Level Water Core Staff

Ian Thwaites
CEO

Lucy Powell
Operations Director

Andy Punter
Fundraising Director

Katie Ashworth
Event Manager

Andy Walker
Training and Excellence Manager

Geri Beyer
Marketing and Communications

Ashleigh Scott
Programmes Officer

Ben Hickson
Events Assistant

Core Staff Bios

  • Ian is our Founder and CEO. He started the charity after the London Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012. He believes sport helps children to learn a lot of skills that will help them throughout life, and wanted to help more children have positive sporting experiences. After seeing the injustices that disabled children face, Ian believed we could change the system. Before Level Water, Ian studied Sports Science then Marketing, started his career in Investment Banking, and went on to become a Senior Advisor at The Foundation (one of the UK's first Innovation consultancies) and European Director of Decode (a global youth strategy consultancy). He swam competitively, at best placing 5th in the country, and went on to compete in triathlon, where he came second at the World Age Group Championships in Beijing.

  • Lucy is our Operations Director. She started her career as a Project Manager from school, and has over 15 years of experience leading global projects across a wide-range of both private and public sector organisations (with a brief 6 week stint as a Met Police Officer!). Previous to Level Water, Lucy was the Business Planning and Operations Director at the International NGO Girl Effect (previously the Nike Foundation), where she also led the TEGA program, a tech-enabled, girl-centered insights method embedded into hard-to-reach communities across Africa and Asia. Lucy has always had a passion for sports and the sense of community that it brings to people from all different backgrounds and walks of life. Lucy currently works across a number of different ad-hoc freelance projects within the UK and further afield, and is a proud Samaritans Listening Volunteer. Lucy has hosted a number of music gigs in aid of the mental health charity Mind and is also a keen runner and painter.

  • Andy is our Fundraising Director and joins Level Water with 15 years of experience in the charity sector, including time at Cancer Research UK where he led high performing teams across Community, Events, Corporate and Legacy Fundraising. Most recently, Andy has been running More Human, a tech-for-good company that helps community organisers get people together easily. 

    Outside of work, Andy is a runner and writer, and splits his time between plodding around on the trails and scribbling down half-formed ideas that may or may not see the light of day. He lives in rural Devon with his family and Toby, a charming (and occasionally naughty) Labrador. He's a firm believer that time outdoors, moving your body, and a good dog are the foundations of clear thinking.

  • Andy is our Training and Excellence Manager and works on the programmes team with Matt. Andy has more than 25 years of experience working within aquatics and is a qualified teacher/coach in every aquatic discipline (except Diving). He is a qualified Swim England & STA tutor and delivers Level 1 & 2 teacher courses & CPD’s for Swim Wales in his free time to help develop the teachers of the future. Andy’s first interaction with Level Water was when he met with Ian in 2015 and signed a partnership with us to provide our supported lessons at the 5 pools he had responsibility for in his role as Swimming Development Officer in Bridgend. With Andy’s support the partnership quickly grew to become one of the biggest we had at that time. In 2017 he was selected to train to be one of our tutors to deliver our specialist training to teachers before they start to deliver our supported lessons.

    Andy joined Level Water in the summer of 2021 and has been instrumental in helping us go from less than 200 supported swimmers across 40 pools to nearly 1,000 swimmers across 170 pools. He has negotiated and agreed partnership agreements with many of the pools we work with today and has facilitated Level Water training for over 1,000 teachers across the UK (delivering around half of that number personally).

    Andy was a competitive swimmer from the age of 8, going on to compete at regional & national level and still attends (Level Water commitments allowing) 2 early morning training sessions a week with his local Swim Wales regional performance centre. Although he no longer competes, he still swims as no other sport can replicate how great he feels after a swim session and his club fees help to support the programme to allow children & young people to achieve their potential.

    Andy is passionate about every child having the opportunity to learn to swim as he has benefited massively, both personally and professionally, from the opportunities he has been afforded. With his experience as a Swim Teacher, Swimming Development Officer and Aquatics Manager he knows that standard group lessons are not suitable to meet the needs of many children with SEND and as a result many of the children that Level Water supports would simply not have the opportunity to learn to swim without our support.

