Support services

In many large leisure centres and in all organisations there are a range of people providing a support service. This can be from general clerical areas to specialist roles such as finance and information technology.

In some leisure centres these functions can be provided as part of the direct centre management team, whilst in some leisure departments and private companies this support can be provided from remote locations.

Marketing and policy

In many operations there are marketing officers, policy officers or a combination of duties.

In this area people are responsible for accessing information such as a census, performance indicators, reports, national initiatives and liaising with a host of regional and national agencies. This enables informed decisions to be made which in turn develops policies and strategies for the services.

Some dedicated marketing and promotional posts also exist and work may include the production of publicity materials, branding, campaigns, marketing plans and dealing with the media.

Qualifications such as a marketing certificate or diploma, an appropriate degree, together with experience are usually required.

Information technology

The use of computers in tills, booking systems, finance and management information systems is common practice in today's modern leisure business. Some organisations expect a basic level of IT literacy and familiarity with programmes for word processing, spreadsheets and internet research.

If you are interested in such areas, the best advice is to ask at your local facilities.