Consultant

Organisation: Continuum Sport & Leisure Ltd
Salary: £26,000 - £34,000
Location: Continuum’s London Office and some home working. Travel to and from Client meetings, occasional working from Client offices and overnight stays may be required. For the employee's probation period, work will be from Continuum's London office.
Contract type: Permanent (Full time)
Closing date: 27 March 2026
Interview date: 13 April 2026
Job Description: Job Purpose: To lead and support the work of our Consultant Team including - project and programme coordination and management, stakeholder consultation and engagement, conducting and managing research, strategy and report writing, development and business planning, options analysis, the preparation and assessment of funding applications and
client liaison.

Responsible for: Managing your own projects and inputting into projects from other team members, Associates, other partners and clients. Managing Research Consultants (subject to staffing levels and business needs).

Reports to: Senior Consultant or Directors (dependent on circumstances).

Holidays: 29 Days PA including statutory Bank Holidays.

Job Duties
Strategy and business planning:
o Lead and supervise primary and secondary research in relevant subject areas. Use the research as evidence to prepare accurate, high quality written and numerical analysis (for
external reporting and evaluation).
o Lead and support our Consultant team with the production of sport and physical activity strategies, playing pitch strategies and sports facilities strategies.
o Prepare action plans to support the successful implementation of strategies and policies.
o Lead on the preparation of applications for capital and revenue projects.
o Assist with the production of business cases, feasibility studies and options appraisals.
o Assist with the management of funding programmes including screening and assessing applications, liaison with applicants, preparing decision letters and maintaining accurate
records on each application.

Consultation and Stakeholder Engagement:
o Develop and maintain trusting, two-way, stakeholder relationships with various stakeholders, clients and other suppliers across the sector.
o Develop and lead primary research and consultation exercises via surveys, electronic, face to face, and telephone/video consultation and discussion groups with a range of stakeholders to determine their priorities, needs, views and opinions. Prepare accurate written notes and follow up actions as relevant.
o Lead Client meetings, Steering Groups and Project Meetings.
o Produce written and numerical analysis of consultation findings for inclusion within client reports, projects and content.

Other duties:
o Manage and assist with the planning and implementation of projects.
o Support the development and delivery of research methodologies.
o Manage the delivery of projects maintaining regular communication with clients, associates, and suppliers.
o Quality assure client reports.
o Actively review opportunities to improve professionally through training, event attendance and other relevant opportunities.
o Prepare and deliver presentations.
o Support the production of tenders, attend interviews if required, and assist in the production of marketing material for the company and its clients.
o Provide administrative support for other members of the team as and when required.

Person Specification
Qualifications:
o A minimum of Grade C/5 in GCSE English and Maths or equivalent (essential).
o A minimum of degree or similar qualification (essential) in a subject area that complements our service offer (desirable).

Skills and Experience - Essential:
o Minimum of 3 years' experience of working in the sport and leisure sector.
o Experience of working in an advisory capacity on any of the following: stakeholder engagement and consultation; project or programme management; governance; funding applications – development, assessment or management; strategy
development/implementation; business planning; options analysis; sports development planning; monitoring and evaluation; capacity building or facilities management.
o Experience of working with, and a sound understanding of, national, regional, and local partners, strategies, policies and plans for sport, physical activity and leisure.
o Practical knowledge of the wider benefits of sport and physical activity and experience of collating evidence to support the communication of these.
o Excellent verbal communication skills with the ability to confidently and professionally communicate with people at all levels, conduct face to face and telephone consultations
and liaise with organisations and members of the public.
o Excellent written communication skills with experience of preparing reports and other publishable materials to the highest standards using plain English and referencing relevant
evidence.
o Proficient in the use of ICT and experienced in using Microsoft packages especially Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint and Teams. The successful candidate will be able to format
Word documents and PowerPoint presentations, create and apply formulas in Excel, prepare Excel databases and will be experienced in using search engines to aid research.
o Strong numeracy skills and experience of analysing numerical datasets.
o Experience of utilising primary and secondary research tools and techniques for the purposes of consultation and analysis. The successful candidate will have working experience of preparing and analysing questionnaires, conducting interviews, and reviewing historic studies/data sets.
o Experience of researching and implementing actions linked to tackling equalities and promoting diversity and inclusion.
o Excellent listening skills – the ability to listen, understand and interpret the needs of clients, partners, colleagues and others.

Skills and Experience - Desirable:
o Understanding and experience of using Sport England’s planning tools and toolkits.
o Understanding and experience of Sport England’s Active Places and Moving Communities platforms.
o Working knowledge of the wider value of sport and an understanding of the various sectors of the leisure industry.
o Experience and skills in leading teams or managing others.
o Experience and knowledge of ArcGIS systems
o Driver with clean driving licence and access to a car.

Personal Qualities - Essential:
o Passionate about sport and its ability to improve lives.
o Passionate about tacking inequalities.
o Confident communicator.
o Personable.
o Well organised and punctual.
o Dynamic, friendly, team player with the ability to work individually.
o Hard working and calm under pressure.
o Analytical with good attention to detail.
o Loyal and eager to develop within the company.
o Good telephone manner.
o Able and willing to work overtime as and where required.

Inclusion:
We pride ourselves on being an open and welcoming organisation. We recognise the value of having a diverse and inclusive workforce. We would especially welcome applications from:
o People with lived experience of the power of sport and its ability to tackle inequalities and improve lives.
o People from culturally diverse backgrounds.
o Members of the LGBTQ+ community.
o Disabled people.
How to apply: Please submit: o A CV outlining your experience, skills and training/qualifications. o A completed Application Form (please email to request – see instructions below). o A completed Equalities and Diversity Monitoring and Evaluation Form (please email to request – see instructions below). Please email recruit@continuumleisure.co.uk to request the documents and return all completed forms with your CV by the closing date of 27th March 2026. Please note that any applications that do not contain a CV, a completed application form and equalities and diversity monitoring form will not be considered. Applications after this date will also not be considered. All short-listed candidates will be required to undertake a written test and attend an interview in London. Interviews will take place on 13th and 14th April 2026.