Place Lead

An exciting opportunity to join Energise Me’s Place team and work alongside the Place Partnership Boards and others in Southampton and Portsmouth to drive change – from the way people think to new policies and programmes.

You will build open and honest relationships with a range of people and organisations who hold the same values, motivations and desire to reduce inactivity and tackle health inequalities in communities of greatest need.

The role is responsible for leading the work in Portsmouth and Southampton to connect, collaborate, influence and create a culture where everyone can be active.

You’ll be joining at a pivotal point as we move from the development phase into the next stage of work with an anticipated Sport England investment of circa £1.4m into each city.

• Reporting to Head of Place-based Development
• 35 hours per week, worked flexibly to fit in with the needs of the role.
• Starting salary from £43,000
• 25 days paid holiday per year plus bank and public holidays (you will get 1 extra day of leave per full year of service, up to a maximum of 3 extra days).
• Energise Me will pay 10% employer contribution.
• 3 x Salary Life cover from date of employment underwritten by AIG Life.

We tackle the things that prevent active lifestyles, so everyone can improve their health and happiness by moving more.

Physical activity reduces our risk of depression and early death by up to 30%, and our risk of major illness by up to 50%.

We work hard to make it easier for everyone in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight to experience these benefits.

We are passionate about working creatively with other sectors to improve the health and wellbeing of local communities.

We are:

• Curious about what stops people from being active.
• Open to different ideas and perspectives.
• Creative in how we do things and who we work with.
• Bold in taking risks and speaking out about the things that need to change.

We are looking for a passionate leader with experience of developing positive relationships with people at all levels.

You’ll be a confident communicator and facilitator with experience of bringing people together to work collaboratively towards a common goal.

You will be comfortable working at a strategic level, ideally in a matrix environment, with experience of overseeing large scale programmes and budgets and managing teams.

You will be a good listener and someone who is able and willing to challenge, in a positive way.

You will be self-reflective, self-aware and able to adapt your behaviour.

• Build and maintain key strategic relationships across multiple sectors to drive place work in Portsmouth and Southampton.
• Connect bold leaders in priority places who have the opportunity and ability to influence or help other people to be more active.
• Work closely with Place Partnership Boards at a strategic level to drive implementation of the work.
• Oversee the work of the Place Programme Managers in Portsmouth and Southampton, guiding implementation of the place partnership delivery plans.
• Work with Place Partnership Boards and Place Programme Managers to ensure robust financial management and monitoring of the Sport England place investment.
• Ensure local data, insight and evidence continues to inform place delivery and be forward thinking in deploying new ways of reaching and working within inactive communities.
• Empower partners to evaluate the impact and value of their work, to capture and share the learning and continue to improve approaches.
• Facilitate Energise Me colleagues’ knowledge of place and ensure their thematic expertise is transferred into the work

Please download the Place Lead job pack below to find out more about the role and the knowledge and skills we are looking for.

To apply for this role, you will need to complete a short application via our online recruitment platform, Applied. Using Applied allows us to review applications anonymously to help reduce the chance of bias in the hiring process.

You will need to answer questions that relate to the job description and person specification. If you’re providing examples in your answer you can draw upon experience from previous work, your personal life or your education.

We know that AI has its place and can be tempting to use, however personal answers do stand out. The Applied system has a filter that allows us to see where AI has likely been used.

Your application will be anonymously reviewed by three people. This will include a member of the Energise Me team and a representative from a partner organisation in Portsmouth and in Southampton.

Deadline for applications: Sunday 22nd March 2026.

Interviews will take place week commencing 13 April 2026.

Apply

If you have any questions about the role please contact Penny Woods, penny.woods@energiseme.org