The British Softball Federation is looking to fill two vacancies on its Executive Board. The first vacancy is for a National Teams Officer who will also chair 
the GB Management Committee; the second is for a new position of Fastpitch Development Officer.
The National Teams Officer role has been vacant since the second half of 2021, when Alexis Markham-Hill was forced to step down from the position due to ill-health. The post-holder will be the Chair of the GB Management Committee (GBMC), a BSF subcommittee that supports and oversees GB National Team programmes and will be the link between the GBMC and the BSF Executive. This is a key position on the Executive, and, with international competition resuming for GB Teams in 2022, one that needs to be filled as soon as possible.
The position of Fastpitch Development Officer is a new role whose main remit will be to plan, develop, support and oversee domestic fastpitch competition structures and to work with BaseballSoftballUK in planning and delivering fastpitch development programmes for children and young people as well as for adults.
Both positions will be filled by co-option if viable candidates come forward, but the co-opted Officers will be required to stand for election to a two-year term at the 2023 BSF AGM.
How to apply
Anyone interested in applying for either position should write to BSF Administrator Bob Fromer with information on your employment and softball background, relevant skills and experience and why you are interested in the position.
You can also contact Bob Fromer if you are looking for more information about either position.
The deadline for applying for the National Teams Officer position is 5.00 pm on Friday 25 March.
The deadline for applying for the Fastpitch Development Officer position is 5.00 pm on Friday 1 April.
More detailed information about both positions is below.
National Teams Officer
One of the key subcommittees of the BSF Executive Board is the GB Management Committee (GBMC), whose purpose is to support and oversee national team programmes. The remit of the National Teams Officer is to help form and influence the strategic direction of GB Softball National Teams by serving as the Chair of the GBMC and as the main link between the GBMC and the Executive.
Responsibilities
As GBMC Chair, the main functions of the National Teams Officer are to:
- Monitor and help direct the activities of the 10 national teams that compete in different disciplines and age groups on behalf of the Federation.
- Define and maintain membership of the GBMC so as to involve all softball disciplines and provide the most effective support to national team programmes.
- Call meetings of the group and (along with the GBMC Administrator) create agendas for these meetings.
- Make sure that actions decided and assigned at meetings are carried out in a timely fashion.
- Oversee and approve use of GBMC funds.
- Report to the BSF Board on GBMC decisions and national team programme issues.
Skills and experience
GB Softball programme aspirations include winning a medal in Women’s Fastpitch Softball at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, continuing our success as European Champions in slowpitch softball and building strong national teams throughout all formats of our sport. The person leading this effort on behalf of the Federation should have:
- An interest in or experience of elite sport.
- An understanding of elite coaching, competition and talent pathways.
- Skills in leading working groups / committees.
- Good communications skills.
- People skills.
Fastpitch Development Officer
Although fastpitch softball activity has increased in the UK over the past few years, and the Great Britain Fastpitch League, post-pandemic, has grown slightly in numbers and to a degree in quality of play, fastpitch remains a tiny element of British softball as a whole, with growth constrained by the overwhelming predominance of slowpitch.
Yet fastpitch remains the main and most important format for international softball competition, and if our national fastpitch teams are ever to be populated by a majority of UK-based players, it is in our interest to create a healthier balance between fastpitch and slowpitch in British softball.
The new Fastpitch Development Officer position will carry out many of the same functions for fastpitch on the BSF Executive as the current Coaching and Competitions Officers do for slowpitch.
Responsibilities
The Fastpitch Development Officer position will be concerned entirely with the growth and development of domestic fastpitch for both male and female players of all ages. The post-holder will not be directly involved with fastpitch national team programmes but will work with national team personnel to relate development initiatives to the national team talent pathway.
The main elements of the role will be to plan, develop, support and oversee fastpitch competition structures in the UK and to work with BaseballSoftballUK in planning and delivering fastpitch development programmes, primarily for children and young people but also for adults.
BaseballSoftballUK, in consultation with the British Softball Federation and other stakeholders, will be creating a comprehensive and long-term Development Plan for fastpitch in 2022, and the new Fastpitch Development Officer will be integral to the Plan’s implementation.
Specifications
Volunteers who wish to apply for the position of Fastpitch Development Officer should have:
- An interest in and experience of fastpitch softball.
- Some knowledge of sports development.
- Good strategic planning skills.
- Good communications skills.
- The ability to work both independently and as part of a larger group.