33 days annual leave
Pension Scheme
On-site gym

Policy and Engagement Lead (Welsh Essential)

Salary £41,574.01 - £44,535.11
Location Cardiff
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This is a Permanent, Full Time vacancy that will close in {x} days at {xx:xx} BST.

Department and salary

Department - Insight, Policy and Public Affairs

Salary - £41,574.01 - £44,535.11 (Grade 7)

Working Hours - 37 hours (Consideration will be given to job sharing / reduced hours in line with our flexible working policy)

Location - Cardiff

How you’ll contribute

This is an exciting role within the Policy and Insight Function at Sport Wales which seeks to develop, reflect, and promote sport policy within the sport sector and beyond. Working with new and emerging partners, across different policy areas and at different political levels, this role will play a key part in building the profile and recognition of an inclusive sport system within Wales.

Who you’ll work with

You will be a member of the Insight, Policy and Public Affairs team, focused on understanding the way policy across a range of portfolios, such as health and education, can influence, and be influenced by, sport.

You will develop relationships across the organisation, to understand the way sport can contribute to the wider policy objectives. You will also lead on the development of relationships with organisations across Wales who share in Sport Wales approach in making sport inclusive and accessible to everyone.

As part of the role, you will support the communication of Sport Wales’s work, reflecting what the organisation and its partners have done, has learnt, and plan to do, to maximise the way sport is utilised in a policy setting.

You will be a point of contact for government enquires and will enhance the Sport Wales approach to not only sharing information about the work of the sport sector, but in advocating for it in a strategic and purposeful way.

You will work across the organisation to understand the emerging policy evidence emanating from Sport Wales insight, investments, programmes, and partners.

What you’ll need

  • Educated to degree level
  • Knowledge of, and ability to influence, relevant public policy in Wales.
  • Good knowledge central, devolved and local government structures, particularly the Welsh Government and the Welsh Parliament.
  • Experience of communicating policy positions to internal and external audiences.
  • Evidence of relationship management.
  • An ability to convey research and policy into concise briefings.
  • Experience of responding to consultations.
  • Experience of public affairs, policy and research.

Skills and abilities which include:

  • Able to challenge consensus in a constructive and honest way.
  • Ability to translate complex and detailed research, evidence and policy into easily understood positions.
  • Ability to build relationships with a range of different stakeholders.
  • Ability to manage a range of work objectives, some often with challenging and competing timescales.
  • An ability to see the big picture. Recognising how different areas of work across an organisation can fit together.
  • An ability to motivate, encourage and challenge your colleagues.
  • Ability to create a good and positive working environment and deal effectively with issues and problems.
  • Ability to communicate in Welsh, both written and spoken.

What happens next

You should read the full job description  

If you need any support to apply for this role, then please email emma.henwood@sport.wales

Closing date Monday 15th June 2026, 9am

Provisional interview date Thursday 25th June 2026

Sport Wales is the national organisation responsible for developing and promoting sport and physical activity in Wales.  We are the main adviser on sporting matters to the Welsh Government and are responsible for distributing National Lottery funds. We aim to not only improve the level of sports participation at grassroots level but also provide our aspiring athletes with the support required to compete successfully on the world stage. 

Our careers are funded by Welsh Government and the National Lottery. Find out more about Sport Wales’ relationship with the National Lottery.

More information about careers at Sport Wales can be found here.

We have bold ambitions for sport in Wales and we know that our people will be key to achieving them. That’s why we provide a varied benefits package: 

  • We are big supporters of a work life balance and offer a range of flexible working approaches
  • 33 days annual leave Option to purchase 5 additional days per year
  • Flexible working opportunities, including flexi-time (where applicable)
  • Local Government or Scottish Widows Pension Scheme
  • Comprehensive learning and development opportunities
  • Use of on-site gym at the National Centre in Cardiff
  • Employee Assistance (Counselling) Programme
  • Civil Service Sports & Leisure Club Membership
  • Cycle to Work Scheme
  • Free car park and bike shed

Sport Wales strongly advocates continuous learning and improvement. On your very first day of work, you will embark on a tailored induction programme and will be offered all the essential training to get you started.

Joining Sport Wales means joining a culture of learning and continuous professional development. Job specific training, lunchtime workshops, coaching and mentoring, improving Welsh language skills and long term study opportunities are all part of being on our team.

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion is at the heart of everything we do at Sport Wales.  To enable Sport in Wales to thrive, it’s vital that our workforce is fully representative of the wider population. A key strategic priority is to further diversify our workforce.  Further information on this can be found in our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Statement here. 

Everyone at Sport Wales brings something different, and so will you. Our commitment to recruiting and attracting diverse talent extends to actively encouraging applications from underrepresented groups including ethnic minority, LGBTQ+ and disabled people.

We adopt inclusive recruitment practices including blind shortlisting of candidates. We are a Disability Confident employer subscribing to the guaranteed interview scheme. We want to support you with adjustments through our process to make sure you can be at your best. These could include accessibility adaptions, an interview support person, assistive technology, extra time for written assessments or tasks. This is not an exhaustive list, we want you to be able to perform at your best so if you need any adjustments to be made please email the contact on the job advert who will be able to advise you.

We also recognise that the “confidence gap” may adversely impact the diversity of applicants we hear from. Research indicates that men often apply for jobs even where they only meet 60% of the listed criteria, whereas women tend only to apply when they fulfil all the specified criteria. Similar results have been found in studies relating to other marginalised groups. As such, if you believe you could be a good fit for one of our roles, even if you don’t necessarily meet every point of the job description, please don't hesitate – submit an application!

At Sport Wales, our behaviours are a critical part of the way we work - the way we deliver is as important as what we deliver. We have an agreed set of behaviours that we expect to see demonstrated by employees.

  • Learn Together - Constantly exploring, testing and reviewing.
  • Deliver Together - Sharing outcomes, nurturing open and honest relationships, providing robust feedback, constantly improving performance.
  • Celebrate Together - Recognising our shared successes through effective partners.
  • Acting with integrity - Understanding and respecting each other’s culture and values. Promoting equality and diversity.
  • Adding Value - Ensuring the optimum mix of support, challenge, investment, skills and expertise to achieve our shared outcomes.
  • Encouraging Innovation - Welcoming new ideas and approaches and supporting ambition and fresh thinking. Not being afraid to feel uncomfortable.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools such as Chat GPT, Copilot and Gemini, can be helpful in various stages of applying for a job.  You could use AI as a tool to research Sport Wales and the job you’re applying for. You could also use it to organise your thoughts, refine your writing or to help you prepare for an interview.  We are keen to get to know you as a person so you must ensure AI aided content maintains your authenticity. 

You must not use AI tools to:

  • Exaggerate qualifications,
  • Misrepresent your experiences
  • Copy and paste generic responses without editing them.

At Sport Wales, we may use AI to generate ideas for Job Adverts, Job Descriptions, assessments, and interview questions, but we will never use AI tools to make selection or hiring decisions.

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