Loughborough Sport Placements

Loughborough Sport delivers a wide range of community sport programmes for children and families, including netball camps and participation initiatives that support thousands of customers each year.

A vital part of delivering these programmes successfully is providing clear, responsive and supportive online customer service – particularly for parents and carers booking, paying for and managing their child’s place on a programme.

This 1-year placement is designed for a student who enjoys helping people, is interested in how digital systems shape customer experience, and wants to take real ownership of customer-facing projects in a live environment.

The purpose of the role

The core purpose of this role is to provide high-quality online customer support for parents and carers whose children take part in Loughborough Sport’s community programmes - primarily netball - but also other sports initiatives delivered through the department like our swim school.

You will act as a key link between customers, programme leads and digital systems, ensuring that online journeys are clear, functional and customer-friendly, and that issues are resolved quickly and confidently.

Alongside this, you’ll gain hands-on experience using real-world digital tools to manage online accounts, registrations, payments and communications - developing valuable skills that are highly transferable beyond the business of sport.

In this role, you will:

• Act as a first point of contact for parents and carers, responding to online queries about:
  • Account set-up and access
  • Programme bookings and registrations
  • Payments, direct debits and refunds
  • Troubleshooting common online issues

• Use Loughborough Sport’s leisure management and booking systems to:
  • Support large volumes of customers simultaneously
  • Monitor and improve sign-up journeys for community programmes
  • Ensure customer data and transactions are handled accurately and professionally

• Take responsibility for maintaining and improving customer-facing digital content, such as:
  • Online registration pages
  • Automated email communications
  • Guidance and support information for parents
  • App- or website-based resources where required

• Work closely with programme leads (e.g. netball camps) to:
  • Implement changes to programmes at short notice (such as adding extra sessions)
  • Translate programme requirements into clear online customer processes
  • Identify recurring customer issues and propose practical system-based solutions

• Play an active role in improving the customer experience, using:
  • Customer feedback
  • Your own observations from daily support interactions
  • Collaboration with the Strategic Insights & Solutions (SIS) team to suggest and test improvements

• Take ownership of small customer-focussed projects, planning and documenting processes that help deliver:
  • Consistent online communication
  • Reliable customer support standards
  • A more intuitive experience for parents using our digital platforms

What will I get out of this opportunity?

• Hands-on experience providing online customer support in a live, high-volume environment
• Practical use of professional digital systems used in sport, leisure and wider service industries
• Opportunity to own and shape customer-facing processes, rather than just follow them
• Experience working across teams, including:
  • Sport programme leads
  • Digital systems specialists
  • Marketing and communications colleagues

• Development of highly transferable skills, including:
  • Customer communication and problem-solving
  • Digital platform management
  • Process improvement and documentation
  • Time management in a fast-paced environment

• Insight into how community sport programmes are delivered at scale and how systems and customer service directly affect participation and satisfaction

What is Loughborough Sport looking for?

You must be a current student at Loughborough University and demonstrate:

• A genuine interest in supporting customers, particularly parents or those who may need extra guidance online
• Confidence communicating clearly and professionally, especially in written form
• Interest in digital platforms, online systems and customer journeys
• An organised approach and ability to manage multiple tasks or enquiries at once
• Willingness to take responsibility, learn quickly and try new approaches
• Familiarity with tools such as Microsoft Excel or similar software (or a willingness to develop these skills)

Why this placement is different

This is not a passive or observational placement. You will:

• Be trusted to handle real customer interactions
• Use real systems used by thousands of people
• Take ownership of processes and projects that genuinely matter to families in the community

If you’re interested in how good digital design and customer support can make sport more accessible, this placement offers an excellent foundation for careers in sport, digital services, customer experience, or beyond.

Additional Details

• Paid stipend of £6000 over 12 months
• Preferred start date of 6-15 July but flex could be given until 3 August
• Minimum of 37 hours per week for 45 weeks
• Diploma of Professional Studies running alongside placement year

How can I apply?

Please send a CV & Video Application (can be slide deck with audio if preferred) to OneDrive via the file request link below. It’s up to you how you choose to produce the video, the only stipulations are that it is no longer than 5 minutes and you answer all questions (with relevant detail) set out below:

Tell us about yourself:

• Name

• Your experiences or interests in working in a customer-facing environment
• Your career aspirations

• What do you think you are like as a person, how would others describe you?

Tell us why you would like to join us:

• Why you? Why Loughborough Sport?

• Why are you interested in this role and what do you think you could bring to it?
• What digital skills do you have, or would like to develop, that make you a good candidate for the role?

To apply for this role, please upload your CV and video application via this link

Deadline for applications is Sunday 22^nd February at 23:59 & Interviews will take place w/c 2^nd March 2026.

Supervisor and programme contact for the role: Katie Killeavy

For any informal enquiries about the role, please contact Katie Killeavy, Solutions Manager for Loughborough Sport - k.l.killeavy@lboro.ac.uk