  • Geri is a key member of our team at Level Water. With a rich background in fundraising, events, and therapy assistance, she brings a diverse skill set to her role.

    Geri excels in developing and executing marketing campaigns, managing donor relations, and assisting in the coordinating of our events. Her proactive engagement and dedication to continuous learning ensure our mission is communicated effectively and our supporters are engaged.

    Geri holds a Bachelor's degree in English Literature from the University of Sussex and has international teaching experience in Japan and Vietnam.

    Geri’s commitment to our values of respect, compassion, and excellence makes her an invaluable asset to Level Water.

  • Ashleigh is our Programme Officer, she is a life-long swimmer and started her swimming career as a volunteer coach in her local swimming club. Ashleigh has over 20 years of experience as a swimming teacher in a range of settings, including teaching adults, swimmers with SEND and children excluded from mainstream education. Ashleigh is also a tutor for Swim England.

    Prior to Level Water, Ashleigh managed the award-winning Deaf-Friendly Swimming Project on behalf of the National Deaf Children’s Society. The four-year Sport England funded project resulted in children accessing deaf-friendly swimming lessons nationwide and hundreds of swimming teachers receiving deaf-awareness training, Ashleigh has achieved BSL Level 3. Ashleigh also spent six years working for the England and Wales Cricket Board as a Safeguarding Advisor.

    Ashleigh lives in Birmingham and one of her proudest moments was performing in the Opening Ceremony of the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

  • Ben is our Event Operations Assistant, with a diverse background in events that has taken him as far and wide as Mexico and Guatemala, he brings a unique outlook to the team and a drive to make sure everything runs as it should on event day and beyond!

    Ben excels at being in the midst of event logistics, ensuring everything runs like clockwork whilst supporting the swimmers and the team around him. Coming from a background in wedding and corporate event execution he thrives in a fast-paced work environment that keeps him on his toes. 

    Ben holds a degree in Criminology from the University of Kent and has a passion for everything outdoors including trekking, scuba diving and of course, wild swimming. Charity has been a cornerstone of Ben's life throughout his childhood and adolescence so being part of such a special team means a great deal to him. 

Level Water Inclusion Specialists

  • I started my swimming adventure 3 years ago when I specialised in assisted swimming lessons teaching all ages. My background and wealth of experience working with neurodiverse children and adults, has enable me to have an enthusiastic approach, exploring all avenues of diverse teaching. Having experienced being non-verbal as a child, I found most activities difficult, however swimming was the only sport I felt comfortable and able to do. I love swimming as you can feel free in water, my passion is to empower everyone to learn to swim by having the opportunity to!

  • Hi, I'm Josh. I'm a Level Water Inclusion Coordinator with Everyone Active in Bristol. I grew up swimming all the time, as my mum was a swimming teacher. I myself have been a swimming teacher for around 10 years, and I have a recent background of working in a SEND setting in Further Education.  I absolutely love teaching people to swim. I see it as a life skill, and an activity that everyone can benefit hugely from participating in. I'm thrilled to be involved with Level Water, because I believe wholeheartedly in the goal of making swimming as accessible as possible for everyone, regardless of our differences.

  • I have always loved being in water even at a young age. I used to train with a swimming club but was never good enough to compete, so as a teenager I started to help with the clubs in house learn to swim classes. This is where my passion for making a difference really started.

    At 14 I worked as a lifeguard for a physiotherapist who delivered swim therapy for families with children with additional needs, these not only helped with the children being able to do more of the stretches needed to support their bodies development but also had amazing mental health benefits to.

    I continued to work in leisure as a Lifeguard whilst studying Business Administration and Mathematics at Keele university. After Uni, I had the chance to train as a swim teacher and grasped it with both hands. Once qualified I mixed my work life up and juggled between lifeguarding and swim teaching.

    It wasn’t until having my second child in 2013 that I changed to teaching as a main role. In this time within group lessons and by delivering 1 to 1’s I have delivered classes to a diverse range of children. Being able to make a difference to adults and children that thought they would never be able to swim has always been the most rewarding part of the role for me.

