Background
Every day in communities across the country, through its network of Local Sports Partnerships (LSPs), Sport Ireland helps people – irrespective of age, gender, disability, or social circumstance – to get active. The role of the ESF+ Social Innovation in Sport Officer employed within the LSPs will be to use sport and physical activity to foster social inclusion and provide education, inclusion, and personal development programmes for people at risk of social exclusion and poverty, such as ethnic minorities, youth at risk, persons with disabilities, and people from disadvantaged backgrounds throughout the country. All programmes will be developed with an innovation and user-centric focus.

This role is funded by the European Social Fund + (ESF+) Programme 2021 -2027 through Sport Ireland. The ESF+ Programme will support the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights by seeking to:

• Support access to employment for young people and underrepresented groups
• Promote skills and lifelong learning
• Tackle poverty and social exclusion

Sport and Physical Activity will be used as a mechanism to support these principles and the LSPs will be the main drivers on this project locally.

Sport Ireland published its first policy on Diversity and Inclusion in Sport in 2022, which expresses its vision for a sport sector that celebrates diversity, promotes inclusion, and is pro-active in providing opportunities for lifelong participation for everyone. The ESF+ Social Innovation in Sport Officer will work in collaboration with key local and national stakeholders to support the implementation of this policy.

Job Purpose
The ESF+ Social Innovation in Sport Officer will support the delivery of Sport Ireland’s Sport4Empowerment (S4E) programme. This will involve leading the delivery of the S4E programme with the objective of fostering active inclusion, with a view to promoting equal opportunities, non-discrimination, and active participation, and improving employability, in ESF + target groups and organisations locally. The programmes on this project will be designed, piloted, and scaled using design thinking principles.

The ESF+ Social Innovation in Sport Officer will collaborate with local partners and stakeholders to strengthen the programme’s capacity and reach. This active involvement of stakeholders will contribute to achieving the programme’s objectives and the creation of innovative sport and physical activity projects.

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