The Sporting Aces is a Kirkintilloch-based charity supporting adults, young people and children with physical, learning and communication difficulties through inclusive sports activities. Our weekend sessions are delivered by a mixed team of paid coaches and volunteers, many of whom are neurodiverse or progressing into leadership roles for the first time.
We are seeking a People Development Worker to support and strengthen this team. The role focuses on understanding each individual, helping them grow in confidence and skill, and ensuring our volunteer pathway continues to thrive.
Hours & Pay
Approx. 6 hours per week during weekend sessions (around 26 weeks per year)
Additional flexible hours for planning, training and reviews
£25 per hour, paid monthly (self-employed)
Key Responsibilities
Attend weekend sessions to observe sta and volunteers
Get to know each individual’s strengths, challenges and goals
Create personalised development plans and support people to progress at a pace that suits them
Provide mentoring, guidance and gentle leadership support
Identify or deliver training opportunities to build skills and confidence
Run an annual review process that is positive, supportive and collaborative
Work alongside the Head Coach to match duties to each person’s abilities and development stage
Report to Trustees, who will support planning and approve additional hours as needed
Essential Skills & Qualities
Considerable experience of people development in a professional setting
Professional experience/understanding of HR
Strong understanding of diversity and inclusion
Empathy, patience and a flexible approach
Desire to work with neurodiverse individuals or those with learning diiculties
Excellent communication, in particular able to adapt to dierent needs
Ability to maintain professional boundaries
Desirable Skills & Qualities
Experience working with neurodiverse individuals
Knowledge of sports coaching or activity delivery
To apply please provide a full CV including two professional referees and covering letter explaining why you are interested in the role and detailing how you meet each of the essential criteria in turn.
These two documents should be sent to office.thesportingaces@yahoo.com by 30th September 2026.
For further information or to arrange an informal discussion please contact office.thesportingaces@yahoo.com.
The Sporting Aces is a sport-based registered charity (SC049762) working with adults, young people and children who have a range of physical, learning and communication difficulties. The project is based in Kirkintilloch and surrounding local area. We are a friendly and mutually supportive organisation, with a team ethos built around the primary objective of nurturing the health and wellbeing of participants through a range of activities. We also promote citizenship and community development through the delivery of volunteer programmes for both young people and adults, creating a strong, resilient, and supportive community. The Sporting Aces is overseen by a board of trustees while the day-to-day running is the responsibility of the Administrator and the Head Coach.
Our main activity takes the form of weekend sports sessions, which take place on Saturday and Sunday afternoons at the Kirkintilloch Leisure Centre. These sessions are delivered by our coaching team, consisting of the Head Coach and (paid) Coaches, Assistant Coaches, and Multi-Sports Assistants. The coaching team is complemented by volunteers drawn from charity members and the local community. The Sporting Aces utilises a bespoke structure whereby participants with a range of difficulties can transition to become volunteers and potentially, in the longer term, to coaching and leadership roles. This is a real strength of the organisation but also results in specific challenges associated with supporting individuals who are neurodiverse or have other difficulties into roles that are usually unavailable to them.
The development of our coaching team and volunteers is a crucial area for our future planning and we are therefore seeking a People Development Worker (PDW) to lead on this. The person we seek will have experience of people development in a professional setting, possessing both empathy and skills for bringing the best out of everyone and building a strong team ethos within this unique group of individuals. As the role is part-time this would potentially suit a retired professional who wants to make a positive contribution to this vulnerable and often overlooked community.
The core activity (6 hours per week for approximately 26 weeks per year) will be to attend the weekend sessions to observe and monitor staff and volunteer activities, to create individual development plans for each person, and to support the implementation of these in the sessions. The PDW will work alongside the Head Coach who is responsible for the sporting development of the participants, along with the planning and delivery of the sessions and the assignment of duties to the coaching and volunteering team. The PDW will support this assignment of duties and advise on appropriate developmental steps for each person. This will be highly personalised, depending on the specific needs of each individual, and may include mentoring and leadership roles for senior members and gradated increase in responsibilities for others.
Further hours will be required to develop plans, to identify and/or deliver additional training opportunities, and to conduct annual reviews. The PDW will report to the Trustees, who will oversee their plans, provide additional input, and take executive decisions on which actions will be taken forward. The Trustees can approve additional working hours if requested and justified by the PDW and will seek additional funding if required for the successful delivery of the people development plans.
Payment for the duties performed (£25 per hour) is made monthly in arrears. Please note that the PDW is self-employed with responsibility for their own tax and National Insurance.
Job Description
The duties of the PDW as determined by the Trustees include:
Attend weekend sessions to observe and monitor staff and volunteer activities;
Develop an understanding of individual staff and volunteers’ strengths, difficulties and ambitions;
Create and implement personalised development plans for each member of the coaching and volunteer team based on individual strengths, difficulties and ambitions;
Identify and/or deliver additional training opportunities;
Develop and conduct an annual review process where past performance and future goals are discussed in a positive, supportive and collaborative setting;
Identify opportunities for staff/volunteer development and team building within the wider organisation.
Person Specification
Essential criteria
Considerable experience of people development in a professional setting;
Professional experience/understanding of HR;
A comprehensive understanding of diversity and inclusivity;
A sympathetic and flexible approach to staff and volunteer development, recognising individuals’ diverse strengths, difficulties and ambitions;
A desire to work with individuals who are neurodiverse or have learning difficulties;
Excellent communication skills, with an ability to adapt language to the needs of individual staff and volunteers;
A demonstrable ability to maintain professional boundaries and avoid actual or perceived conflicts of interest arising from personal or family relationships with participants or coaching team members.
Desirable criteria
Previous experience of working with individuals who are neurodiverse or have learning difficulties;
Knowledge of sports coaching/delivery.