Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust

Sports and Exercise Technician

The closing date is 17 November 2025

Job summary

Please note, at this stage, the role is open only to internal staff (including NHSP and Agency staff currently on placement within our organisation) and staff substantively employed within Kent and Medway NHS Trusts and the Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board (ICB). Any individual who is at risk of redundancy will be given priority, provided they meet the essential criteria.

An opportunity has arisen to recruit a Sports and Exercise Technician who has a keen interest and enthusiasm in Sports and Exercise within the well-established Physiotherapy team. We are keen to recruit an individual who has a wide knowledge of health and wellbeing related to sports and exercise.

St Martin Hospital is an acute inpatient mental health hospital that provides care to adults with mental health conditions.

Sports and Exercise Technicians are recognised as essential, core and supportive members of the multi-disciplinary team. You will be part of the sport tech team, which is within the physiotherapy service.

We are looking for an individual who is motivated to take part in service development projects. We offer regular supervision, Personal Development Plans, in-service training and support for Continual Professional Development activities.

Main duties of the job

  • Provide and promote sport and exercise to service users in an acute mental health inpatient setting, through individual sessions and group settings.
  • Educate & motivate service users to adopt healthier lifestyles and provide a range of health promotion activities, including the importance of regular exercise, healthy eating, weight management and smoking cessation.
  • Work and plan alongside other members of the immediate team and wider MDT, communicating effectively about service users and service changes/developments.

About us

We are the Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust. We care for the mental health and wellbeing of people across Kent and Medway. Our teams support adults with a wide range of mental health needs. Because we cover the whole county and both hospital and community settings, we can make care more joined up and easier to access for the 1.8 million people of Kent and Medway. Rated 'Good' by the CQC, we care for over 2,000 people in our hospitals and 54,000 in the community each year.

Our vision is simple: We are here to help communities not just live with mental illness, but live well. It's why we're passionate about working with communities to make mental health care better for everyone. And everything we do is guided by our values caring, inclusive, curious and confident.

Join us - if you share our passion for better mental health care and want to be part of a team that's doing well together.

Details

Date posted

03 November 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 4

Salary

£27,485 to £30,162 a year per annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

380-AC0754

Job locations

St Martin Hospital, Canterbury

Littlebourne Road

Canterbury

CT1 1TD


Job description

Job responsibilities

Please see the attached job description for full details of the main duties and responsibilities of the role.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please see the attached job description for full details of the main duties and responsibilities of the role.

Person Specification

Training, Qualifications and Registration

Essential

  • BTEC extended diploma/ Level 3 National Diploma in Sports and Fitness/ Personal Training or Equivalent Experience

Desirable

  • Sports and Exercise related training and/or development

Experience

Essential

  • At least 2 years' experience of working within a fitness setting
  • Experience of working as a gym instructor, with groups and individuals, screening, assessing and designing exercise programmes
  • Experience of coaching/leading sports activities with people of differing abilities

Desirable

  • Experience of working in a mental health setting
  • Experience of assessing and advising on healthy lifestyle issues
  • Ability to teach a variety of sports
  • Experience of working with service users with physical health conditions

Knowledge and Skills

Essential

  • Good written skills
  • Basic IT skills
  • Group work skills

Desirable

  • Understanding of mental health conditions

Personal Qualities

Essential

  • Flexibility to change and innovation

Desirable

  • Ability to reflect on own practice
Person Specification

Training, Qualifications and Registration

Essential

  • BTEC extended diploma/ Level 3 National Diploma in Sports and Fitness/ Personal Training or Equivalent Experience

Desirable

  • Sports and Exercise related training and/or development

Experience

Essential

  • At least 2 years' experience of working within a fitness setting
  • Experience of working as a gym instructor, with groups and individuals, screening, assessing and designing exercise programmes
  • Experience of coaching/leading sports activities with people of differing abilities

Desirable

  • Experience of working in a mental health setting
  • Experience of assessing and advising on healthy lifestyle issues
  • Ability to teach a variety of sports
  • Experience of working with service users with physical health conditions

Knowledge and Skills

Essential

  • Good written skills
  • Basic IT skills
  • Group work skills

Desirable

  • Understanding of mental health conditions

Personal Qualities

Essential

  • Flexibility to change and innovation

Desirable

  • Ability to reflect on own practice

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Employer details

Employer name

Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust

Address

St Martin Hospital, Canterbury

Littlebourne Road

Canterbury

CT1 1TD


Employer's website

https://www.kentmedwaymentalhealth.nhs.uk (Opens in a new tab)


Employer details

Employer name

Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust

Address

St Martin Hospital, Canterbury

Littlebourne Road

Canterbury

CT1 1TD


Employer's website

https://www.kentmedwaymentalhealth.nhs.uk (Opens in a new tab)


Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Physiotherapy Lead

Nathalie Yeames-Drieu

Nathalie.Yeames-Drieu@nhs.net

07707151987

Details

Date posted

03 November 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 4

Salary

£27,485 to £30,162 a year per annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

380-AC0754

Job locations

St Martin Hospital, Canterbury

Littlebourne Road

Canterbury

CT1 1TD


Supporting documents

Privacy notice

Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust's privacy notice (opens in a new tab)