Coach developer
Coach developers play an essential role in the sector workforce. As a highly skilled and qualified expert, being certified by CIMSPA – the sector’s professional development body – is a clear way of showing what you can do. If you are a practising coach developer, CIMSPA professional status can support you to gain professional recognition and progress in your career.
Occupation scope and impact
Coach developers are expert support practitioners who plan for, implement, and sustain strategies and interventions in support of skilled performance in sport coaching. The coach developer’s work is educational, developmental, caring and support-oriented, and they work with other stakeholders in the coaching environment to support sustainable behaviour changes. In their role, they:
- help coaches to develop active, critical knowledge and skills
- develop relationships with the coaches they develop
- assess coaches’ workload, knowledge, skills and experiences to tailor learning
- use technical skills to evolve effective strategies and manage challenges
- prioritise the health and wellbeing of coaches.
For more information on how to become a coach developer visit the Careers Hub.
based on an an annual fee of
*discounts apply if your organisation is a CIMSPA employer partner
- Verifiable professional status accreditation
- Exclusive benefits and offers
- Access free endorsed CPD
Becoming a certified coach developer in the UK
Having a CIMSPA professional status indicates to employers, clients and your peers that you are a qualified coach developer with recognised qualifications.
Gain professional recognition for your knowledge, skills and experience by sharing your status with employers, clients and your peers.
As you progress in your career, you can upgrade to new professional statuses that celebrate your expertise and allow you to explore more opportunities in your work.
What does CIMSPA professional status offer?
CIMSPA professional status is a certification of your knowledge, skills and standard of working. It complements your coach development qualifications by confirming that you meet professional standards, CPD requirements and the CIMSPA Member Code of Conduct.
Employers and clients use professional status as a trust signal – when a personal trainer has a professional status, they can be confident that you are qualified, dedicated and deliver excellent sport and physical activity experiences.
It helps you to stand out from the crowd, open doors for your career and progress to where you want to be.
Professional status for coach developers
We currently only offer the professional status of Chartered Coach Developer for this occupation. We plan to introduce further levels and statuses in the future, but in the meantime you can find out more about this professional status below.
Chartered Coach Developer
This chartered status shows that you are an experienced and qualified coach developer who is delivering excellent outcomes for clients while also creating a significantly positive impact on the sector.
By gaining this professional status, you are showing employers, clients and everyone else that you are an expert in your field.
Benefits
Title
You will gain the professional status title of Chartered Coach Developer. You will be able to use this to ensure that clients and employers understand that you are a certified coach developer with expertise linked directly to the sector’s professional standards:
- Try using your title in your website or social media bio to show clients that you’re a trained expert. Many other professions such as healthcare practitioners and financial advisers use these to demonstrate their credibility.
- When applying for jobs, your professional status title is an important addition to your CV. Employers will be able to see your skill level and are assured that your personal trainer qualifications are quality assured – all from a quick glance.
Postnominals
You will gain the postnominals of MCIMSPA (Chartered) or FCIMSPA (Chartered).
Many established professions, such as accountancy and medicine, use postnominal letters to show that an individual is accredited by a professional body.
You will be able to use yours after your name on social media, your website and business communications to demonstrate that you are a recognised professional.
Find out more about postnominals
Accreditation credentials
Your accreditation credentials – which take the form of a digital badge – will offer a verifiable visual representation of your professional status which you can use on your website and social media to showcase your expertise. When you click on them, anyone will be able to see further information about your status and that it is verified and up to date.
Entry requirements
To become a certified Chartered Coach Developer, you will need to complete the Coach Developer occupational professional standard by evidencing all of its competency statements. To do this, you will need to provide examples such as:
- a qualification certificate from an awarding organisation
- supporting CPD.
You will also need to complete the CIMSPA chartered assessment process, through which you will demonstrate your experience and sustained positive impact within your role.
Apply for your professional status
To start your journey to the highest levels of professional status in sport and physical activity, please complete the enquiry form linked below.
Our accreditation team will then contact you to guide you through your first steps to chartered success.
What does CIMSPA professional status confirm?
Holding professional status issued by your sector’s professional development body is more than just a membership. It delivers:
Employer verification
Employers use professional status to create job descriptions and plan staff training. Use yours to show that you have the right skills and knowledge for the job at a glance – when you add your status and a link to your accreditation credential to your CV, employers can quickly verify your expertise and commitment to your continuing professional development.
Client trust
Give your potential clients a clear signal that you are the right choice. Professional status confirms that you are qualified and adhere to our Member Code of Conduct. By encouraging clients to check your professional status, you are showing that you are a coach developer that they can trust.
Career progression
Being a certified personal trainer doesn’t stop there. With your annual CPD requirement, you’ll naturally keep your knowledge up to date as you grow, too.
Professional status is about being recognised for your impact, your expertise and your dedication to the role. When you have an easy way to demonstrate your knowledge and skills, this can open doors for your career. Apply now to gain the coach developer certification you deserve.
Supporting your career
Take complete control of your career progression and stay at the forefront of our sector.
To help you maximise your professional status and develop your knowledge and skills, we offer a range of exclusive benefits that complement your professional status:
- Get endorsed qualifications and CPD for less with discounts from a range of training providers.
- Enhance your career prospects – many of our Employer Partners commit to only employing CIMSPA-certified coach developer.
- Stay up to date with sector news and in-depth guidance with exclusive access to Move Professional, our quarterly online publication.
- Get regular bite-sized sector updates via email with our tailored monthly bulletin.
- Learn and develop through CIMSPA’s member-only webinars featuring cross-sector experts.
- Make connections through CIMSPA and partner events and conferences and at our professional development boards and consultations (by invitation).
- Be the first to hear about opportunities to be involved with CIMSPA consultations and insight, helping to influence sector policy and future research.
- Help shape the sector’s future by taking part in focus groups and committees.
CPD requirement and how it works
To maintain your professional status, you are required to complete 10 points of continuing professional development (CPD). This can be anything from a wide range of training linked to your role, from formal qualifications to attending our exclusive member webinars. As a member, you will have access to a range of free and discounted opportunities via your bespoke CIMSPA Dashboard. You can also use our endorsed training directory to explore quality-assured learning opportunities on a wide range of topics.
Find out more about what CPD counts
We ask you to complete CPD every year to ensure that your professional knowledge remains up to date and relevant. This also helps you to deliver the best service to your clients and progress in your career as you learn.
We’ve kept the requirement as flexible as possible so that you can choose learning that supports your personal career goals and development needs.