‍Would you like to assist Middlesex Tennis in achieving its mission ‘to support, promote and drive tennis and padel in Middlesex, ensuring it is safe, enjoyable, accessible and welcoming’ and to be the leading County through the lens of inclusive tennis?  

The Middlesex Tennis three-year plan 2024 – 2027 has set an ambitious target to identify and support a network of at least 40 Middlesex Venues - our clubs and parks - to provide an inclusive offer, delivering a measurable approach to attract and sustain a new range of players, coaches, volunteers, and officials into our sport.

To achieve this Middlesex Tennis is seeking to recruit a team of Venue Inclusion Mentors that will drive inclusive practice across the County.  

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‍Job Description

To promote inclusion within Middlesex Tennis in five core areas:  

1. Wheelchair/wider access issues

2. Learning disability/SEND

3. Demography – race, gender, social economic

4. Funding – what’s available, who are the ‘go-to’ funders, assistance on bid writing

5. Other core areas on demand
    

The key to your work will be to establish a supportive working relationship with a range of venues and their workforce (coaches, volunteers, committee members, officials).

Middlesex Tennis will put out a call to action to all venues alerting them that we have an expert team in place to support them in their inclusion aspirations. Our work may include:

• Visit venues to explore one or more aspects of inclusion – what’s their passion, what do they want to achieve?
• Undertake an ‘audit’ using the Middlesex Tennis inclusion matrix.  
• Develop an ‘action plan’ with the venue/coach/committee member.
• Keep in regular contact with each of the venues you are working with/pull in the support of other mentors if needed.
• Share progress with the County Inclusion Team to enable prioritised support and amplify best practice.  ‍‍‍

Person Specification

The qualities for the Venue Inclusion Mentors who would be part of the Middlesex Inclusive Tennis Team are:

• An advocate for inclusion in tennis
• Expert knowledge in at least one of the five areas above
• Ability to influence all venue stakeholders – committees, coaches, volunteers, other members; plus, other partners such as local authorities, schools and voluntary sector partners.
• Ability to support venues to write plans with initial consultation, expertise, pragmatic milestones – leading to delivery.
• Administrative skills and record keeping including updating a centralised spreadsheet.
• Mentoring skills, sharing best practice.
• Working in your local geography but being prepared to cross the County if necessary and/or join meetings on TEAMs etc.

Training/Induction

The date of the first induction is to be set but it is anticipated that it will be in January.

Timelines:

• Application deadline: 30^th November 2023
• Interviews: December 2023
• Induction event: January 2024
• Online venue forum to launch the availability of Venue Inclusion Mentors: TBC  
• First mentoring meetings begin: February/March 2024

Rates of pay: £150 1/2 day (£75 1/4 day)

Anticipated time commitment - approx. 8 days per annum

Probation period: 6 months

Application:

Please apply by sending a CV, and a candidate statement of no more than 500 words outlining your skills, competencies, experience and enthusiasm for becoming a Middlesex Tennis Venue Inclusion Mentor to Mark Bullock on mark.bullock@middlesextennis.org.uk