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 just concluded its most triumphant decade in the history of the sport. The Vitality Roses, in an unprecedented feat, achieved a spot in the Netball World Cup final in 2023, marking England Netball’s first-ever appearance and securing a well-deserved silver medal. Their journey also includes a historic Gold medal triumph at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, a victory that reshaped the landscape of the sport both on and off the court.
On the global stage, accolades poured in, with prestigious awards like BBC’s Sports Personality ‘Team of the Year,’ Sunday Times Sports Women ‘Team of the Year,’ and the title of ‘Sport Organisation of the Year’ at the 2019 Sport Industry Awards.
This remarkable success has elevated England Netball into a strong force for positive change within UK sport and the broader community. Internationally, we stand among the foremost nations in our sport. The team’s accomplishments, combined with hosting the Vitality Netball World Cup 2019, surges in game participation, record-breaking crowds, and landmark partnerships with global brands such as Nike, Vitality, and Sky, have propelled our game and athletes to unprecedented heights.
We are a thriving and dynamic organisation, 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, while opening the game for new audiences to belong, flourish, and soar.’
In alignment with our vision, we’ve launched the ground breaking ‘NETBALLHer’ campaign, an initiative driving systemic change to support female health and sports participation, ensuring women and girls thrive both on and off the court.
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 the following skills:
Essential:
- Sport Strategy and Governance
Desirable:
- Sponsorship
- IT & Data Integrity
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 to Naomi Defroand, Company Secretary at company.secretary@englandnetball.co.uk to arrive no later than 5 p.m. on 2 June 2024.
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.
