Highly-regarded policy expert James Allen has been appointed as head of policy at the Sport and Recreation Alliance, the umbrella body for sport and recreation organisations.
Following London 2012, James will play a key role in shaping future policy on a wide variety of issues from improving integrity in elite sport to making life easier for grassroots clubs.
He will oversee a broad range of policy areas and coordinate the Alliance’s research projects spanning issues from local authority spending cuts and volunteering to school sport.
Tim Lamb, chief executive of the Sport and Recreation Alliance said:
“James is a highly experienced, commercially astute and well-respected policy professional who will play a pivotal role in shaping the Alliance’s future strategic direction.
“Our ethos here is all about making sport more enjoyable as well as a better place to volunteer and work in, and I’m looking forward to James contributing to this goal in a big way.”
James has spent the last three years managing policy then heading up public services at the NCVO, an organisation which plays a similar role to the Alliance but for the charity sector.
Before that he worked in various communications and policy roles in financial services and public affairs, and was a policy advisor to former Labour cabinet minister Alan Johnson.
James Allen said:
“Sport has always been an exciting place to work but that’s even more true now that the spotlight is on delivering a lasting legacy for sporting participation in the UK.
“I’m looking forward to working closely with the government and other key organisations to get sport and physical activity high on the political agenda where it belongs."
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