Football Development Officer (Volunteers & Girls Football)

Organisation: The Junior Premier League
Salary: £26k – 27k (dependent on experience)
Location: The North East of England, close to Middlesbrough
Contract type: Permanent (Full time)
Closing date: 13 March 2026
Interview date: 23 March 2026
Job Description: This is a fantastic opportunity to shape the future of the game in England with the Junior Premier League, driving meaningful change both on and off the pitch. As Football Development Officer (Volunteers & Girls’ Football), you will lead initiatives to grow and diversify the volunteer workforce, with a particular focus on increasing the representation if girls and young women across clubs and leagues, while also supporting the planning and delivery of girls’ competitions from U11 to U18. You will work strategically with community, education and faith groups to unlock new opportunities, deliver impactful learning programmes, and help accredited clubs recruit, retain and reward the volunteers who power the game. Alongside this, you will play a hands-on role in competition mapping, fixture coordination and league support, ensuring high standards, clear communication and outstanding service for member clubs. This role is ideal for an energetic, relationship-driven leader who combines strategic thinking with operational excellence and is passionate about creating more inclusive, sustainable pathways within youth football.

OLE PURPOSE
To increase the number of female volunteers in off pitch roles across grassroots football;
• To support the growth of off pitch volunteers in registered grassroot clubs, sessional football and leagues with a focus on female representation
• To engage with, and support community groups to create opportunities for themselves and others in affiliated and sessional football
• To support England Accredited Clubs & Leagues, to sustainably recruit, retain and reward volunteers
• Support colleagues to coordinate girls’ leagues, assist with club support, and produce girls’ team fixtures within the JPL.
 KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES
1. Raise Awareness & Boost Representation
• Create and implement campaigns that engage and support the sustainable growth of female volunteers in grassroots football.
• Engage and build connections with potential volunteers through education, faith and community groups.
• Understand the volunteering motivations of local communities to enable the effective implementation of FA volunteer development interventions.

2. Provide Learning & Development
• Coordinate and deliver FA learning and development opportunities to volunteers, and potential volunteers, including Females into Volunteering events, the FA Club Maker, Run Football - Club Edition, Run Football - League edition and Club Leadership Modules.
• Support the satisfaction of volunteers by helping clubs and leagues to meet their motivations.
• To work alongside local Coach Development networks to signpost and facilitate the growth of on pitch volunteers where necessary.

3. Build Capacity in Clubs & Leagues
• Support accredited clubs and leagues to establish their volunteering needs, and create a plan to retain, recruit and reward their volunteers.
• Work closely across divisions within the FA to provide support to Tier 5 & 6 of the Women’s Pyramid and the Women’s National League with volunteer development.
• Help clubs and leagues to establish a Volunteer Officer to manage their volunteer plan.
• Review their volunteering culture and help them to better represent their local community.

4. Additional responsibilities
• Connect with, work alongside and help inform the activity of FA funded networks to help connect a diverse range of volunteers with leagues and clubs.
• To meet the evolving needs of the FA’s Equal Opportunities objectives to provide females with a greater breadth and better access of opportunity within grassroots football.
• Promote England Football Family membership, the Thank You Campaign and Grassroots Awards to help embed volunteer recognition.

5. Support the creation and management of Junior premier League girls’ U11-U18 fixtures:
Support the Lead FDO (Girls’ football) with;
• Competition mapping, planning and draws.
• U11 – U18 league and cup fixtures well in advance of the next relevant stage.
• Ensuring teams have games most weeks.
• Reschedules due to priority games as per FA rules e.g. County cup.
• Recording, rescheduling or processing of unplayed games.
• Reporting the delivery and completion status of the leagues to league management.
• Respond to member club U12-U18 boys / mixed fixture enquiries.
• The planning, delivery and review of JPL events, including JPL finals each season.

6. League Communication.
• Contribute towards daily lean meetings, and project meetings across the JPL Team.
• Communicate in a professional manner relative to the task/query/discussion.
• At the request of league management, communicate league messages to clubs.
• Signpost all club, partner and external communication to the appropriate JPL Colleague(s).
• Collaborate with the appropriate JPL colleague to resolve issues and identify solutions.
• Reply to colleagues and club enquiries/requests within 24 hours (week days).
• Use out of office reply on weekends or days out of office.

BEHAVIOURS
• Collaboration – Works cooperatively and effectively with others ensuring participation with colleagues and across different projects to support the achievement of JPL objectives
• Communication – Persuasively communicates with others to gain support for ideas, and efficiently communicates with stakeholders to inform
• Customer Service – Completes work to high standards and continually looks for ways of improving performance and customer service
• Problem Solving – Identifies a variety of solutions and looks at issues from a variety of perspectives before determining the best course of action

ESSENTIAL SKILLS
• Educated to A Level or equivalent
• Ability to work strategically with partner organisations across different sectors to plan and deliver volunteer recruitment recognition and retention
• Ability to deliver engaging and differentiated learning
• Project management skills and experience – to plan, set and achieve objectives to deadlines
• Excellent IT skills, including the use of Microsoft Office applications
• The ability to build positive relationships, empathise with people from various backgrounds, and adapt your communication style
• Able to find creative solutions to unexpected issues, be proactive, and adapt plans and strategies as needed.
• A good understanding of the specific issues, needs, and concerns that affect different communities
• Able to advocate for community needs
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Excellent time management and prioritisation skills
• Outstanding communication and presentation skills
• Exceptional customer service
• Report-writing skills
• Ability to use data to monitor and evaluate programmes
• Influencing skills to champion change
• Understanding of football structures and pathways
• Ability to use or be trained to use online competition / fixture platforms
• A flexible approach to duties and work, be comfortable working occasionally independently from home, and unsociable hours and Saturdays on a rota basis.

DESIRABLE SKILLS
• Two years’ volunteer retention/recruitment experience
• Practised at developing networks and relationships with a variety of stakeholders to support the delivery of strategic priorities
• Capability to create multiple reports, budgets and
• plans
• Experience of competition mapping and fixture scheduling
• An understanding of the challenges associated with running football clubs and leagues
• Knowledge of Youth football in England
• FA Emergency aid trained
• FA Safeguarding trained

Enhanced CRB Check Required: YES
Clean Full Driving Licence: YES
How to apply: Please send a CV and a cover letter to Steve.Connolly@Junior-Premier.co.uk