Athlete Leader - World Class Programmes Organisation British Gymnastics Salary £30,000 per annum Location Lilleshall National Sports Centre and Home with Travel as required Contract type Fixed Term (Full time) Closing date 5 July 2026 Interview date 16 July 2026 Job Description British Gymnastics has the following Fixed Term, Full time post:Athlete Leader- World Class Programmes – Fixed Term to March 2028 (LA Funding Cycle)37 hours per weekSalary £30,000 per annum 39 days annual leave (including Bank Holiday and Company days) + 2 wellbeing days a year + weekly exercise and wellbeing hoursThis is a dual based role working from Lilleshall National Sports Centre, nr Newport, Shropshire (min 2 days a week) and from homeRole Summary: The Athlete Leader will both play a critical system shaping role within the British Gymnastics World Class Programme (WCP) for the LA 2028 Olympic cycle, together with bringing an athlete perspective to supporting and shaping wider British Gymnastics work.As part of the World Class Programme, the role exists to embed Collective Accountability into day to day practice by supporting gymnasts, coaches and performance staff to share ownership, responsibility and decision making for performance outcomes. Drawing on lived experience of high performance sport, the Athlete Leader will act as a credible bridge between athletes, coaches and the programme, helping translate intention into behaviour across training, preparation, competition and review.Working alongside coaches, performance staff and Culture Assurance mechanisms, the Athlete Leader will help normalise co production: empowering gymnasts to take responsibility for their performances while supporting coaches to lead with confidence in environments shaped by increased scrutiny and change.This role is central to delivering a world leading performance system that wins well—achieving medal success as a consequence of a healthy, accountable and person centred culture.Why This Role MattersThe Athlete Leader is a cornerstone role in translating the LA 2028 Performance Plan from strategy into behaviour. By bringing athlete insight into the heart of the system, this role strengthens trust, accelerates learning and helps British Gymnastics deliver world class performances through Collective Accountability.*Please refer to the Role Profile for full details* Main Areas of Responsibility:1. Embedding Collective Accountability• Act as a visible role model for shared ownership of performance, helping gymnasts and coaches understand and apply Collective Accountability in daily practice.• Support the shift from “gymnast as product” to performance as product, reinforcing individual responsibility within a team and system context.• Reinforce consistent language, behaviours and expectations that translate the LA Performance Plan into lived experience.2. Enabling Gymnast Ownership and Leadership• Support gymnasts to actively own their Gymnast Plans (GPs), including goal setting, decision making, reflection and review.• Help gymnasts develop the confidence and skills to contribute meaningfully to performance conversations with coaches and practitioners.• Enable age and stage appropriate leadership behaviours aligned to the Performance Pathway and Live, Train, Compete curriculum.• Lead Gymnast Panel (WCP and BG Funded Disciplines) as a consultation group to shape advances in the ownership and leadership space.3. Supporting Coach Confidence and Co Production• Work alongside coaches to rebuild confidence in leading performance standards ethically and effectively, informed by lived athlete experience.• Act as a critical friend in navigating complexity, uncertainty and shared decision making within high performance environments.• Help create psychologically safe conditions in which coaches feel able to challenge, support and co produce performance with gymnasts.4. Bridging Club and WCP Environments• Support improved understanding and connection between high performance clubs and the WCP, particularly around expectations, behaviours and roles.• Reinforce coherence between Gymnast Plans, club practice and WCP objectives.• Contribute to camps, reviews and conversations that strengthen trust and shared understanding across environments.5. Culture Assurance and Feedback Loops• Contribute to first party Culture Assurance mechanisms by capturing insight, feedback and lived experience from gymnasts and coaches.• Support brief and debrief processes at camps and competitions with a focus on accountability, ownership and learning.• Act as an early indicator of emerging cultural risks or opportunities, escalating appropriately through agreed assurance processes.6. Championing Winning Well• Help ensure that performance ambition and care for people are not seen as competing priorities, but as interdependent drivers of success.• Support behaviours that prioritise health, availability, ethical decision making and sustainable performance.• Reinforce pride in representing Great Britain within a high standards, human centred system.7. Promote the sport, our work and its impact• Make club visits, engage in content creation, attend events and take part in stakeholder and media engagement activities to share positive messaging about BG and gymnastics8. Shaping and supporting organisational projects• Input to wider BG policies, programmes, activities, projects etc giving insight and learnings to inform approach, including around governance• Contribute to the development of supporting alumni projects and celebrating achievements9. Building athlete engagement• Gathering feedback from athletes to help inform recommendations as to best practice around building stronger athlete/BG relationships • Drive athlete engagement, informing the process and delivery of athlete appearances, event appearances etc• Help shape M&C support for athletes by giving an understanding of athlete’s needs, to inform how we can work more effectively, creatively and collaboratively10 . Embedding Governance, Safe Sport and Inclusive practice in line with our values • All employees of British Gymnastics have a responsibility to keep themselves, our sport, our members and our colleagues safe. • This includes upholding our commitment to safeguarding, inclusive working practices data protection, health and safety, financial management and risk management policies. It also involves promoting our rules and standards of expectations for members, and reporting any suspected risks, breaches, misconduct or poor practice to the appropriate channel: your line manager, Governance & Safe Sport (for concerns about members and clubs), or the People Services team (for concerns about British Gymnastics employees/colleagues). The Person1.Knowledge, Skills and Expertise • Recently retired elite or international level gymnast or have comparable high performance athlete experience.• First hand experience of World Class / Olympic pathway environments.• Credibility with gymnasts and coaches through lived experience of high pressure performance settings.• Analytical abilities, Good IT skills (Microsoft office suite) • Demonstrate Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to influence without authority.• Demonstrate High emotional intelligence; able to navigate sensitive, complex environments.2. People This role does not require the holder to formally line manage staff, however the Athlete Leader will act as a credible bridge between athletes, coaches and the programme.3.Shaping Direction• The role holder will be required to manage their own workload and objectives, and work on concurrent projects requiring in-depth planning and monitoring to ensure timescales are achieved.4. Developing Solutions• Gathering feedback from athletes to help inform recommendations as to best practice around building stronger athlete/British Gymnastics relationships • Drive athlete engagement, informing the process and delivery of athlete appearances, event appearances etc5. Decision Making • The role holder will be expected to support Performance Leadership Team decision-making and, critically, ensure that the perspective of the Gymnast is at the centre of programme decisions. 6. CommunicationThis role requires the holder to have excellent interpersonal skills for engaging, influencing, negotiating and communicating with all levels. Key relationships• APA funded gymnasts (Senior, Senior Development, Junior)• National and primary club coaches• Head National Coaches• Performance Support practitioners• Coach Developers and Culture Assurance partners• Communications & Engagement teamAn Enhanced DBS will be required for the post *Closing date for applications: Midnight on 5th July 2026 **Interview date: Thursday 16th July 2026 *****Please note: Interviews will take place in person at our Head Offices at Lilleshall National Sports Centre, Newport Shropshire TF10 9AT *** How to apply Please follow the link below for further details and how to apply ; https://britishgymnastics.jobs.people-first.com/jobs/search Share X LinkedIn Email