    With both my children, now older, I had the opportunity to change my career, I love teaching but wanted a new challenge and to get back to where I first began but now with a greater understanding of how to engage, support and communicate. I started this role on June 24 and have loved every minute since.

  • I have been working in the Leisure Industry and teaching Swimming for 21 years. 16 of those have included teaching swimmers with disabilities. Through my experiences within the Leisure Industry I have had the pleasure of seeing many people with disabilities be able to access the water due to the lessons they have taken part in and the work that has been carried out to make Swimming Pools more accessible. As well as teaching Swimming I am also a Swimming, Open Water Swimming, Diving and Trampolining Coach. In all these disciplines I have worked with people with varying ability levels and have had successes in seeing children and adults improve in both skill level and confidence. 

    Allowing sporting sessions to be inclusive is a passion of mine and is reflected in the role of Level Water Inclusion Specialist that I have recently taken on. I aim to encourage as many Swimming Teachers and Coaches as possible to educate themselves in how to make sessions inclusive and am in the fortunate position as a Swim England, STA and Level Water Tutor that I can educate the new and current Swimming Teachers in how to do so. I believe you never stop learning and take as much from the lessons and training I deliver as I put in to it. It is amazing what people can achieve and share when they are given the opportunity to do so. 

  • I have always loved being in the water, I started swimming lessons at the age of 3,

    where then at the age of 7 I started to train with a local swimming club. I began

    swimming competitively at the age of 8 where I competed up and down the country,

    as well as being competing abroad. As a teenager, I started to volunteer for my local

    swimming club, this is where my love for teaching started and my passion for making

    a difference.

    I started working in the Leisure Industry at the age of 17, where I was first a lifeguard

    then I became a qualified Swimming Teacher not long after, I have been teaching for

    3 years now, a mixture of group lessons and 1-2-1’s, during this time it has included

    teaching swimmers with disabilities.

    I started this role in May 2025 as the SEND Swimming Inclusion Officer, for Salford

    Community Leisure. Being able to support and make a difference for adults and

    children in the water has been one of the most rewarding parts of my role. Making

    swimming lessons inclusive is a huge passion of mine which largely reflects within

    this Level Water Inclusion Specialist role. I am thrilled to be involved and working

    with Level Water, and looking forward to making our swimming lessons as accessible

    as possible for everyone.

JOIN OUR TEAM:

Fundraising Manager (Challenge Events and Community)

What we're building

Every year, 3,000+ swimmers take on some of the UK's most iconic open water challenges, including the Dart10k, Bantham Swoosh and The Hurly Burly along with our growing series of 24-hour Wild Swim Relays. They swim so that disabled kids who need it most can get life-changing swimming lessons.

Last year, these swimmers raised over £1m. This year, we want to double it. And we need someone who can help us get there.

We're Level Water, a founder-led charity solving learn-to-swim for disabled children. We're not your typical charity. We own the events and run them like a business.  We move fast, test everything, and we're building something that doesn't exist anywhere else.

We've just brought in a new Fundraising Director, and this role is a cornerstone of the team we're building. If you want to help define how a modern charity does supporter care, this is your chance.

 

The opportunity

This isn't a "send some emails and answer some queries" role. This is a "build something and make it brilliant" role.

You'll own the entire experience for our 3,000 swimmers from the moment they sign up, through their training and fundraising journey, to the event itself (yes, you'll be there), and beyond. You'll design the journey, execute it, measure it, improve it, and scale it.

You'll have the freedom to experiment. Want to test a new communication sequence? Build a WhatsApp community? Launch a training programme? Run in-person meet ups? Create a membership product? Brilliant, build the business case and let's do it.

You'll work with real people who are doing something remarkable. You'll get to know them, thank them, support them, and help them raise more money than they thought possible. And you'll do it in a way that makes them want to come back year after year.

You'll also work closely with our Fundraising Director, Events and Marketing teams to turn our swimmers into our best marketing channel, because the people who've experienced our events are the ones who'll bring their friends next year.

And you'll grow with us. We're scaling fast, and we need people who can scale with us, whether that's into senior leadership, building out new teams, or launching new products.

