Batonbearer Operations Manager

Department: Queen’s Baton Relay, CCQ Reports to: Senior Project Manager, QBR Position Type: Full-Time

1. JOB PURPOSE

In July 2022, will host the XXII , the largest multi- sport event to be held in in 10 years. Approximately 6,500 athletes and team officials from 72 nations and territories across the Commonwealth will come together in a 12-day celebration of sport and culture. Events will take place across Birmingham and the West Midlands, entertaining more than one million ticketed spectators and reaching a global broadcast audience of more than one billion.

Each of the signatories to the Host City Contract (HCC); the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), UK Government, and Commonwealth Games England (CGE) together with the Organising Committee (OC) have key roles role in the planning and delivery of the , both individually and collectively to ensure that the 2022 Commonwealth Games and the host community legacies derived from hosting the Games are a huge success.

The parties to the HCC have established Birmingham Organising Committee for the 2022 Commonwealth Games Ltd as the Organising Committee (‘OC’). The scope of the OC’s role is broad and complex and ranges from ensuring the physical readiness of the venues and temporary facilities, to the planning, coordination and delivery of more than 40 operational functions such as transport, security and catering to meet

the needs of the Games, including the athletes, technical officials, spectators, press, broadcasters and other Games Family and stakeholders.

The OC and partners are committed to delivering the Games as efficiently and effectively as possible to ensure the event is sustainable and accessible to all in the long term. We are seeking individuals to join us who are innovative, commercially astute and have a genuine passion and interest in delivering the most sustainable, inclusive and accessible Commonwealth Games to date.

Birmingham 2022 are working towards achieving Leaders in Diversity through the National Centre for Diversity. The principles “FREDIE” Fairness - Respect - Equality - Diversity - Inclusion and Engagement support our aim of delivering a truly inclusive and accessible games.

The CCQ (Ceremonies, Culture and Queen’s Baton Relay) division of the OC is responsible for the Opening & Closing Ceremonies, the Queen’s Baton Relay, Sport Presentation, Athletes Welcome, Learning Programme, Cultural Festival, and Live Sites.

The first Queen’s Baton Relay took place in 1958 in and since then has become a tradition and curtain raiser unique to the Commonwealth Games. The Baton will journey around all Commonwealth nations and territories; containing a message from Her Majesty the Queen to the athletes, to be read aloud at the Opening Ceremony to mark the start of the Games.

At the heart of each Relay are the thousands of Batonbearers that are selected to carry the Baton through their community. These Batonbearers will be nominated and selected through the Birmingham 2022 process, and will be aligned to the vision and themes of the Relay. This role is responsible for the planning and delivery of all elements of the Batonbearer programme, delivering excellent service to all Batonbearers and stakeholders, creating accurate records and communicating with Batonbearers throughout the project lifecycle.

This role is responsible for managing all elements of Batonbearer Operations for the Queen’s Baton Relay. This includes all project streams related to Batonbearers - the recruitment, selection, uniform and information distribution and communication with all stakeholders that have Batonbearer positions.

The position works closely with the Relay Advance team, who are responsible for planning the domestic route, to slot all Batonbearers for the Queen’s Baton Relay, as

well as recruiting and training shuttle bus hosts. This role also works closely with the Convoy and Logistics Manager to recruit and train shuttle bus drivers and schedule all the shuttle bus movements for the delivery of Batonbearer Operations at Relay time.

2. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES

Responsibilities of the role will evolve during the lifespan of the Organising Committee and it is likely that the role profile will evolve with the changing needs of the OC.

• Responsible for the development, management, and coordination of the Batonbearer programme • Manage the implementation of the Batonbearer recruitment and selection process • Manage the distribution of Batonbearer, information across all Batonbearer categories • Manage the Batonbearer slotting process, working with the Relay Advance team • Manage the Batonbearer database including data input, accuracy of information and produce reports and information as required • Plan and deliver the Batonbearer communication plan, including emails, and other key communications before and during the Relay • Manage and detail any specific needs of each Batonbearer and ensure these are met – for example, access/attachments, protocol requirements etc. • Work closely with Convoy & Logistics Manager in the recruitment of shuttle hosts and shuttle drivers, and planning the shuttle bus operations • Create training/presentation modules to train the shuttle bus drivers and shuttle hosts • Supervise each briefing at Collection Points on a daily basis during the delivery of the Relay • Working with the Communications lead, supervise media involvement at Collection Points and manage their access to Batonbearers on a daily basis • This role will work closely with the Senior Programmes Manager to ensure all elements of the Batonbearer programme deliver the best possible experience for Batonbearers and stakeholders throughout the planning and delivery

3. PERSON SPECIFICATION a) Skills and experience required

AREA ESSENTIAL DESIRABLE

Qualifications • UK Drivers Licence • Degree or equivalent in a related discipline.

Skills & • Ability to build and maintain • Experience of Abilities relationships with internal and recruiting large external stakeholders numbers of • Project management volunteers or Baton • Ability to conduct detailed or Torchbearers precision planning • Experience of • Highly competent with databases delivery of • Strong negotiation skills Communications • Strong written and verbal campaigns and CRM presentation skills to use planning tools. • Ability to be diplomatic in the

face of often competing demands

• Advanced user of Microsoft Excel, Word and PowerPoint • Ability to undertake domestic travel during the planning phase and throughout the delivery of the relay.

Knowledge & • Proven effectiveness and Experience success of working in event operations • Proven effectiveness and success in database management • Knowledge and understanding of the complexities involved in the planning and staging of road based events

b) Personal Qualities

Teamwork • Embraces diversity and displays respect and loyalty to colleagues, the organisation and partners; • Engages effectively, and is helpful and supportive towards others; • Highly collaborative, taking the time to engage with team members; • Reliable and committed to success of the team; • Embraces change and is adaptable; • Able to multitask and willing to take on additional roles and tasks; Communication • Natural communicator at all levels, approachable and knowledgeable; • Open and transparent but also maintains trust and confidentiality; • Prepared to challenge information and bureaucracy; • Embraces and absorbs new information. • Comes up with ideas and communicates these to others Commitment • Displays the highest levels of integrity and commitment with and results an ability to deliver excellent results; delivery • Plans ahead and manages time effectively; • Deals with ambiguity, flexible and creative in approach to delivery; • Resilient and positive through change and adapts positively; • Takes accountability and ownership of tasks and problems; • Tenacious and seeks to overcome obstacles and challenges; • Meets milestones and is committed to achieving a positive result; • Uses initiative to resolve matters within control and understands when to pass on relevant issues or incidents; • Comes up with ideas and shares these with the team; • Follows rules and guidelines; • Provides quality work that is fit for purpose;

Motivation and • Self - motivated and proud to be part of the experience; drive • Demonstrates enjoyment in their work; • Professional, polite and approachable manner; • Positive attitude and optimistic; • Resilient, calm and in control of emotions;