Vacancy description
Key Information
- Division:Women's Technical
- Location:National Football Centre, St George's Park
- Vacancy Type:Fixed Term Contract, Full-time
- Closing Date:31 May 2026
We are looking for a Women's Pathway Head Coach
Lead and manage the England Women's WU15 / WU16 squad and provide technical leadership for England Women's talent system. The role will be responsible for developing England's future talent within high performance settings, preparing players for entry to and progression through the pathway in international football.
The role will contribute to an aligned world-class performance pathway for England winning teams. The role will also support the development of outstanding coaches in collaboration with FA Learning.
This will be a 3 year fixed term contract until 31st July 2029.
Interviews are currently scheduled to be held on the 25th or 29th June at The National Football Centre, St. George's Park. We will inform shortlisted candidates of any changes.
What will you be doing?
Lead the U15 / U16 Team & Performance Culture:
Provide inspirational leadership to players and staff, establishing a culture of excellence and continuous improvement in preparation for, delivery of, and review of international camps and events.
Technical Leadership of Talent and Teams:
Provide outstanding technical leadership to players and coaches across U15 / U16 age groups, including talent programmes associated to England teams.
Develop & Deliver the Seasonal Plan:
Design and implement the seasonal plan for U15 & U16 activity, along with all associated Regional and National talent activity ensuring alignment with the talent pathway calendar, and the England Youth Team Strategy – One Pride, Built to Roar. Planning should ensure consistency across the age group cycle, the wider England pathway, and England's How We Play principles through regular technical meetings.
Manage Coaching Staff:
Line manage the Emerging Talent Head Coach and age group multidisciplinary teams (MDT), ensuring effective collaboration, professional development, and alignment with the team's objectives. Facilitate MDT meetings including MDT meetings and technical meetings.
Effectively manage both full-time and consultant staff, ensuring their work programmes support the team's goals and contribute to the overall pathway for player development.
Lead Planning and Preparation for Development Tournaments and Fixtures:
Lead the planning and delivery of UEFA Development tournaments, and a programme of fixtures which ensures development opportunities as well as high challenge opportunities against European and world opposition – in preparation for U17 age group.
Player Development:
Develop clarity on the strengths and performance gaps of high potential players, accurately assessing their readiness for progression in the pathway.
Work closely with colleagues across departments to maximise opportunities for player development and management, including England Youth Team National Coaches and Regional Talent Managers, supporting the information transfer and development journeys of high potential players.
Talent Identification:
Carry out regular talent identification activity, working closely with Talent ID functions across the division, and conduct regular club visits to maintain an up-to-date understanding of player performance and potential, and to build strong relationships with clubs for effective individual player development plans (IDPs).
Squad Selection & Collaboration:
Select squads for England events, ensuring opportunity for a good depth of talent to enter into the England pathway. Collaborate with Regional Talent teams, the multidisciplinary team, as well as U17 Head Coach to ensure the best possible team composition and readiness.
Coach Development & Knowledge Sharing:
Support the FA Education Strategy by assisting in the development of outstanding coaches in the female game and disseminate the England Women's How We Play (HWP) through formal and informal coach development opportunities.
Safeguarding, Health & Wellbeing Compliance:
Ensure full compliance with The FA's Safeguarding Policy and all company policies and procedures, maintaining the highest standards of health, safety, and wellbeing for players and staff.
Additionally:
- Comply with all elements of The FA's Safeguarding Policy, including Women's National Teams Safer Working Practice guidance
- Execute additional tasks as required in order to meet FA Group 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 are we looking for?
Essential for the role:
Knowledge
- UEFA A Licence
Experience
- High level people development skills and experience
- Consistent, successful experience of management and development of elite players and multi-disciplinary staff
- Ability to demonstrate inspirational leadership on and off the pitch using a variety of methods and approaches
- Significant experience of working with youth players with a track record of high performance
- Demonstrate understanding of international football
- Experience of working in high performance environments
- Deep knowledge of technical and tactical components of the game including strategies and tactics
- Experience of being a Head Coach within the female game
- Experience of developing detailed game plans and reviews
- Ability to create and implement a Player Development Plan
- Understanding of how to apply a ‘Performance Backwards' approach to player development
- Proficient use of tech applications and systems
Beneficial to have:
Knowledge
- The FA Advanced Youth Award
- FA Talent ID Level 3
Experience
- Teaching experience
- Experience working in the WSL, Championship and or in an Academy set-up
- Understanding of the talent system and benchmarks in England
- Understanding of domestic women's football landscape in England and across Europe
- Understanding of the top level demands of international football
Technical Skills
- Basic Project Management skills
- Basic Analysis skills
- Previous experience of using Sportscode application
- Basic Project Management skills
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 offering 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 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.
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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