Head of International Growth

Organisation: parkrun Global Limited
Salary: 80,000
Location: Richmond
Contract type: (Full time)
Closing date: 20 September 2026
Job Description: Brief role description:

The Head of International Growth is a new strategic leadership role that will enable parkrun to unlock dynamic, sustainable growth across some of key geographies — currently Europe, Africa, and America, though these may evolve over time. Reporting to the CEO and working closely with the Global Heads of Commercial, Legal and Governance and Event Delivery and Volunteering, the successful candidate will lead the development and execution of parkrun’s international growth strategy. They will support country managers and regional teams to build scalable, values-led operations that drive participation, social impact, and revenue, while ensuring alignment with parkrun’s global purpose and compliance standards. The role will also oversee market analysis, prioritisation, and partnership development, with accountability for growth KPIs, budget oversight, and cross-functional collaboration to deliver measurable impact across existing and new countries.

This role will:
Work with country and regional managers to build parkrun’s international strategy, identifying opportunities to grow parkrun both within our existing footprint and also into new countries.
Develop parkrun’s strategic connectivity and brand awareness in key countries, building advocacy for our vision and purpose.
Enable sustainable commercial growth by building and delivering revenue strategies tailored to the regional opportunities and overseeing budgets
Provide inspirational leadership to Country and Regional Managers and advocate for their needs to the Global leadership team.
Be an expert at strong relationship building including via virtual channels and be prepared to work flexibly to manage a broad geographic remit. This will include some travel but much of the work will need to be conducted virtually.
About parkrun
parkrun is a health and wellbeing charity and our vision is to create a healthier and happier planet.

Since our conception in 2004, parkrun has evolved into a global social movement with a vibrant and inclusive community at its core. Our mission is to transform lives by empowering people to be active, together, outdoors in their local community. Each and every weekend, we deliver free, weekly timed events that people of all ages and backgrounds can join in. By tackling barriers to participation, we encourage communities to come together and embrace regular physical activity.

In 2026 we celebrated our 1 millionth event and regularly have 500,000 people participating in parkrun each weekend. parkrun spans over 3000 locations in 23 countries with more than 12 million people registered, and counting.

And we have really only just begun.

Main responsibilities:
Strategic Influence & Stature: Drive the overall presence, reputation, and stature of parkrun across North America, Europe and Africa. Champion Parkrun's mission to break down barriers to physical activity, establishing the brand as a recognised and respected leader in community health and wellbeing.
Strategic Partnerships & Coalitions: Cultivate and secure strategic relationships across commercial, governmental and participation based stakeholders, creating a network of advocates for parkrun’s vision and ambition aligned to strategic aims.
Revenue Generation & Sustainability: Working with the Global Commercial team, design and execute commercial revenue strategies tailored to North America, Europe and Africa. Identify, negotiate, and secure sustainable funding streams, corporate sponsorships, and grants and foundations which ensure regional financial self-sustainability and fund future international expansion.
Participation Growth: Support local teams to hit country participation growth targets and explore approaches to accelerate growth, using data‑driven decision‑making and insight generation to evaluate performance and continuously refine growth approaches across all regions, working closely with the Head of Event Delivery.
SLT Advocacy & Cross-Functional Alignment: Act as the strategic voice for international growth to the Senior Leadership Team (SLT). Make compelling cases for support for central resource allocation (e.g., technology, communications, operational support) to enable regional success.
People Leadership & Staff Performance: Line manage, mentor, and hold Country Managers and Regional Managers accountable across target countries. Foster a culture of high performance, professional growth, and strategic and values alignment across remote international teams.
Budget Ownership & Governance: Oversee regional financial health, budget creation, and resource allocation in collaboration with global finance. Maintain strict governance and multi-jurisdictional legal and regulatory compliance across all operating countries within the portfolio.

Desirable experience requirements:
Executive Presence: Skilled at developing a clear strategy and advocating for its successful implementation to country boards, Global colleagues and key external stakeholders.
Senior Strategic & Commercial Leadership: Proven track record of expanding organisational footprints, stature, and/or brand influence across complex international regions (ideally within Europe, North America and/or Africa).
High-Level Relationship Management: Extensive experience building strategic, peer-level partnerships with corporate executives, government bodies, media or national sporting organisations.
Securing Commercial Revenue: Demonstrated success in personally identifying, structuring, and closing revenue-generating partnerships.
Senior Line Management: Substantial experience in direct line management, creating a cohesive team in spite of being geographically dispersed.
Financial & Budgetary Oversight: Proven expertise in managing multi-currency operational budgets, resource allocation, and long-term financial sustainability models.

Most relevant skills:
Strategic Influence & Diplomacy: Outstanding capability to negotiate, persuade, and build high-level alliances across commercial, government, and sport / mass participation sectors.
Commercial Strategy & Deal Making: Sharp business acumen to turn brand presence into long-term commercial, sponsorship, and grant funding revenue streams.
Executive Advocacy & Communication: Exceptional presentation and storytelling skills, able to articulate regional priorities persuasively to SLT / Board and to external partners.
People & Performance Leadership: Strong coaching and management skills to motivate regional leads, set clear targets, and elevate staff performance.
Financial Management & Accountability: Rigorous budget oversight, forecasting capability, and financial discipline.
Cultural Intelligence & Flexibility: Deep cultural awareness and adaptability to navigate political environments and diverse operating landscapes across different geographies.

Please contact Elizabeth Duggan, Global CEO, if you would like to find out more about the role on elizabeth.duggan@parkrun.com
How to apply: https://blog.parkrun.com/uk/2026/09/02/join-us-as-head-of-international-growth/

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Head of International Growth