Head of Youth Recruitment (Girls Academy)

Organisation: Aston Villa Football Club
Salary: £40,000 - £45,000 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 Youth Recruitment to join the team

2. The Role

The Head of Youth Recruitment is a new role for the Girls Academy who will lead our talent identification and recruitment strategy, aiming to identify, assess and recruit players with a clear pathway for talented players who have the potential to progress and ultimately reach our First Team.

This is a real opportunity for someone to come and apply their knowledge and experience to build and shape this role to devise and implement a season recruitment strategy in line with our Academy High Performance Plan. Your responsibilities and accountabilities will include organising and managing development centres, player trials and talent identification events, implementing structured trialist management processes, monitoring player development post recruitment, producing reports on all related player recruitment activity. You will need to be at the forefront of girls youth football trends, competitor activity and emerging talent nationally and internationally.

A key responsibility of this role will be to recruit, build and lead a local and national network of scouts to deliver our recruitment strategy and support our succession planning.

3. The Person

This is an amazing opportunity for someone to build and shape a role with a real chance to make a huge impact on our players and their development.

You will need to have the FA Level 3 in Talent Management, Strategy and Leadership in Football, with proven experience in talent identification and recruitment or a professional football environment. You will have a proven track record of recruiting players who have played at PGA Category 1 or 2 academies with the ability to assess technical, tactical, physical and psychological attributes with an understanding of player pathways and long-term development needs. You will have an existing network of contacts across grassroots, academy and professional football and have strong communication and interpersonal skills to build effective relationships with a range of stakeholders including players, parents, coaches and external Clubs.

You will need to be organised with strong leadership and planning skills with the ability to create and present recruitment reports and analysis in a clear and evidence-based manner.

You will need to be available to work flexibly and have a full UK driving licence with access to a vehicle with the ability to travel regularly across the UK with occasional international travel as and when required.

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