Our Stories

James

“I enjoy working at the Institute of Swimming, as there is always a huge variety in workload so you are always doing something different which keeps you motivated and engaged

“There is a strong camaraderie between the team in Swim England and everyone is keen to help each other out and work towards common goals.

“Everyone has the opportunity to share ideas and there are great progression pathways available should you wish to further develop your career within the swimming environment.

“Working for the national governing body for swimming gives me a great sense of pride and is a further motivating point to ensure everything I do is to the highest standard.”

Steph

“I joined Swim England in January 2019 as a Club Development Officer for the South West Region. No two days were ever the same in this role. The best part was working face to face with some of our fantastic clubs and volunteers.

After a year off to have a baby I returned to work as a Programmes Officer for Growth.

We have a great People Development Team at Swim England who worked closely with me to ensure my return to work was a smooth and stress free transition. I am 6 months into my new role now and I am really enjoying it.

I’m currently working on some exciting legacy projects. One is aimed at making aquatic sports more inclusive in London and the other is a volunteer recruitment campaign inspired by Tokyo 2020.

I love working in the Swim England Development Team. It’s flexible, fun and really rewarding.”

Nicola

“I have worked for Swim England since May 2022 as Project Officer on the Ripple Effect project funded by Sprit of 2012.

It’s a new project and my role is Inclusion in Volunteering. I think I am in a unique position as I have known the aquatic world as both a non-disabled person and a disabled person. I am an above knee amputee of 6 years and I think this gives me a valuable insight to some difficulties that people of disability face on a daily basis.

I have been given the opportunity to work with an amazing team and the chance to discuss my particular disability with them – it even gave a member of the team the chance to experience what difficulty people in wheelchairs deal with. My role has also allowed me the opportunity to undertake BSL level 1 so that I can communicate better with volunteers that are deaf or who have hearing impairments as I was very conscious of not being able to understand what they were telling me about the barriers they face regularly.

The team I work with are a fun, friendly group of people and I have been made to feel very welcome. I feel very lucky to have a job that I feel passionately about and look forward to seeing what the project brings and meeting amazing people along the way.”

Rachel

“I have worked for Swim England since 2022 and during this time they have supported me by allowing a flexible working request.

“I currently play professional football which meant I submitted a working request to change my days and hours in summer 2023. The approval of these changes allowed me to attend football training in the days and continue to work for Swim England on a part time basis on my days off. I enjoy my role as the Rankings administrator and didn`t want to give this up so finding a balance between work and football was ideal for me.

“This change has allowed me to further develop my role within the membership team but also support my career in football. I really value being a part of the membership team both in work and the activities we do outside of work so these changes have allowed me to continue to be a member of our team.”

Insiya

“I joined Swim England in January 2023 as a Data Analyst in the Insight team. So far, I’ve had the opportunity to learn and develop my skills, with continual growth and development always being encouraged. My role has allowed me to work with people across the whole organisation, and everyone’s so lovely to work with!

“Swim England have also been very accommodating to me when it comes to flexible working. I’ve been able to work from home during the month of Ramadan, which has allowed me to make the most of the holy month, whilst also being able to maintain my level of performance at work remotely. As well as this, my flexible working request to split my regular working week between the offices and home was also approved – which has significantly improved my work-life balance.

“I’ve had a great time working for Swim England over the past year, seeing friendly faces around the office and having a great team to work with. I feel lucky to have a job where my work has an impact and helps promotes the positive impact of Swimming across the country!”

Beth

“I joined Swim England in 2022 to lead the Inspire 2022 programme, a Commonwealth Games legacy project funded by Sport England. It’s been a real opportunity for us to dive into the challenges being faced specifically in Birmingham and the Black Country. In response, we’ve trialled different models of engagement with aquatics, some of which could become pivotal in turning back the dial for participation with aquatics.

“Swim England are now moving into a more place-based way of working, building on the learnings from Inspire and I’m excited to be part of that journey.

“Our colleagues are always keen to share ideas and come up with solutions and that energy and enthusiasm creates a really motivating environment for me.

“We can also work flexibly around our home life and for me, that involves being on a pager for Plymouth RNLI. Swim England have been hugely supportive if I have to leave meetings to crew the lifeboat for a shout in the middle of the day. I’m really lucky that the water safety focus I have at work also transfers into my volunteering life too!”