Parks Project Communications Manager
Lawn Tennis Association (LTA)
The Lawn Tennis Association is the national governing body of tennis in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
- Posted
- 14 Mar 2023
- Status
- Contract - Fixed Term
- Full Time
- Location
- England
- Closing date
- 27 Mar 2023
About the role
This role is an exciting opportunity for an outstanding communications professional to play a part in the largest renovation of public tennis facilities ever undertaken in this country. This role will directly contribute towards the LTA achieving its vision of ‘tennis opened up’, and through our work to make tennis relevant, accessible, welcoming, and enjoyable, help us to ensure it is a sport that can be played by anyone, no matter their age, gender, background or ability.
Tennis is a sport that is woven into the fabric of the nation, and as the national governing body the LTA is at the heart of that – from inspiring and engaging the millions of passionate fans who follow leading British players and world class tournaments, through to supporting the grassroots of the sport which reach into local communities across Britain to help get the nation active and deliver amazing physical and mental health benefits to those involved.
The Parks Tennis Project is a joint project between the UK Government, LTA and LTA Tennis Foundation. Over £30m is being invested in renovating dilapidated park tennis courts across Great Britain in order to bring them back to life for the benefit of their local community.
Park tennis court facilities are owned by local authorities and are vital community assets that can help widen the impact of the physical and mental health benefits that being active through tennis can bring. The Parks Tennis Project investment is designed to open up tennis to people of all backgrounds and to level up sports provision across the nation. Park tennis courts are particularly important in providing affordable, engaging and accessible opportunities for those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, as well as being the most popular venue for women to play after they have left education.
The Parks Tennis Communications Manager will play a key role working with the LTA’s Corporate Affairs and Brand Marketing teams in order to maximise knowledge of the renovated park courts, raise awareness in local communities and drive participation once courts re-open to the public.
They will work closely with the LTA’s Public Policy team, Media team and Brand Marketing team to ensure appropriate local and national communication about the hundreds of projects across the country.
This will be a fixed term role until the conclusion of the project in June 2024.
In line with our values, we are looking for a talented and driven individual who can bring teamwork, passion, integrity, inclusion and excellence to this role. If this is you, and you want to join our journey to open up tennis in Britain, then we look forward to receiving your application.
Key Accountabilities
Play a key part in both the Parks Project team, the Corporate Affairs’ team and the Brand Marketing team, to drive awareness of the Parks Project and its benefits for local communities, with responsibility for the following key accountabilities:
- Lead the process of communication around the renovation and relaunch of each local authorities park tennis facilities, engaging with local authorities, the LTA Parks Investment Delivery team, park operators and other stakeholders as appropriate.
- Engage with each relevant local authority to ensure communications materials are consistent, accurate and reflect LTA and LTA Tennis Foundation messaging.
- Work with the LTA Parks Investment Delivery team, local authorities, local groups and park operators to help coordinate launch activity for park sites which have received investment.
- Work with the LTA Media and Public Policy teams to identify and help organise showcase moments/visits where park courts could be opened by high profile guests.
- Work closely with the LTA Public Policy team to ensure that MPs, MSPs, MSs and other key local stakeholders are engaged and aware of activity at local venues.
- Ensure marketing materials and collateral for each park are on-brand and provided in a timely manner.
- Advise local operators on marketing best practice in promoting their activity and in particular LTA Free Parks Tennis.
- Keep key records on communication and marketing activity at each venue and spot any opportunities for additional communications.
- Working with the LTA social media and Content Team, agree and co-ordinate a multi-channel approach to communications across the LTA network to promote the project, and work with individual local authorities on utilising local social media channels.
- Ensure the relevant pages on the LTA website are kept up to date with key messaging and records of achievements.
- Measure and evaluate activity to ensure best practice.
- Work closely with internal and external partners to deliver agreed projects to time and budget.
Person Specification
Previous Experience of:
- Proven experience and success in a similar communications or marketing role operating at management level.
- Creating and implementing proactive & creative communications plans that deliver long term business goals whilst maintaining an eye to responsivity and opportunity in the wider landscape.
- Superb organisation and planning skills, and the ability to deal with multiple projects and issues simultaneously.
- Experience of working to deliver against tight timelines.
- Working effectively and collaboratively with a very wide range of internal and external stakeholders, with proven ability to build and maintain effective relationships and influence using exceptional personal communication skills.
- The ability to spot potential issues before they arise and help deliver communications plans to mitigate them.
- Working with the media or in teams that work with the media.
- Knowledge of local government, or experience working with local authorities.
- Knowledge of the British sports environment
- Qualification in Public Relations, Communications or Marketing - Desirable
Our Culture
The LTA, through its vision “Tennis Opened up”, is committed to creating a diverse environment where all colleagues feel included and a strong sense of belonging. We are proud to actively invite applications from all candidates who meet the essential criteria and can work in the UK. We commit that everyone will receive equal consideration for employment irrespective of your ethnicity, religion, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, age, any disability, marital or civil partnership status, and pregnancy or maternity status.
The LTA Tennis Foundation is a new tennis charity that partners with brilliant people and organisations to improve lives through tennis. It shares the LTA’s vision of ‘Tennis Opened Up’, and it wants to use our sport to make a real difference to people across the whole country. All LTA colleagues have the chance to get involved with the LTA TF, with some directly involved in delivering and leading its work.
To truly deliver our vision of “Tennis Opened up”, we believe it is critical that the LTA plays our part in contributing to a healthier and more sustainable society. We want to grow tennis in Britain, but do so in a responsible way, protecting and supporting the environment and working with everyone in the sport to tackle our climate impacts. We are committed to ensuring a lasting future for tennis in Britain, and our Environmental Sustainability Plan sets out how we will do this.
Find out more here
- Life at the LTA
- www.lta.org.uk/sustainability
How to Apply
Please click 'Apply Now' to begin the application process.