Background

London Scottish has a rich history since its inception in 1878.  Founded on the “Exile” ethos, London Scottish is a rugby club that has always created a welcome for strangers, a home from home.  That is still true today, where you don’t need to be Scottish to be sure of warm welcome and Scottish embrace. 

Our foundation is Scottish, and we are proud of that heritage, but we are more than that. We are home to families from across many communities in London, equity, inclusion and diversity gives us strength as a club.  As a result, we are in a unique position to offer a clear pathway from U6 rugby through to the Champ.

We are approaching the 150th anniversary of our foundation, 2028 will be a big year of festivities, involving our Patron HRH the Princess Royal.  As we celebrate our history, we are seeking a Community Officer to join us and help us shape what the future of the club looks like.  Sitting on the Executive Team, you will be involved in shaping the way the Club looks from the way we play, to the messaging and brand we build across all of our Communities.

Whilst a key metric for this role relates to player recruitment, it is more than that.  We want everyone we touch, from Minis to Champ to feel connected to London Scottish, to enjoy our style of play and to feel comfortable being themselves and being part of our legacy and the Community Officer is key to achieving that.  In short, we want every interaction with our wider Community to help build a legacy and create value for all parties

Key Deliverables

The Community Lead agrees to serve as the primary point of contact and strategy leader for the Club’s community outreach, including, but not limited too:

• Developing and executing community engagement programs. Building relationships with local clubs, schools, youth groups, charities, and businesses.
• Organising community events (e.g. open days, fundraising, clinics).
• Promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and positive club culture.
• Research, apply and deliver Grant based funding initiatives such as Walking Rugby, etc.
• Co-ordinate and deliver holiday camps and sessions to raise brand image and generate revenue.
• Lead Club Community Volunteers to assist in outreach and coverage.
• Input and agree the “LS Way” of playing and ensure this is promoted and reflected in all Community/School coaching support.
• Work in parallel with events & communications team to actively promote a “single LS identity” across LS Community social media channels – e.g. Friday night lights Uni links.
• Work in partnership with our Mini, Junior, Colts and Lion Sections to create a connection between the amateur and semi-pro parts of the club.
• Develop relationship with SRU to promote LS as a destination “south of the border” – link to tours, etc.
• Develop positive working relationships with the RFU Regional Development Officer to keep abreast of best practice and highlight opportunities for London Scottish
• Reporting progress and metrics to the Club’s executive.

Expectations

We will offer a competitive salary and benefits package in recognition of what we are looking to achieve.  You can also expect support and autonomy in equal measure from the Clubs Leadership Team; we will not tell you what to do as we are looking for your expertise and ideas to help take us forward.

This is a full-time role, but not a 9-5 role as such flexibility will be key.  We will offer a flexible working pattern, and this can be done in collaboration to suit us all, e.g. supporting Champ games on a Friday night/weekend and various Youth rugby weekend requirements.

As you would expect in this role, we are looking for someone who is passionate about rugby and the power that sport overall can have in bringing people together and the associated benefits.  As such, whilst it may be preferable, we are not looking for someone to hold multiple qualifications in rugby; however we would expect the successful candidate to be:

• An excellent communicator, being able to create, explain and engage others in their vision
• Comfortable building and maintaining external networks to keep London Scottish at the heart of the communities we sit within
• Comfortable working in collaboration across all areas of the club to achieve success
• Highly planful and organised, keeping multiple priorities on the go at all times
• A self-starter who can use their initiative to spot opportunities to grow London Scottish

We have a broad group of willing parent volunteers who will be happy to support the success of this role, so whilst we are expecting a lot, we don’t see this individual working in isolation, it’s about cultivating that “exiles” ethos that has been at our root since inception.

If you’re interested in finding out more about the role and us, then please send a CV and Cover Letter outlining your experiences and why you would be perfect for the role to darren@therealitypeople.org