Careers

About Us

Swim England is the national governing body for swimming in England.

We help people learn how to swim, enjoy the water safely, and compete in all our sports.

Our vision is of a nation swimming and we strive to inspire everyone to enjoy the water in the way that suits them. We work with our partners to create engaging programmes that enable everyone to be active, have fun and stay healthy through swimming.

Our Values

• We include
• We are ambitious
• We collaborate
• We do what’s right

 

About The Role

About the Role

We are seeking a strategic and collaborative Head of Aquatics Competency to lead one of the core work strands within the One Swim England strategy. This senior leadership role is central to our ambition that every person can enjoy swimming and aquatics confidently and competently.

You will provide strategic direction and operational leadership across Learn to Swim, School Swimming and Water Safety, overseeing delivery, budgets and impact. Working closely with internal teams, national partners, academics and government stakeholders, you will influence policy, investment and practice across the aquatics system to drive meaningful and sustainable change.

Key Responsibilities

In this role you will:

• Strategically lead the aquatics competency work strand, including objectives, delivery plans, day-to-day operations and budgets.
• Oversee Swim England’s Learn to Swim Framework and Programme to grow participation and increase diversity across England.
• Lead Swim England’s contribution to national water safety and drowning prevention agendas.
• Design, develop and oversee Swim England’s strategy and approach to School Swimming.
• Collaborate with government departments, national partners and agencies across education, school sport, physical activity, leisure and water safety to influence policy and investment.
• Engage with academic partners to inform best practice across physical literacy, pedagogy, motor learning and outdoor education.
• Work collaboratively across Swim England directorates to connect delivery across clubs, leisure operators, health systems, swim schools and local authorities.
• Provide strong leadership and functional line management across the aquatics competency team.
• Share collective accountability with the Director of Community Participation and Health and other strand leaders for directorate-wide outcomes.
• Provide collaborative leadership to National Development Managers to ensure joined-up development and delivery.

Skills and Experience

Essential

• Knowledge of government strategy and priorities across school sport, physical education and water safety.
• Experience leading a strategic work strand and associated programmes in a development context.
• Experience measuring the impact of sport and physical activity initiatives using quantitative and qualitative methods.
• Excellent written, verbal and presentation communication skills.
• A collaborative leadership style, able to work laterally and vertically.
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to prioritise effectively.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to provide confident, consistent leadership across complex stakeholder systems.

 

 

Further Information

Please Note: This job is SportPark based (minimum of 2 days a week in the office) and also includes regular national, and occasional international travel

Apply for role

Closing date: 14th January 2026