Core Services

At the UK Sports Institute, our core services are designed to support and enhance every aspect of our mission. From communication to safeguarding, each team plays a vital role.

Our dedicated departments collaborate to ensure that athletes and staff receive the best possible support, driving excellence and innovation across all areas of high-performance sport.

Communications

The Communications team is dedicated to enhancing our organisation’s visibility and reputation, while fostering strong relationships with stakeholders across high-performance sport. We focus on clear and engaging communication, managing media relations, and producing high-quality content that showcases the achievements of the UKSI. Additionally, we ensure a regular stream of informative updates for our staff, channels, and stakeholders. Through this approach, we keep our UKSI people informed and engaged, highlighting their stories and successes.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (ED&I)

The ED&I team fosters an inclusive and diverse environment where everyone is treated with respect and fairness. They are responsible for implementing the ED&I Strategy, delivering the Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP), and curating activations that promote equality and celebrate diverse experiences across the institute. The team works to ensure that everyone, regardless of their protected and personal characteristics, can reach their fullest potential. Their responsibilities include assessing practices, facilitating training, and raising awareness and understanding of EDI. Through this work, the team aims to enhance equity, engagement, and overall performance while ensuring legal compliance, such as with the Equality Act 2010.

Finance

The UKSI Finance department is responsible for maintaining and managing accurate financial records and financial processes and systems that help the organisation achieve its objectives. They collaborate with other UKSI teams and support the Senior Leadership team by providing timely, accurate, and up-to-date financial information. Their key functions include managing accounts payable and receivable, working closely with both suppliers and customers to resolve issues and ensure payments are made and received in a timely manner. The department also ensures consistent application of financial policies, internal controls, and procedures, while seeking opportunities to improve systems for asset protection and accurate financial reporting.

Information Systems

The Information Systems Team provides comprehensive support for users and their IT devices, as well as for the core systems that everyone relies on, such as email, Teams, and SharePoint. The team is dedicated to ensuring that all technological aspects of the organisation run smoothly and efficiently. In addition to system support, a strong emphasis is placed on cybersecurity, actively working to prevent cyber and data breaches through the deployment of appropriate technology services.

Learning and Development

The Learning and Development (L&D) Team works closely with colleagues throughout the UKSI to ensure everyone has the skills they need now and, in the future, and to support everyone in carrying out their jobs in a safe and compliant manner. The team provides a range of centrally developed solutions and supports colleagues in developing and delivering their own solutions locally. The Learning Arena serves as the gateway to all solutions, from eLearning to blended solutions and longer-term face-to-face programs.

Legal

The UKSI Legal team looks after the legal needs of the organisation, covering activities such as contracts, intellectual property, research, procurement, disputes, and governance matters. Reporting to the Director of Finance & Business Operations, their overall objective is to ensure that the UKSI can achieve its aims while complying with applicable legislation and minimising legal risk. As a public body with a unique position in the UK’s high-performance system, their work is diverse and varied. As the first point of contact for legal queries, we handle questions from all angles posed by our internal experts – doctors, physios, sports scientists, data analysts, engineers, and operations. Therefore, understanding the business, its culture, and its processes is key.

Operations

The Operations team plays a crucial role in supporting UKSI practitioners in delivering services to athletes and ensuring the smooth running of the organisation through various functions. These include business and medical administration, site operation and management and act as the business and administrative point of contact for sports using UKSI services. The team coordinates specific service functions, ensures regulatory compliance including health and safety and adherence to Care Quality Commission (CQC) standards, and provides multi-sport practitioner line management. Additionally, they offer executive assistance for senior leaders within the organisation and develop and nurture relationships with partner sports and site hosts.

Partnerships

The Partnerships team is dedicated to facilitating mutually beneficial collaborations that enable the UKSI to help sports and athletes excel. Our partnerships range from strategic alliances impacting multiple disciplines and areas such as research, health, technology, and innovation, to those focused on delivering specific outcomes. We use our platforms, the expertise we have across the organisation and our world leading practitioners to support our partners and recognise the valuable contribution they make, harnessing the power of our brand.

People Team

At the centre of every successful organisation is a dedicated People team. Our People team at the UKSI puts our colleagues at the heart of everything we do. They handle everything from recruitment and onboarding of new talent to supporting our colleagues in growing and thriving in their roles. They also manage employee relations, fostering a harmonious environment where everyone is treated with respect and fairness. They oversee our pay and benefits, ensuring our colleagues are rewarded for their hard work. Additionally, they ensure our company complies with all relevant employment laws and regulations. Above all, they are here to support our colleagues, helping them navigate their careers and achieve their professional goals.

Safeguarding

The Safeguarding team are committed to working collaboratively to safeguard the welfare of children and adults. Integral to this commitment is support for our staff and partners, whose well-being and welfare are at the heart of what we do as an organisation. Their focus is to ensure that the UKSI upholds best practices and consistency in safeguarding and that all safeguarding issues are treated seriously. To achieve this, we have dedicated safeguarding team, with a reporting procedure to ensure that any safeguarding concerns or issues can be professionally, safely, and swiftly reported and acted upon.