Vacancy description
Key Information
- Division:FA Learning
- Location:National Football Centre, St George's Park
- Vacancy Type:Full-time, Permanent
- Closing Date:26 March 2026
The Football Association is seeking an experienced Talent Identification professional to join our team as Talent Identification and Development Education Manager.
In this pivotal role, you will lead the design, delivery, and coordination of education programmes that strengthen talent identification and development practices across the game. You will play a key part in enhancing the capability of the workforce, including scouts, coaches, and performance staff, by providing modern, impactful learning experiences. Your work will ensure that football in England is equipped to identify, nurture, and retain high‑potential players at every stage of the pathway, from grassroots through to the elite game, across both the male and female pathways.
What will you be doing?
- Lead the delivery of comprehensive education programmes focused on talent identification and development for scouts, coaches, and key stakeholders across the male and female game.
- Implement continuous professional development (CPD) frameworks to ensure the talent identification and development workforce stays up to date with cutting-edge talent identification practices, including technical, tactical, physical, and psychological aspects of player development.
- Lead and manage a consultant tutor workforce that can deliver sector-leading learning programmes across talent identification and development, working closely with the Senior Lead: Workforce Development to ensure tutors remain licensed and up to date regarding best practice.
- Collaborate with professional game partners (e.g., Premier League, Women's Professional Game, Professional Football Association, League Managers Association, Women's National League and the English Football League) to identify education needs and future trends.
- Collaborate with the Learning and Innovation team to ensure a consistent approach to multi-modal educational design that enhances staff capabilities in identifying and nurturing emerging talent.
- Ensure education programs are aligned with the men's women's and para-technical departments' player development philosophy, performance standards, and long-term objectives for talent pipeline sustainability.
- Promote best practices in talent identification, integrating modern tools and technologies, such as data analytics, video analysis, and psychosocial development into the educational curriculum.
- Alongside colleagues in strategic insight and learning evaluation, monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of talent identification and development education initiatives, using feedback and data to continuously improve programme delivery.
- Foster a systemic approach to diversifying the workforce within talent identification and development through targeted interventions.
- Establish partnerships with external organisations, universities, and talent development experts to stay informed about industry advancements and incorporate them into the FA's approach to education and development.
- Deliver a comprehensive research and insight-driven approach to ensure all activity stays evidence-based and learner-focused.
- Support other work within the performance education domain as required.
- Act as a thought leader and advocate for talent identification and development best practices, representing the organisation at industry conferences, events, and forums.
- Execute additional tasks as required to meet the FA's changing priorities.
- Comply with all company policies and procedures to ensure that the highest standards of health, safety, and well-being can be maintained.
What are we looking for?
Essential for the role:
- Possession of a coaching qualification (e.g., UEFA A Diploma) or a formal FA Talent Identification and Development qualification demonstrating an advanced understanding of player evaluation and development.
- Previous experience working within a high-performance environment, particularly in scouting, player development, or an academy system, with an understanding of the pressures and demands at elite levels.
- Understanding of the evolving and escalating talent identification landscape of both male and female pathways in football.
- In-depth knowledge of talent identification methodologies, processes, and best practices within football, including a strong understanding of the physical, technical, tactical, and psychological traits required for player success at different levels.
- Proven experience in creating and managing education programs, workshops, or training sessions, particularly for scouts, coaches, and performance staff in a sports environment.
- Strong leadership and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively with multi-disciplinary teams, including scouts, coaches, performance analysts, and technical directors.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to present complex ideas clearly and effectively to a range of audiences, including technical staff, senior management, and external stakeholders.
- Experience in implementing CPD frameworks, ensuring that talent identification and development staff remain current with the latest industry trends and innovations.
- Ability to incorporate data analytics and performance metrics into talent identification and development education, ensuring that decision-making processes are informed by evidence and insights
Beneficial to have:
- Degree in sport science, sport psychology, coaching or related field.
- Strong knowledge of the biopsychosocial development of children and adolescents, and how it relates to talent development and assessing player potential.
- Experience using modern tools such as performance data platforms (e.g., WyScout, Hudl), video analysis software, and psychometric assessments in the talent identification process.
- Awareness of global football talent trends, including regional differences in player development and scouting practices, as well as emerging markets for player recruitment.
- Understanding of football governing bodies (e.g., FIFA, UEFA) regulations, particularly related to youth development, scouting, and transfer policies.
- Experience in managing organisational or cultural change, particularly in advancing gender equality within sport.
Please note that interviews for this role will take place on the 7th of April.
What's in it for you?
We are committed to ensuring everyone can flourish in their roles. To achieve this, 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 offer 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 pride ourselves on offering a competitive salary as well as great opportunities to develop and grow in your role. But that is not all; we also have a range of exciting benefits, some of which can be found below:
- Access to event day tickets at Wembley Stadium, alongside a host of regular internal events throughout the season, encourages you to connect and learn with your colleagues and look after your mental health and well-being.
- Free, nutritious lunches at Wembley Stadium and St. George's Park.
- Free private medical cover.
- A contributory pension scheme.
- An additional 'Thank You' day's leave, volunteering days, as well as 25 days of annual leave (based on a full-time, permanent contract)
- A hybrid working model which offers greater flexibility.
For more information on what it is like to work at The FA, please visit our FA Careers page, https://www.thefa.com/about-football-association/careers
Currently, we are working 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. The contractual location of this role can be found on the FA Careers page.
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 guidan
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.
THE PROCESS
We believe that assessment and selection should be robust, fair, and inclusive.
Following receipt of your application and the closing of the application process, you can expect a period of circa two weeks for us to thoroughly screen and shortlist, ahead of any next stage and interview.
Please note, we receive a high volume of applications so this can vary but we ensure that our assessor panel reviews all applications, and no use of automated screening or AI is used.
At an interview, we want to ensure that we see the best of you as an individual and increase our understanding of your skills and experience relevant to the demands of the role. It is very much a two-way process with importance placed on the candidate experience so that regardless of outcome, you feel valued, and treated fairly and hopefully have a positive experience.
No process is ever the same, but we would like to create an environment that is welcoming and ensures the experience is as enjoyable as possible.
We tailor our assessment and selection depending on the nature and demands of the role. The FA Resourcing Team will provide you with as much notice as possible about the process and the format of any interview will always be communicated to you in advance, including what to expect on the day and who you will be seeing.
We often receive a high volume of applications, and for certain roles, we will supplement your application, utilising our on-demand video interviewing platform. On-demand video interviews enable you to answer preset questions, in the comfort of your own home or office setting and at a convenient time for you, giving us greater insight into you as an individual and the skills and experience you might bring to the role and working at The FA.
We also utilise Microsoft Teams for virtual interviews and of course host you at our world class venues, Wembley Stadium and our National Football Centre, St. George’s Park.
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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