Vacancy description
Key Information
- Division:Football Operations
- Location:Home based
- Closing Date:27 July 2025
Develop and inspire the next generation...
The FA are excited to be searching for a group of consultants to join us as Match Official Talent Scouts. The Match Official Talent Scout – Step 2 and Women's National League (WNL) will play a critical role in identifying referees with the potential to progress from the progression pathway into the professional game.
Working across the Women's National League (Divisions 1 & Premier) and the National League North/South, the scout validates referee performance through evidence-based scouting aligned with the FA Refereeing DNA
This role supports the FA's commitment to objective, growth-oriented talent identification by ensuring referee evaluations are based on long-term development potential, not just isolated match performances. Scouts will
Contribute directly to the FA Refereeing team decisions and help shape the future landscape of English officiating.
What You'll Do?
- Talent Scouting: Anonymously observe and appraise the performances of referees in the Women's National League (Division 1 and Premier), and the National League Men's System (National League North and South), both in-person and online, focusing on their alignment with the FA Refereeing DNA.
- Growth Potential: Establish referees' capacity for future development, assessing their ability to transition into the professional game and meet long-term performance standards.
- Performance Assessment: Evaluate referees holistically, focusing on tactical awareness, decision-making, physical readiness, and psychological resilience in line with the demands of semi-professional and potential for professional football.
- Collaboration and Communication: Work with National Talent Managers and National Referee Managers to ensure consistency and alignment in scouting activities across levels.
- Reporting and Insights: Prepare comprehensive, evidence-based scouting reports, highlighting referees' strengths, areas for growth, and readiness for progression or reclassification
- Executes additional tasks as required to meet the FA's changing priorities.
- Comply with all company policies and procedures to ensure the highest standards of health, safety, and wellbeing can be maintained.
- As part of the FA's commitment to ensuring a safe environment for everyone in football, every employee will be required to complete a DBS check. The level of the check required will be based on the activity of the specific job role and in line with legislation and government guidance.
What You'll Need?
Essential for the role:
- Pathway/Semi-Professional/Professional Football Expertise: Experience as a referee, coach, or player with insight into high-performance environments, able to assess readiness and growth potential.
- Developmental Experience: Experience delivering referee coaching, observing or mentoring, able to guide individual growth using practical football knowledge.
- Understanding of FA Refereeing DNA: Comprehensive understanding of the FA Refereeing DNA across Tactical, Technical, Physical, Psychological, and Social domains, and how to apply this in scouting.
- Effective Communicator: Strong written and verbal skills, with the ability to clearly convey feedback and complete detailed scouting reports.
- Inclusive & Objective Approach: Demonstrates a strong commitment to equity, diversity, and unbiased evaluation, ensuring consistent and inclusive talent identification.
Beneficial to have:
- Pathway System Knowledge: Familiarity with progression frameworks such as the Women's National League, National League System, and CORE, including programme structure and expectations.
- Analytical Thinking: Ability to identify trends and performance indicators, interpret data patterns, and recommend referees for development opportunities.
- Trend Awareness: Awareness of emerging trends in professional refereeing, including modern techniques and the integration of technology, with the ability to adapt scouting strategies accordingly.
- Strategic Adaptability: Ability to evolve scouting approaches in response to changes in the football landscape, referee competencies, or FA talent identification processes
- Proficient in Analysis Tools: Skilled in using platforms such as HUDL, WyScout, or VEO to observe, annotate, and evaluate refereeing performance based on video evidence.
What's in it for you?
We pride ourselves in offering a competitive rate of pay as well as great opportunities to develop and grow in your role.
We are committed to ensuring everyone can flourish in their roles, and by doing this, we offer top-of-the-range facilities across two core business locations. We have unique office spaces under the arch of the iconic Wembley National Stadium, which is the home of English football. We are also delighted to have a world-class Elite Performance Centre, St. George's Park in Staffordshire which is an exceptional setting to develop and inspire high-performing England teams and leaders.
