Community Exercise Coaching Takes Center Stage in Sittingbourne Leisure Role
Swallows Leisure Centre in Sittingbourne is recruiting a Health and Fitness Coach for a permanent, part-time post of 34.5 hours a week. The role sits inside Serco Limited’s leisure operations and is framed around a straightforward public health goal: helping more people become more active, more often.
The position is not limited to supervising a gym floor. It combines exercise prescription, member education, progress tracking, and a visible role in creating a safe, welcoming setting for people at different points in their fitness journey. For first-time gym users, that often means lowering the barrier to entry. For more experienced members, it means adjusting training plans so progress does not stall.
The posting places a clear premium on coaching rather than passive oversight. Staff are expected to deliver engaging fitness programmes, including group training and small group sessions, while also building personalised plans aligned with individual goals. In practical terms, that means turning broad wellness ambitions into repeatable, supervised activity that members can actually maintain.
Personalised Exercise Support and Ongoing Assessment
Health and fitness work in community leisure settings often succeeds or fails on continuity. A single induction rarely changes behavior; repeated contact does. The coach in this role is expected to monitor progress, offer motivation, and adapt programmes as members’ needs change, which is the kind of ongoing feedback loop that supports adherence to physical activity routines.
Assessment is part of the clinical-like structure of the job, even though this is not a hospital post. The role includes health and fitness assessments, with body composition and cardiovascular testing specifically named. Those measures help staff establish baseline status, monitor change over time, and tailor exercise intensity more safely. In a community setting, that can be the difference between a vague fitness promise and a plan that is concrete enough to follow.
The job also includes onboarding new members. That early phase matters because confidence is often fragile when people are entering a gym environment for the first time. A coach who can explain equipment, pace progression, and session structure can reduce intimidation and make continued attendance more likely.
One sentence captures the core of the role: fitness coaching here is as much about retention as it is about exercise.
Qualifications Point to Structured Fitness Delivery
The post asks for Level 2 Fitness Instructor and Level 3 Personal Trainer qualifications as essential requirements. Those credentials indicate a role that goes beyond casual supervision and into structured programme delivery. First aid training and group training qualifications are listed as desirable, or as areas the successful candidate should be willing to work toward.
That combination suggests a work environment where safety, technical knowledge, and group facilitation all matter at once. A coach needs enough training literacy to work with diverse members, enough communication skill to motivate without overpromising, and enough practical judgment to maintain a safe gym floor. The posting also asks for a solid understanding of health and fitness principles, which is the foundation for adapting exercise plans responsibly.
Strong interpersonal skills are not treated as optional extras. The description emphasizes the ability to build trust and create positive relationships with a diverse range of members. In leisure and community fitness settings, that trust often determines whether a participant returns for the second, third, or tenth session.
Safety, Inclusion, and Member Experience Shape the Role
The job description places equal emphasis on environment and delivery. The coach is expected to maintain a safe, clean, and welcoming gym space while supporting members on the floor. That speaks to a broader service model in which the physical space and the human interaction are inseparable.
Serco also points to inclusion through internal networks for LGBTQIA+ employees, women, parents and carers, people with disabilities, veterans, and people from all cultural backgrounds. Those details matter in a role that serves a wide cross-section of the community, because exercise participation is shaped not only by access to equipment but by whether people feel they belong in the space.
The role comes with standard employment features that may appeal to applicants seeking development rather than a static post. Benefits include 21 days plus bank holidays, a contributory pension scheme of up to 6%, an employee assistance programme, health-line support, a wellbeing app, discounted access at Serco-managed leisure centres, and a virtual GP service. The employer also advertises more than 1,100 internal courses, plus funding for qualifications and apprenticeships.
Occupational Screening and Workforce Standards
An Enhanced DBS check is required, including spent and unspent convictions, cautions, and any relevant information held by local police, in line with Rehabilitation of Offenders Act and safeguarding requirements. An occupational health questionnaire is also part of the process so support can be arranged where needed.
Those safeguards fit a role that places staff in direct contact with the public, including potentially vulnerable members of the community. Leisure centres are not clinical settings, but they do sit close to the health system in a broader sense. They can support physical activity, routine, confidence, and social connection, all of which influence long-term health behavior.
The vacancy is based at Swallows Leisure Centre, Central Avenue, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME10 4NT, and is offered on a permanent, part-time basis. The hourly rate is listed as £10.85 to £12.71. For applicants with the required fitness qualifications and an interest in community-facing health promotion, the role offers a direct route into structured exercise coaching with a strong emphasis on member support and programme delivery.