Mark Griffiths
Eastbourne,United Kingdom
Summary
After many years of successfully leading teams, developing services, and building positive environments within education, sport, and childcare settings, now seeking new challenge in order continue to grow both professionally and personally. Motivated by opportunities to make meaningful difference, support and develop others, and contribute positively within high-responsibility environment. With a calm, compassionate, and emotionally intelligent approach, brings strong leadership, resilience, and proven ability to manage challenging situations while maintaining high standards of care, professionalism, and accountability. Is able to rigorously follow policy and procedure while also demonstrating initiative, sound judgement, and creativity when responding to complex situations and individual needs.
Overview
25
25
years of professional experience
7
7
years of post-secondary education
Work history
Founder/Owner
Sportitude Ltd
Eastbourne, East Sussex
2016.04 - Current
- Founded and led Sportitude, transforming business from start-up to high-performing multi-site operation over 10-year period.
- Drove strategic growth to achieve near £500k annual revenue, overseeing operations across double-digit locations while leading, developing, and managing team of more than 20 staff.
- Held overall responsibility for safeguarding, health and safety, staff welfare and development, legal compliance, financial management, and cultivation of strong relationships with local authority clients, customers, and partner organisations.
- Demonstrated strong commercial leadership, operational management, stakeholder engagement, and organisational development throughout sustained growth and expansion.
- Created safe work environment, ensured worker satisfaction and retention rates remained high.
- Assembled talented team of professionals, fostering collaborative and results-oriented work environment.
Primary School PE Lead
Heron Park Primary Academy
Eastbourne, East Sussex
2012.09 - 2016.04
- Appointed as PE Lead at Heron Park Primary School, inheriting significantly underdeveloped sports programme with low staff engagement and limited enthusiasm for PE across wider school community.
- Through strong leadership, strategic development, and passionate commitment to physical education, transformed school’s sports provision into highly engaging, inclusive, and multi-award-winning programme.
- Successfully increased participation, staff involvement, and community engagement while embedding positive culture around sport, wellbeing, and achievement throughout school.
- Increased after-school sports clubs attendance by more than 600%.
Regional Manager
Planet Sport Ltd
Nottingham, Nottinghamshire
2006.09 - 2012.08
- Selected by Planet Sport to establish and lead new regional operation from ground up, relocating to Nottingham to spearhead expansion.
- Over six-year period, successfully built region from inception into one of company’s highest-performing and most profitable areas through strategic leadership, business development, operational excellence, and strong relationship management.
- Demonstrated ability to drive sustained growth, build high-performing teams, and deliver exceptional commercial results in highly competitive environment.
Sports Coach
Planet Sport Ltd
Crawley, West Sussex
2001.04 - 2006.08
- Joined Planet Sport as PE and sports coach, delivering high-quality PE lessons, after-school clubs, and holiday camps for primary school-aged children.
- Through consistent performance, professionalism, and strong commitment to child development and coaching excellence, progressively took on additional leadership responsibilities including Holiday Camp Manager and Coaching Mentor.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Psychology
The Open University
Remote 2012.09 - 2013.07
Higher National Diploma - Applied Sports Science
Eastbourne College of Arts and Technology
Eastbourne, East Sussex 2000.09 - 2001.05
NVQ Level 3 - Sports Coaching
Eastbourne College of Arts and Technology
Eastbourne 2000.09 - 2001.05
GCSEs - General/Various
Hailsham Secondary School
Hailsham 2012.09 - 2017.06
Skills
Experienced and highly motivated leader with strong background in operational management, team development, and safeguarding across education, sport, and childcare settings Proven ability to manage high-responsibility environments, oversee health and safety, support staff wellbeing, and maintain legal and organisational compliance Calm, emotionally intelligent, and compassionate in approach, with strong interpersonal and communication skills and ability to build positive relationships with children, colleagues, local authorities, and external partners Skilled in creating structured, inclusive environments that promote wellbeing, engagement, and personal development, while remaining resilient, professional, and effective in challenging situations and maintaining high standards of care and accountability
Presentation mastery
Performance Management
Regulatory compliance
Team Leadership
Business networking
Strategic partnerships
Creative problem solving
Interpersonal communication
Talent acquisition
Critical evaluation
Timeline
Founder/Owner
Sportitude Ltd
2016.04 - Current
Primary School PE Lead
Heron Park Primary Academy
2012.09 - 2016.04
Bachelor of Science - Psychology
The Open University
2012.09 - 2013.07
GCSEs - General/Various
Hailsham Secondary School
2012.09 - 2017.06
Regional Manager
Planet Sport Ltd
2006.09 - 2012.08
Sports Coach
Planet Sport Ltd
2001.04 - 2006.08
Higher National Diploma - Applied Sports Science
Eastbourne College of Arts and Technology
2000.09 - 2001.05
NVQ Level 3 - Sports Coaching
Eastbourne College of Arts and Technology
2000.09 - 2001.05