Job Description
England Netball is the national governing body for one of England’s biggest female team sports, netball. It oversees and is responsible for the strategic plan of the sport across the country.
England Netball has run the Netball Super League for 17 years, with levels of visibility increasing year on year thanks to a long-term partnership with Sky Sports and the hard work of the 10 clubs within the league. The 2022 NSL season shone a spotlight on netballers from across the globe and resulted in the highest levels of competitiveness, viewership and attendances in the leagues history.
The NSL provides the primary competition opportunity for many of the Vitality Roses, Scottish Thistles and Welsh Feathers, alongside supporting a future pipeline of talent through the England Netball Pathway Programme.
The potential for women’s sport has been growing exponentially over recent years with multiple high-profile successes within netball leaving a legacy of increased awareness and interest in the sport.
The sport is now looking to build on recent successes and push forwards with plans to professionalise the domestic game
NETBALL SUPER LEAGUE (NSL) STRATEGY
The growth and transformation of the current domestic league is crucial to the future success of the sport and realisation of the Adventure Strategy aspirations. The NSL’s vision is to develop the most competitive, commercially vibrant and captivating netball league in the world.

NSL OBJECTIVES
– Create a commercially attractive and powerful league with financially successful franchises
– Deliver an elite competitive league with intense, exciting games that attracts the world’s best athletes
– Develop a fully professional league that supports fulltime players and delivers quality infrastructure
– Maximise visibility through innovative media / broadcast solutions and delivering meaningful partnerships and campaigns to grow audiences
– Create a strong brand and culture that raises the profile of the league and its players – driving participation, spectators and fans

THE ROLE
This is an exciting role that offers an opportunity for a highly skilled executive with strong commercial acumen to help shape the professionalisation of netball in England through driving forward growth of the Netball Super League, in line with EN’s new Adventure Strategy.
Initially housed within England Netball, this new role reports to the EN CEO whilst the future governance structure for the league is scoped and investment is secured to establish a NewCo to realise the full league ambitions.
The NSL MD will be responsible for building, leading and developing all aspects of the Netball Super League and in parallel with EN colleagues and stakeholders, determining the professionalisation route for the domestic elite game, providing many more on-court and off-court careers in the years to come.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
– Development of a clear 10-year business plan for the NSL that delivers against EN’s Adventure Strategy and professionalisation ambitions – building on the foundations already in place.
– Leadership and full exploitation of the commercial portfolio for the league – maximising revenue streams at pace across sponsorship, ticketing, broadcast, digital, data
– Support, nurture and grow investment discussions in relation to the league
– Development and implementation of a comprehensive audience growth strategy that drives the visibility and following of the league through innovation – incorporating product, broadcast, brand, marketing and communication plans
– Help shape the development of the governance structure and staffing resource needed to grow the league and it’s clubs from semi to fully professional.
– In conjunction with the EN Super League & Competitions Director, support clubs to develop financially robust businesses, driving up standards on and off the court
– In conjunction with EN Performance Director ensure the league continues to grow its underpinning performance pathway programme of training and competitions. Providing high quality opportunities for players to realise their full potential and graduate to excel on the international stage.
– Lead NSL specific senior stakeholder relationships –including but not restricted to NSL Board, NSL clubs, partners, Netball Players Association (NPA)
– Establish robust mechanisms and insight practices to monitor league progress
– Champion and promote the league progress, plans and successes across the sports sector.
– Embody the England Netball Moral Compass within leadership approaches and decision making.
– Comply with all company policies and procedures to ensure the highest standards of operations and behaviours are maintained.

THE PERSON
Essentials
– An innovative, inspiring and entrepreneurial leader with a track record of personally driving commercial growth at pace, in an environment where skills are transferable.
– Strong influencing and negotiation skills (including contract negotiation), resulting in the growth of trusted and mutually beneficial collaborations and partnerships.
– Experience of influencing broadcast partnerships, wider media and digital growth
– Experience of successfully driving transformational change in a complex stakeholder environment with board reporting accountabilities
– A passionate leader with proven senior leadership experience in building high performing teams through a healthy and inclusive culture.
– Proven experience of building a brand and a following
– A motivating and engaging communicator with proven experience of managing external communications adeptly
– An agile and adaptable leader with the ability to problem solve and find solutions in pressurised environments
– Impeccable standards of personal integrity, mental resilience and emotional intelligence.
– A passion for women’s sport, purpose driven philosophy and a desire to make a difference.

Desirables
– Experience of working within the sporting sector
– Experience of working in a purpose led organisation
We are realistic we know that finding the perfect candidate is like finding the holy grail, please don’t be put off from applying if you don’t meet every single element of the above, we would love to hear from you to understand the experience you can bring to the role.

ROLE LOCATION
Hybrid working min of 2 days every other week or 1 day per week at Sport Park Loughborough (travel to the office not covered by package).
TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS
National travel required to build relationships with the clubs and potential commercial partners. Weekend working and evenings required during the Superleague season.

How to apply
Please email your CV and Cover Note to englandnetball@eisg.com. RECRUITMENT PROCESS & TIMELINE: The full briefing pack for the role is available here: https://bit.ly/3HDcIRP Closing dates for applications is 13/01/2023 (before 5pm). Please note that candidates will need to be available for first and second interviews, if selected Executives in Sport will advise all candidates of outcomes at each stage of the process as soon as possible. – Closing date for applications: 13/01/2022 (before 5pm) – First stage interviews: February 2022 – Second stage interviews: February 2022 These dates are indicative and may be subject to change (except closing date). The Executives in Sport Group are retained on behalf of England Netball to appoint a Netball Super League Managing Director. All direct applications will be forwarded to The Executives in Sport Group. EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES: England Netball is passionate about creating an inclusive workplace and is committed to addressing areas of under–representation throughout the sport. We actively encourage applications from candidates with diverse backgrounds and life experiences, from underrepresented groups. We ask that applicants complete our diversity monitoring form. You are not obliged to answer any of these questions but the more information you supply, the more effective our monitoring will be. All information supplied is anonymous and will not be viewed by recruiting managers. https://forms.office.com/e/QUfVPSFymS England Netball is keen to address areas of under-representation throughout the sport and particularly welcomes applications from ethnically diverse communities, disabled people, and people from the LGBT+ community.