Active Essex Relationship Development Officer – Skills & Organisation Development

Active Essex Relationship Development Officer – Skills & Organisation Development

Fixed Term / Secondment (18 months), Full Time

up to £43,233 per annum

Location: Chelmsford*

Working Style: Anywhere worker

Closing Date: 30th November 2025

Please note this opportunity is available on a fixed-term contract or secondment basis for 18 months.

*You will work from the Chelmsford office at least one day a week and across our operational area on other days, depending on business need.

Active Essex is hosted within Essex County Council’s People, Policy, Economy and Public Health team, and is the strategic lead for sport and physical activity across Greater Essex including Southend and Thurrock.

In July 2021, Active Essex launched “Fit for the Future” a ground-breaking 10-year strategy for physical activity and sport owned by the whole Essex eco-system. We also publish an annual implementation plan for “Fit for the Future”, which clarifies the Active Essex delivery targets across four key outcomes and confirms our commitment to place based working underpinned by the principles of asset-based community development. To read more about our current implementation plan and our outcomes please read the document here

We are pleased to offer an exciting opportunity to join our team as a Relationship Development Officer, with a focus on supporting and developing our Skills, Employability and Organisational Development work.

This role will respond to emerging opportunities that system changes will bring to the skills landscape, including how skills are funded, commissioned, and delivered locally, with greater emphasis on employer-led priorities and place-based decision-making. System changes will also bring decision-making closer to communities, making it essential to support strong, resilient VCSFE organisations that can play an active role in shaping and delivering local priorities.

The role will work with Relationship Development Leads and Relationship Managers to deliver key initiatives around Skills and Employability and around building a Resilient and Sustainable VCSFE sector across Greater Essex.

The ideal candidate will have a deep understanding of the skills and employability landscape, experience in building strategic relationships across sectors, and the ability to navigate complex system changes to support resilient, community-based organisations.

Role and Responsibilities:

• Support the development and delivery of the Your Essex Community Place offer across Essex.
• Work in partnership with our locality hub teams to ensure a local Your Essex Community support offer that builds on local strengths and responds to needs identified in the place insight plans.
• Support sector engagement within the Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) structures, ensuring the sport and physical activity sector remains a key contributor to county-wide workforce development priorities.
• Collaborate with employers, educators, and health leaders to co-create innovative solutions that address skills gaps and strengthen the sector’s capacity to deliver on strategic objectives.
• Champion the sector’s role in preventative health interventions, addressing leading causes of work absence, through the development of targeted programmes.
• Promote the sector as a major economic contributor and growing employer, leveraging its potential to drive inclusive growth, youth engagement, and health system transformation.
• Support the delivery of the Essex Sport and Physical Activity People, Culture, Skills Plan, gathering employer insights, identifying workforce gaps, and coordinating training and development efforts across Greater Essex.
• Utilise data-driven approaches, including workforce diagnostics from Skills Boards, to ensure training and qualifications are aligned with employer needs, future-proofed, and accessible to diverse communities.
• Advocate for equality and diversity in sport and physical activity, ensuring it is embedded in all developments.
• Facilitate ongoing learning and sharing of expertise within the Active Essex team and localities.
• Drive a culture of continuous improvement, high performance, and sustainability.
• Meet individual and shared targets set annually within the performance management framework.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience:

• Educated to A level or equivalent by experience, with ongoing professional development.
• Knowledge, understanding and experience of the support needs of the Voluntary and Community sector organisations
• Strong relationship management skills with a broad range of individuals and stakeholder organisations across different system settings
• Experience working collaboratively across sectors to co-create solutions and deliver shared objectives.
• Understanding of place -based approaches and experience supporting community-led initiatives.
• Knowledge of skills and employability frameworks, including Local Skills Improvement Plans
• Experience in aligning workforce development initiatives with employer priorities and regional strategies.
• Effective team player with strong collaboration skills
• Competence in using data-driven approaches, including workforce diagnostics, to inform planning and decision-making.
• Ability to interpret and present insights to influence strategy and delivery.
• Experience managing multiple projects and coordinating training and development initiatives.
• Strong organisational skills to meet targets within performance frameworks.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills to advocate for the sector’s economic and social contribution.

Please note that the job role requires you to be mobile throughout an operational area. Therefore, the post holder will need to have a driving licence and access to a vehicle, or the ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means.

Why Essex?

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in Everyone's Essex. With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you.

In February 2025, Greater Essex was accepted onto the Government’s devolution priority programme, which will see local authorities in Essex work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority by May 2026. You can read more about devolution and local government reorganisation (LGR) on our careers site.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service.  The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate.  This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained.  For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

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