Senior National Development Manager

The Football Association (The FA) is the governing body of football in England. We are responsible for promoting and developing the game at all levels; from grass roots through to the professional game, The FA Cup and the England International teams, and has two core assets: Wembley Stadium and St George’s Park.

The Football Association are looking for a Senior National Development Manager to lead and develop football development strategies which grow or retain participation in adult & youth football, with a particular focus on the male football pathway. They will identify key issues and design appropriate interventions to respond to challenges across football participation and work in partnership with the football operations department to ensure that any interventions are embedded into future planning & delivery across the County FA & clubs networks.

• Lead the Grassroots Development Team, identifying clear strategies to support the growth and retention of participation across the national game.
• Lead the Male Participation Pathway to enable The FA to modernise and develop opportunities in order to retain and
  re-engage millions of participants in the game.
• Lead the Youth Retention Review project (12-18) which looks at the challenges and opportunities across football at this age, making clear recommendations for future changes for football at this age.
• Identify and develop The FA’s utilisation of digital products and solutions to support the development of grassroots football.
• Lead the on-going development of the FA Superkicks digital programme, ensuring the product meets national game outcomes for 5-11year olds.
• Manage the Football Development budget.
• Work closely with FA Education to ensure Grassroots Football and FA Education Strategy is aligned with the player pathway.
• Review and implement FA policy to support the youth & adult football as appropriate.
• Implement findings and evidence from research programme to create the appropriate participation, playing and competition pathways.
• Produce high quality resources and contribute to the production of FA Learning resources, and training programmes
• Working with commercial colleagues, providing leadership in order to identify & develop future opportunities across youth & adult football.
• Support the Head of Grassroots Development in managing key Football Development Committees across Futsal, Adult and Youth football.
• Play an active role in support of the football development outcomes for Euro 2020 & Euro 2021 competitions.
• Develop and maintain relevant internal and external Regional, County and local partnerships in order to enhance FA delivery.
• Be an active member of the FA Youth Football Participation Team and wider Participation Team.
• Executes additional tasks as required in order to meet FA Group changing priorities

Essential

• Significant experience of developing, leading and implementing strategy & policy.
• Proven track record of delivering results and raising performance within established targets
• Ability to manage and maintain budgets within specific financial parameters
• Knowledge of sport strategy development and implementation
• Knowledge of the goals and enablers within a sports development organisation
• Knowledge of barriers facing under-represented groups
• Experience of leading and implementing strategy and policy
• Experience of day to day budget management
• Track record of developing effective partnerships to secure resources and or deliver targets
• Track record of delivering results and raising performance within established targets
• Ability to gain ‘buy in’ to equality objectives
• The ability to formulate innovative ideas and concepts to solve problems.
• Negotiation Skills
• Excellent administration and Microsoft Office Skills
• A clean, full driving licence is required.

Desirable

• Degree-level qualification
• Project management qualification e.g. Prince2
• Strong understanding of the role of digital in sport
• Professional or voluntary experience working in grassroots football, or grassroots sports more broadly
• Ability to identify and progress new opportunities
• Understanding of the political and functional workings of County Football Associations
• Prior experience with Smartsheet

Please note that as this is a national role, regular UK travel will be required.

• An exciting and challenging role within a changing, dynamic and world-renowned sports organisation.
• Attractive benefits and a competitive salary for the right candidate.

The Football Association Group promotes inclusion and diversity, and welcomes applications from everyone. If you have any particular requirements in respect of the recruitment or interview process please mention this in your covering letter.