This is a mission-critical role in driving Level Water’s income growth. Every strong supporter relationship you build helps unlock more funded swimming lessons, bringing us closer to a future where every disabled child can have a great swimming lesson with a confident, qualified teacher.

This is the most exciting job in the charity sector for the right person.

 

What you'll actually do

This role owns the supporter experience as a growth engine. You’ll set strategy, drive innovation, and be accountable for how supporter care translates into income, retention and long-term loyalty. You’ll work closely with the Senior Leadership Team to shape priorities, influence decisions, and build something that scales - not just for this year’s events, but for the future of Level Water.

Build relationships that matter

  • Get to know our swimmers. Design the experience. Call them. Thank them. Make them feel valued.

  • Be there at events throughout the summer meeting people, creating unforgettable experiences, and giving them reasons to come back.

  • Deliver the personal touches that deepen connections: handwritten cards, phone calls, training tips, impact updates, recognition, celebration.

Design and optimise the supporter journey

  • Own the end-to-end experience: from sign-up emails to post-event stewardship.

  • Map out communications across our events portfolio throughout the year and execute them brilliantly.

  • Use data to spot opportunities; where are people dropping off? Where can we increase average fundraising? What messages work best?

  • Test everything. Buttons, subject lines, timing, tone obsess over the details that drive results.

Identify and unlock growth opportunities

  • Spot the swimmers who could become major donors, corporate partners, or monthly givers and move them along that journey.

  • Cross-sell and upsell: if someone's just completed their first challenge, how do we make them another offer that they can’t refuse? 

Track, report, and improve

  • Keep our CRM up to date and use it intelligently.

  • Report regularly on what's working and what's not: fundraising targets, engagement metrics, retention rates.

  • Stay ahead of the curve: what are the best organisations doing? What can we learn and adapt?

Who we're looking for

We care much more about how you work than what you've done. You don't need fundraising experience. You don't need charity sector experience. You don't even need customer success experience though if you have it, great.

What you do need:

  • Hustle and drive. You take ownership. You spot opportunities and go after them. You don't wait to be told what to do. You’re looking for opportunities. 

  • A knack for building relationships. You genuinely care about people and you're good at making them feel it whether that's over email, on the phone, or in person.

  • A data brain. You can look at numbers and spot the story. You know that "engagement is up 12%" means something, and you know how to act on it.

  • A bias for action. You test things. You move fast. You're comfortable with uncertainty and you learn by doing.

  • An entrepreneurial mindset. You think like an owner. If this were your business, how would you grow it?

  • Ambition. You want to grow. You want to get better. You want to build something you're proud of.

  • Organisation: Strong attention to detail, with the ability to juggle multiple projects and stay calm under pressure.

Bonus points if:

  • You love being outdoors (swimming, hiking, wild camping, anything that gets you outside).

  • You've worked in a startup, scale-up, or high-growth environment.

  • You've designed customer journeys, retention strategies, or growth loops.

  • You've worked in sales, account management, hospitality, retail management, or anything that required you to build relationships and hit targets.

 

Why Level Water?

Our values - Bold, Driven, Personal, and Joyful - are at the heart of this role. You’ll be expected to bring ambition, move with purpose, care deeply about people, and help create experiences that feel genuinely joyful to be part of. 

  • Bold. This isn't a "follow the playbook" role. We want your ideas. We want you to challenge us. We want you to help us build something better.

  • Driven. We're growing fast and we need people who can scale with us. If you're ambitious, there's a huge opportunity here.

  • Personal. We're a small, founder-led team. We move fast, we debate hard, we test everything, and we care deeply about what we do.

  • Joyful. You'll work on some of the most iconic outdoor swims in the UK. You'll be part of creating experiences that people remember forever.

Practical details:

  • Flexible working: remote, hybrid, or (even better) office-based in Tunbridge Wells or Exeter, your choice.

  • You'll attend weekend events throughout the summer (with time off in lieu).

  • Salary: £30k-£45k depending on experience. 

 

How to apply

We want to hear from you in whatever way best shows us who you are and how you think.