We are a diverse workplace, aspiring to represent football across the country. The Football Association actively promotes inclusion and diversity, encouraging you to be the best version of yourself at work.
We welcome applications from everyone and are proud to be an equal opportunities employer. If you have any particular requirements in respect of the recruitment or interview process, please mention this during your application.
As part of the FA's commitment to ensuring a safe environment for everyone in football, every employee will be required to complete a DBS check. The level of the check required will be based on the activity of the specific job role and in line with legislation and government guidance.
ABOUT US
The Football Association [The FA] is the not-for-profit governing body of football in England. It is responsible for promoting and developing every level of the game, from grassroots through to the professional game, and generates significant revenue to support investment into English football each year.
The FA oversees England international teams across men’s, women’s, youth and disability football, as well as running the National League System and FA Competitions including the Emirates FA Cup, and the Adobe Women’s FA Cup, and the world-class facilities of Wembley Stadium and St. George’s Park, all with a purpose to inspire positive change through football.
Our game can tackle some of society’s core challenges. It can bring communities together, nationally and locally. It can be a platform for inclusion, ensuring there is a place for all. It can get people active and promote wellbeing often at a time when we need it most. With UEFA EURO 2028 – hosted in the UK and Ireland – on the horizon, we have an incredible opportunity to transform football across the country.
Now is the time to inspire positive change.
We currently work within a hybrid working model whereby the expectation is to work from your contractual location for part of the week, and as and when required by the team. The remaining days can be worked remotely. We will continue to monitor this model, and it may be adjusted in future if deemed necessary.
Your contract with The FA will specify a fixed location of Wembley Stadium or St. George’s Park unless the role is advertised as a homebased contract. The contractual location of this role can be found at the top of this advert on our FA vacancy page.
GROUP STRATEGY
WE HAVE MOVED FOOTBALL FORWARD.
From 2020 - 2024, we have – in collaboration with our key partners – been able to deliver meaningful change across the game.
From winning our first major tournament in over 50 years to delivering thousands of high-quality pitches to the grassroots game.
BUT WE CAN’T STOP NOW - AND WE WON’T.
This new strategy is about doubling down. Our game can tackle some of society’s core challenges. It can bring communities together, nationally and locally.
It can be a platform for inclusion, ensuring there is a place for all. It can get people active and promote wellbeing often at a time when we need it most.
With UEFA EURO 2028 – hosted in the UK and Ireland – on the horizon, we have an incredible opportunity to transform football across the country.
NOW IS THE TIME TO INSPIRE POSITIVE CHANGE.
Our ultimate purpose is to ‘Inspire positive change through football’ – everything we do ultimately ladders up to this end goal.
The 2024-2028 strategy focuses on tackling four long-term strategic challenges that will fulfil this purpose and drive real change across the game, our ‘Game Changer’ objectives.
Underpinning these Game Changers are then four activities and approaches that will enable us to meet challenges head on, our ‘Drivers’.
EDI STRATEGY
Our equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) strategy forms an integral part of our long-term commitment to using our influence across English football to create a game free from discrimination.
A GAME FREE FROM DISCRIMINATION
Our 2024 – 2028 strategy outlines three fundamental pillars for delivering a game free from discrimination – Boosting Representation, Driving Inclusion and Tackling Discrimination.
These pillars ensure that our work uniting communities, improving lives, and inspiring positive change on and off the pitch will remain a core priority for English football for years to come.
We are a diverse workplace, aspiring to represent football across the country. The FA actively promotes inclusion and diversity, encouraging you to be the best version of yourself at work.
We welcome applications from everyone and are proud to be an equal opportunities employer. If you have any particular requirements in respect of the recruitment or interview process, please mention this during your application.
As part of The FA’s commitment to ensuring a safe environment for everyone in football, every employee will be required to complete a DBS check. The level of the check required will be based on the activity of the specific job role and in line with legislation and government guidance.
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