Head of Coach Development (Girls Academy)

Organisation: Aston Villa Football Club
Salary: £40,000 - £50,000 per annum dependent upon experience
Location: Bodymoor Heath Training Ground
Contract type: Permanent (Full time)
Closing date: 14 September 2025
Job Description: 1. The Department
Our Girls Academy Department has established itself as a leader in girls youth football development, consistently delivering the highest standards in coaching, education and training across 10 teams with players aged U10 – U21. We are committed to nurturing talent and creating a supportive and professional environment and we are proud of the role we play in shaping the next generation of female footballers as demonstrated in our recent success with our U21s winning the Professional Game Academy Plate.

To support our continued growth and success of our programme we have a new opportunity for a Head of Coach Development to join the team

2. The Role
The Head of Coach Development is a new role for the Girls Academy who will lead and support all our Coaches ensuring that our coaching provision is to the highest standard and player-centered in line with our High-Performance Plan.

This is a genuine opportunity for someone to shape the role – you will lead the design and delivery of a comprehensive coach development programme that fosters a culture of collaboration, continuous learning and innovation. It will be vital in enhancing and developing both our Coaches and players.

The role will be varied, you will conduct training needs analysis for each of our Coaches to create and maintain individual development action plans, identifying strengths, developments and clear progression pathways. You will then bring this plan to life by being ‘on the grass’ with our coaches – supporting, mentoring, observing, reviewing and providing detailed feedback supported by session and matchday clips and performance analysis. You will lead and organise continuous professional development (CPD) workshops for the multi-disciplinary team on a regular basis.

For further information about the Role, please see the Role Profile.
3. The Person
This is an amazing opportunity for an experienced Coach with a genuine passion for Women and Girls football to join us and be a vital part of our multi-disciplinary team making a real impact on our coaches and players.

You will need to have a UEFA A Licence and the FA Youth Advanced award. You will need to have a proven track record in leading coach development by supporting and mentoring coaches across multiple ages and phases within an elite youth football development as well as experience in designing and delivering coach education programmes. You will need to have strong IT and presentation skills with the ability to use performance analysis tools and online platforms.

Previous experience within a professional girls or women’s football academy along with being a FA tutor would be ideal.

We are looking for someone with strong interpersonal skills who can engage, inspire, build and maintain high-performing collaborative coaching teams, particularly with coaches that are not with us full time. You will need to be able to build and maintain positive working relationships with the Girls Academy Multi-Disciplinary Team as well as across the Club.

The role will align with the Girls Academy schedule to allow you to be present and support our coaches throughout our different phrases therefore you will need to be available to work flexibly as the Club requires which will include evenings and weekends.

4. Why join us?

There has never been a better time to join Aston Villa Football Club. Our drive to succeed is visible on the global stage, we are building a family ethos and culture to be proud of, and realising our ambitious plans for the expansion and improvement of our world-class facilities. If you are already excited by this challenge and want to play your part in our historic Club, then you'll be pleased to hear about our amazing staff benefits you'll receive whilst working for us! See our Staff Benefits booklet to find out more.

As part of your application, you will be asked to:
1. Upload your CV

2. Answer the following question:

a) Please outline your key skills, qualities and experience which make you the ideal candidate for this role (400 words maximum)
For further information, the Role Profile and to apply please go to careers.avfc.co.uk/jobs

Right to Close Vacancy Posting Early
The Club reserves the right to close any advertised vacancies earlier than the advertised closing date if sufficient applications have been received.

Equality Statement
Aston Villa Football Club celebrates the diversity of its Club and embrace equal opportunities for all.

We welcome applications from all candidates regardless of age, race, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, sex and religion or belief.

Safeguarding Statement
Aston Villa Football Club is fully committed to safeguarding children and adults at risk across our Club. As such, we adhere to Safer Recruitment processes and for some roles a satisfactory enhanced disclosure via the Disclosure & Barring Service may be required prior to starting in a role at the Club. For more information, please see Aston Villa Football Club | The official club website | AVFC - Safeguarding
How to apply: https://careers.avfc.co.uk/jobs