Get creative. We really want to get a feel for your personality and style. A traditional CV and cover letter? Absolutely fine. A video introduction? Great. A presentation deck? Bring it on. Whatever format helps you shine and show us who you are. 

Here's what we'd love to know:

  1. How you think about supporter experience:
    Imagine one of our swimmers has just signed up for the Dart10k but hasn't started fundraising yet. Walk us through how you'd engage them over the next 8 weeks to help them raise as much as possible and feel brilliant about it.

  2. What excites you about this role:
    Tell us why this opportunity appeals to you specifically.

  3. Something you're proud of:
    Share one thing you've built, grown, or improved. Doesn't have to be in charity or even at work, it could be anything that shows your drive and ability to make things happen.

Before you apply:

If you've got questions about the role, the team, or whether this might be right for you, please reach out. I'm Andy Punter, Fundraising Director at Level Water, and I'd genuinely love to chat.

 

Deadline: 

We're reviewing applications on a rolling basis and will close this advert once we've found the right person. So if this excites you, don't wait, but do take the time to show us who you really are. 

We'd rather see your best work than a rushed application. If you need a bit of time to put that together, talk to us.

 

We're excited to meet you. Let's build something brilliant together.

JOIN OUR TEAM:

Head of Programmes / Programmes Director 

What we're building 

Level Water exists to solve a problem that shouldn’t exist: too many disabled children are still missing out on high-quality swimming lessons. 

We’ve built a delivery model that works. Families trust us. Pools want to work with us. Funders back us. We’re well-funded (80% unrestricted) and responding to growing demand. 

Now we’re entering the next stage: scaling what works without losing quality, care, or joy. This role sits right at the heart of that mission - leading not just how our programmes are delivered, but how we define, measure, and grow our impact. 

We’re Level Water - a founder-led charity solving unequal access to swimming for children with disabilities. We’re not a typical charity. We own our swim events and run them like a business, creating a sustainable income stream that directly funds our programmes. That model gives us the freedom to move fast, test ideas, and build something that doesn’t exist anywhere else. 

Because we’re self-sustaining, we can make clear, confident decisions about our programme and impact direction. If you want to help tackle unequal access to sport - and shape how a modern charity designs, delivers, and measures programmes at scale - this is your chance. 

The opportunity 

This isn’t a “keep programmes running” role. 

This is a build, lead, and scale a national delivery model role. 

As Head of Programmes, you’ll own how Level Water’s programmes are designed, delivered, improved, and expanded. You’ll take a proven model, design for growth and help turn it into something category-defining - working at pace, making smart decisions, and setting the standard for what inclusive swimming can look like across the UK. 

You’ll work closely with the CEO and senior team, lead our brilliant programme function (a Training and Excellence Manager and Programmes Officer), and bring energy and momentum to a part of the organisation that sits right at the heart of our impact. 

If you’re excited by growth, complexity, and building something that really matters, you’ll thrive here. 

If you’re looking for a role where you can play it safe, this probably isn’t it. 

What you’ll actually own 

Programme design, quality & scale 

- You’ll own how Level Water’s programmes are designed, delivered, and grown - now and into the future. 

- Set the strategic direction for our lesson delivery model, ensuring it scales without losing quality, care, or joy. 

- Lead and develop the Programmes team, setting clear priorities, standards, and ways of working. 

- Ensure programmes are safe, inclusive, effective, and consistently high-quality as delivery expands. 

- Build the systems and processes that make great delivery easier at scale, not harder. 

Impact, learning & continuous improvement 

- You’ll define how we understand, measure, and improve our impact - and use learning to drive better delivery. 

- Ensure we gather meaningful insight from families, swimmers, teachers, and partners. 

- Turn data and feedback into clear learning that actively shapes programme decisions. 

- Lead Level Water’s approach to impact reporting for funders, partners, Trustees, and the Board, alongside the Senior Leadership Team. 

- Set clear success measures and use them to guide prioritisation, iteration, and growth. 

Strategic partnerships, funding & sector influence 

- You’ll build the relationships and credibility that enable sustainable programme growth and wider change. 

- Build and manage strategic partnerships with national pool operators and delivery partners. 

