Women's National Team Head Coach (U19's)

We are looking for a Head Coach to lead and manage the England Women's U19 team, fostering a high-performance environment that prepares players for progression through the pathway and ultimately senior international football. The Head Coach will contribute to an aligned world-class performance pathway for England winning teams, influencing player development and will support the development of outstanding coaches in collaboration with FA Education.

What will you be doing?

Lead the U19 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 events and tournaments.

Manage Coaching Staff:
Line manage the assistant coach and manage the wider MDT, ensuring effective collaboration, professional development, and alignment with the team's objectives.

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.

Develop & Deliver the Seasonal Plan:
Design and implement the national team's seasonal plan in alignment with the England Youth Team Strategy – One Pride, Built to Roar – ensuring consistency across the age group cycle, the wider England pathway, and England's How We Play principles through regular technical meetings.

Lead UEFA / FIFA Tournament Campaigns:
Lead the planning and delivery of annual U19 UEFA campaigns – through qualifying and final tournaments. Support the planning and delivery of bi-annual FIFA World Cup campaigns as required (upon qualification).

Collaborate for Player Development:
Develop clarity on the strengths and performance gaps of our 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, sharing best practice and learning from others.  This will specifically include England Youth Team National Coaches, supporting the information transfer and development journeys of high potential players.

Talent Identification & Relationship Building:
Attend live fixtures each week 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 & Multidisciplinary Working:
Select squads for England events, collaborating with the multidisciplinary team, as well as U17 and U23 Head Coaches to ensure the best possible team composition and readiness.

Coach Development & Knowledge Sharing:
Support the FA Learning 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.

Comply with all elements of The FA's Safeguarding Policy, including Women's National Teams Safer Working Practice guidance.

External Communications & Adaptability:
Collaborate with FA media and communications staff to manage external communications and social media, and execute additional tasks as required to meet the changing priorities of The FA Group.

• 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 well-being 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 and senior players with a track record of high performance
• Demonstrate understanding of women's international football
• Experience of being a head coach within the women's game
• Experience of working in high performing environments
• Deep knowledge of technical and tactical components of the women's international game including strategies and tactics
• Ability to create and implement a Player Development Plan
• Growth mind-set and strong evidence of continued professional development
• Explicit knowledge and understanding of the England DNA

Technical Skills

• Extensive experience of Excel
• Ability to effectively manage budgets
• Advanced Microsoft Office
• Ability to create presentations and present to a wide range of key stakeholders

Beneficial to have:

Knowledge

• UEFA Pro Licence

Experience

• Experience working in the WSL and or Championship
• Understanding of the demands of international women's football

Technical Skills

• Previous experience of Sportscode
• Basic Project Management skills
• Basic Analysis 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.