Safeguarding and Player Welfare Officer (Women and Girls)

Portsmouth Community Football Club Limited

Organisation: Portsmouth Community Football Club Limited
Salary: £25,000 per annum
Location: West Leigh Park, Havant
Contract type: Fixed Term (Full time)
Closing date: 23 July 2025
Job Description: Job title: Safeguarding and Player Welfare Officer (Women and Girls)

Location: Fratton Park, Frogmore Road, Fratton, PO4 8RA and matches at Westleigh Park, Martin Road, Havant, PO9 5TH

Hours of work: 12 months; Fixed Term Contract- Full time role -37.5 hours per week (inclusive of evening and home matchdays work as necessary).

Reports to: General Manager

Remuneration : £25000 per annum

Join Our Team – Be Part of Pompey’s Future

Are you passionate about women’s sport and ready to play a key role in a dynamic and forward-thinking football environment? Portsmouth FC Women is seeking a dedicated and passionate Safeguarding and Player Welfare Officer to lead the safeguarding agenda across our women’s and girls’ teams. You will ensure the highest standards of safeguarding practice and player welfare both on and off the pitch, playing a key role in promoting a safe, supportive, and inclusive environment for all involved in the club.

As the main safeguarding contact, you will lead on safeguarding procedures, staff education, welfare planning, and matchday safeguarding responsibilities. This is a vital role in supporting our commitment to a culture of safety, wellbeing, and equality.

Your key responsibilities will include:

As the Safeguarding and Player Welfare Officer, you will play a pivotal role in creating and maintaining a safe, supportive, and inclusive environment across all aspects of Portsmouth FC Women’s operations. This role involves leading safeguarding practice, ensuring policy compliance, supporting player wellbeing, and managing matchday safeguarding responsibilities. You will work closely with internal teams and external agencies to uphold the highest standards of care and protection. Your contribution will be central to the club’s commitment to duty of care, both on and off the pitch. The key areas of responsibility are outlined below:

Safeguarding

Champion safeguarding awareness and best practice across Portsmouth FC Women.
Ensure staff and stakeholders understand and follow the club’s safeguarding policies, legislative obligations, and whistleblowing procedures.
Work closely with Portsmouth FC’s Senior Safeguarding Manager to review and update safeguarding documentation and ensure compliance.
Respond to and manage safeguarding concerns, poor practice, and allegations appropriately.
Maintain accurate, confidential records and use the club's reporting system effectively.
Lead on safeguarding education sessions, including topics such as anti-bullying, social media use, and appropriate conduct.
Collaborate with statutory and football bodies, ensuring appropriate information sharing and partnership working.
Actively participate in internal safeguarding meetings and contribute to risk assessments and action plans.
Player Welfare

Coordinate with multidisciplinary teams to provide holistic care and support for all players.
Implement and monitor the club’s wellbeing strategy.
Support both signed and trialist players, ensuring access to support services and clear lines of communication.
Foster a player-first environment with high standards of emotional, psychological, and physical care.
Matchday Duties:

Serve as the designated safeguarding officer on matchdays.
Liaise with parents of under-18 supporters as needed.
Oversee matchday activities involving children (e.g., mascots, ball retrievers), ensuring safeguarding best practices.
Attend matchday briefings and debriefings with senior management.
Report all matchday safeguarding concerns to the relevant personnel.
Administration

Provide regular reports to the Head of Football and club board.
Manage DBS checks and ensure compliance with FA guidance.
Maintain the Single Central Record and support data entry for FA systems (e.g., Whole Game Solution).
Lead on safeguarding-related documentation, planning, and reviews.
Liaison with External Bodies

Build strong relationships with external safeguarding partners including the Police, LADO, Children’s Services, NSPCC, and The FA.
Keep up to date with safeguarding legislation, regulations, and best practices through regular training and development.
What We’re Looking For:

Experience in safeguarding roles, ideally in a sports or youth-focused environment.
Strong knowledge of safeguarding legislation, policy, and procedure.
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to work across multiple stakeholder groups.
Confidence in dealing with sensitive issues and ensuring confidentiality.
Proven administrative, planning, and record-keeping skills.
Ability to work flexible hours, including evenings and weekends.
DBS clearance (or willingness to obtain).
Safeguarding qualifications and ongoing CPD will be expected and supported.
What we can offer

We will support you with the tools, training, and team to succeed, including:

Competitive salary
Ongoing professional development
23 days holiday + bank holidays
Company pension scheme
Gym membership
Staff perks from club sponsors

General information

We promote an equal, diverse, and inclusive workplace and weare committed to providing the best experience for our colleagues. As a business we aim to be as representative of as many sections of society as possible, and for each colleague to feel respected and able to give of their best every day. We ensure that we treat people the right way, promote respect and believe that making the most of our differences is the key to the success of our business.

We take a robust approach to modern slavery and human trafficking and our organisation is absolutely committed to preventing slavery and human trafficking in our corporate activities, and to ensuring that our supply chains are free from slavery and human trafficking.

Safeguarding
Portsmouth Football Club is committed to the safeguarding and welfare of all children, young people and adults at risk and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We are committed to ensuring that any club related activity will be in a safe environment where children, young people and adults at risk are protected from harm or abuse whilst under our care.

We acknowledge that every child, young person, or adult at risk who plays or participates in football should be able to take part in an enjoyable and safe environment and be protected from poor practice and abuse. Portsmouth Football Club recognises that this is the responsibility of every adult involved in our club.

We must always respect the dignity and spirit of all people, including children, young people and adults at risk. Treat everyone fairly, encourage a supportive and positive environment to promote healthy competition, skill development, fun and achievement. Avoid contact or conduct that may be interpreted or defined as inappropriate.

Health and Safety

Portsmouth Football Club is committed to ensuring the health, safety, and well-being of all employees, contractors, visitors, and others who may be affected by our operations.

As part of this commitment, you are expected to take reasonable care for your own health and safety, as well as that of others. You must comply with the company’s health and safety policies, procedures, and any legal requirements relevant to your role. Together, we aim to maintain a safe and supportive environment that promotes the welfare and security of everyone involved in our activities.

Data Protection

The Club process all personal data collected during the recruitment process in accordance with complies with Data Protection Act (2018) and GDPR. Data collected as part of the recruitment process is held securely and accessed by, and disclosed to, individuals only for the purposes of managing the recruitment exercise effectively. All data that is deemed unnecessary will be disposed of at the end of recruitment process in line with our GDPR procedure.
How to apply: Ready to lead the way? Pompey Women FC is committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion in all areas of the club. We strongly encourage applications from women and underrepresented groups in football and sports medicine. If you are ready to help lead the way in women’s football and inspire excellence in athlete care, we would love to hear from you. To Apply: please send us a cover letter and CV to HR@pompeyfc.co.uk. Closing date: 23rd July 2025 Please let us know if you need any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process. Note: We are not accepting applications via agencies or third parties. If you don’t hear from us within 7 days of the closing date, please consider that your application was unsuccessful. At Portsmouth Football Club we are committed to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and we aim to build an accurate picture of the make-up for our talent pools. Therefore, we ask that you submit the information on the below link to ensure we are always attracting a broad and diverse range of exceptional talent from all areas of society. Responses are anonymous and the data gathered will be used to inform our future initiatives but filling in this form is voluntary. https://forms.gle/H7NmjG95fgLSaWPD7