- Secure and manage national agreements that unlock scale and improve access. 

- Work closely with Fundraising to shape strong, realistic programme content for grants and funding proposals. 

- Own the programme side of grant-funded delivery, ensuring work is well planned, delivered to a high standard, and reported with clarity and confidence. 

- Represent Level Water externally as a credible, influential voice in inclusive swimming, helping to shift culture and practice across the sector. 

Who we’re looking for 

We care far more about how you work than where you’ve worked or what sector you come from. You don’t need a background in swimming. You don’t need charity experience. What matters is how you think, how you lead, and the energy you bring. 

People who thrive here have: 

- Ambition for growth. You’re excited by the moment where something good needs to scale - and you want to help shape what comes next, not just maintain what already exists. 

- Ownership and momentum. You take responsibility, spot opportunities, and move things forward. You don’t wait for perfect information or permission before acting. 

- The ability to hold strategy and delivery together. You can zoom out to set direction and zoom in to make sure things actually work - and you know when each is needed. 

- Confidence leading through change. You’ve helped programmes or services evolve through growth, complexity, or transformation, and you’re comfortable making decisions in imperfect conditions. 

- Strong relational leadership. You build trust quickly, bring people with you, and create credibility with partners, teams, and senior stakeholders. 

- A solutions-first mindset. When things get complicated (and they will), you stay calm, pragmatic, and focused on what will move things forward. 

Bonus points if: 

- You’ve worked in a scale-up, start-up, or fast-growing organisation. 

- You’ve built or reshaped delivery models, partnerships, or systems as things grew. 

- You’re motivated by impact and inclusion, and want your work to genuinely change lives. 

If this sounds like you - and you’re excited by the challenge of building something ambitious with real-world impact - we’d love to hear from you. 

Why Level Water? 

Our values - Bold, Driven, Personal, and Joyful - shape how this role shows up in practice. You’ll be expected to bring ambition, move with purpose, care deeply about people, and help build programmes that feel genuinely joyful to be part of. 

Bold. This isn’t a “run what already exists” role. You’ll challenge assumptions, set direction, and help shape the future of inclusive swimming. We want your judgement, your ideas, and your confidence to make clear calls. 

Driven. We’re growing fast, and programmes sit at the centre of that growth. If you’re ambitious about scale, impact, and building something that lasts, there's a real opportunity here to lead what comes next. 

Personal. We’re founder-led and people-first. You’ll work closely with families, partners, and colleagues, balancing high standards with empathy, clarity, and care. 

Joyful. Swimming should be positive, empowering, and fun - especially for children who’ve too often been excluded. You’ll help ensure our programmes don’t just deliver outcomes, but create experiences that build confidence, independence, and a lifelong love of the water. 

Practical details: 

● Flexible working: remote, hybrid, or (even better) office-based in Tunbridge Wells, your choice. 

● You'll attend weekend events throughout the summer. 

● Some travel required to pools, partners, and events (including occasional weekends) 

● Salary: Head of: £46k-57k (depending on experience) 

How to apply: 

We want to hear from you in whatever way best shows us who you are and how you think. 

Get creative. We really want to get a feel for your personality and style. A traditional CV and cover letter? Great. A video introduction? Awesome. Whatever format helps you shine and show us who you are. 

Here's what we'd love to know: 

1. What’s the boldest change you’ve delivered that improved outcomes for the people your programme existed to serve - and what did you personally do to make it happen? 

Before you apply: 

If you've got questions about the role, the team, or whether this might be right for you, please reach out. I'm Lucy Powell, Operations Director at Level Water, and I'd genuinely love to chat. 

Email me at lucy@levelwater.org 

Book a call with me Here

Ready to apply? 

Send your application to lucy@levelwater.org with the subject line: "Programmes at Level Water - [Your Name]" 

Deadline: 

We're reviewing applications on a rolling basis and will close this advert once we've found the right person. So if this excites you, don't wait, but do take the time to show us who you really are. 

We'd rather see your best work than a rushed application. If you need a bit of time to put that together, talk to us. 

We're excited to meet you. Let's build something brilliant together.