Manager, Education - Little Athletics Victoria - Salary $70,000 to $80,000 pa - Closing date 21 Aug 2022

Little Athletics Victoria

Little Athletics Victoria (LAVic) is the peak sporting body for Little Athletics in Victoria with the responsibility for administering, promoting, developing and growing the sport.  Based at Lakeside Stadium, Albert Park, LAVic employs11 staff and engages a large community-based volunteer workforce to deliver the program to approximately 100 Centres across Victoria and the border with New South Wales, each of which are allocated to one of seven geographical Regions. LAVic is a member-based incorporated association governed by a 9-member Board of Directors.

Little Athletics is a uniquely Australian modified athletics program for children from 5 to 16 years.  Launched in Geelong in 1964, in subsequent decades ‘Little Aths’ has been rolled out across all States and most territories throughout Australia.  LAVic is affiliated with Little Athletics Australia (LAA) to assist the development of the sport nationally.

The Little Athletics program is based on the sport and disciplines of track and field, and offers a wide range of running, jumping, throwing and walking activities modified to suit the age, developmental stage and ability of the children.  More than 80,000 young Australians participate in Little Athletics across the country, including 15,000 in Victoria. 

Along with administering Little Athletics Track & Field and Cross Country competition at local, Region and State level, LAVic delivers a wide range of training and development interventions for athletes and officials to enhance the capacity of the sport.  LAVic remains a prominent supporter of high profile causes, including a 50-year relationship with the Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal.

LAVic is the Victorian State Sporting Organisation (‘SSO’) for the sport of Little Athletics.  Its operations include the conduct of sport-related activities, including competition events, clinics and programs.  Delivery of these activities can, and do, occur outside of business hours (often on weekends and at night time), and typically involve long hours.

Position Overview

The Manager - Education is responsible for the delivery of LAVic’s key education interventions for the development of coaches, officials, parents and volunteers, including Centre and Region committees.  The role is also responsible for delivering LAVic’s key athlete-development programs, such as the Junior Development Squad (JDS), managing the Victorian representative team at the Australian Little Athletics Championships, skills clinics and the OnTrack program.

The Manager - Education liaises with a wide network of suppliers and contacts in order to deliver the key education activities.  This includes parents, athletes, coaches, officials, colleagues in similar roles in other State Member Associations, and others. 

The role reports to the CEO and manages a small team of two reports that assist with the delivery of the key role outcomes, and provide face to face outreach activities with Centres. 

Areas of Responsibility:

The position is responsible for three key areas of operational activities:

1. Education - planning, co-ordinating, development and delivery of LAVic’s key educational interventions in areas essential for Centre capability such as:

• Courses: Introduction to Little Athletics Skills (ITLAS), Introduction to Officiating Course (ITOC), Starters Clinics. Co-ordinate and process course bookings, liaise with course attendees and facilitators; secure course locations.
• Procuring of equipment, supplies and services related to the delivery of education activities.
• Map the distribution of coaches and officials at Centre, Region and State levels.
• Working with Centres and Regions to determine and address their capability needs for coaching and officiating.
• Multi-Class programs (for athletes with disability): working with the LAVic Multi-Class Ambassador to develop Multi-Class education resources to enhance Centre coaching & officiating capability.
• Revising and growing the suite of digital and online education resources on LAVic’s Centre resource website, OurCentre.com.au, particularly for coaching, officiating and Region & Centre committee roles and responsibilities.

2. Programs - planning, co-ordinating, development and delivery of LAVic’s signature athlete development programs:

• Junior Development Squad: designing the program and calendar of dates, determining the athlete selection standards, management of coaches and assistants, athlete selection, uniform sizing and distribution, parent liaison, venue bookings, equipment management, conducting training sessions.
• Australian Little Athletics Championships (ALAC): management of the Victorian representative team at the national championships, including selection of athletes, coach co-ordination, devising the training program, athlete preparation, uniform sizing and distribution, co-ordinating team travel and accommodation arrangements, parent liaison, co-ordination with Little Athletics Australia.
• OnTrack: a modified fundamental movement skills program designed for younger athletes and conducted at some Centres.  Revising the program annually and co-ordinating the training timetable.
• Development Officer program: a team of two Development Officers that provide direct face-to-face ‘outreach’ assistance and support to Centres on behalf of LAVic and Regions.
• Skills Clinics: U7-U8 Skills Clinic, U9-U10 Skills Clinic, U11-U12 skills clinic.

3. General

• The role is part of a small team and may be readily called upon to assist the CEO or other team members with projects and activities where required.
• While the official LAVic office hours are Monday to Friday, 9am – 5.06pm, the role involves out of hours work as most Region & State competition events and education activities are scheduled to take place on weekends.
• Periodic reports are required to be drafted for the CEO and Board. 

Organisational Relationship:

The position reports to the Chief Executive Officer.  The role works closely with all LAVic employees. 

The role deals with venue/facility managers, course facilitators, coaches, officials, the Multi-Class Ambassador, event services suppliers, Centre & Region committees, athletes/parents/volunteers registered in education events and others.

Child safety and inclusion statement

Little Athletics Victoria is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people involved in Little Athletics. 

We actively encourage applications from Aboriginal people, people from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds and people with a disability.

Qualifications and Skills:

• A tertiary qualification in sports management, event management or related discipline.
• A sound knowledge of Little Athletics and the educational requirements of the sport.
• Experience working in or volunteering in children’s sport.
• Well developed skills in the use of standard office software packages, such as Office365 and Google.
• Attention to detail.
• Ability to undertake long periods of manual work, including heavy lifting.
• Victorian driver’s licence & ability to drive small vans and tow trailers.
• Valid Working with Children Check.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills, including public speaking.
• Demonstrated excellence in customer service and team work.
• Athletics coaching / officiating experience looked upon favourably.

Key Selection Criteria:

• People management & leadership capabilities, inclusive of employees and volunteers.
• Event planning and delivery capabilities.
• Experience in delivering educational programs to sporting clubs.
• Knowledge of governance and compliance issues in community sport.
• Child safety experience.
• Able to work autonomously.
• Ability to work well in a small team, not-for-profit environment.