, like the rest of the industry, we need to challenge ourselves more to diversify and ensure we provide inclusive opportunities to be involved in our sport. The Board is collectively committed to being dedicated to difference and continuing to drive progress in this area with the new strategy.
We have an excellent executive leadership team; loyal members of staff throughout the company and a passionate team of energetic volunteers. We recognise that the sport still faces a number of challenges including uncertainty around future funding and diversification of income streams however many of the challenges are equally opportunities to be realised.
One of the current Nominated Non-Executive Directors is coming to the end of their current term. They are eligible for re-election and have indicated that they wish to continue on the board. However, in its quest to continue to recruit high quality and appropriately skilled directors England Netball is offering the opportunity for other members to be nominated if they wish to be considered to serve on the Board. This role is a fantastic opportunity for an individual to contribute to a sport that is truly ‘on an adventure’; to encourage and enable bold strategic decision-making, commercial and social ambition and to contribute to an exciting new strategy. Recent years have seen the undisputed rise of netball and of women’s sport more widely, but here at England Netball we are only just getting started. We hope you are inspired and excited by this opportunity and thank you on behalf of the England Netball board for your interest and support.
Following a skills analysis England Netball has determined that the appropriate skills required of any candidates and would welcome nominations from those with a background in one or more of the following areas:
- Grassroots Netball
- Elite Sport
- Legal
- Governance, Risk & Compliance
- Safeguarding & Welfare
- HR
England Netball is keen to address areas of underrepresentation throughout the sport and particularly welcomes applications from ethnically diverse communities, disabled people, individuals under 30 years old and people from the LGBT+ community. Should you require application forms in an alternative format or any adjustments to be made throughout the application process or upon appointment, please contact company.secretary@englandnetball.co.uk. England Netball also operates a guaranteed interview scheme for disabled applicants and is a Stonewall Diversity Champion.
If you wish to be considered for nomination to the Board as a Non-Executive Director and you are a member of England Netball, please read the Information Pack and complete all three parts of the Nominated Director Application Form and return it along with your CV (marked Private and Confidential) to Naomi Defroand, Company Secretary at England Netball, SportPark, 3 Oakwood Drive, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 3QF or email company.secretary@englandnetball.co.uk to arrive no later than 5 p.m. on 23 May 2022.
All applications will be subject to review by the Nominations Committee and candidates must be endorsed by the Nominations Committee. If there are more endorsed candidates than there are vacancies on the England Netball board candidates will be subject to a formal election process conducted in accordance with the Articles of Association and the final appointments will be ratified at the AGM.
