Celtic Football Club is currently seeking a Head of Girls’ Football. Reporting to Head of Youth Academy, this role will be responsible for delivering and supporting the coaching operation within Celtic FC’s Girls’ Academy with a focus on embedding the Children and Young People's Wellbeing Strategy in all aspects of the Academy’s structures and operations. Working within the Girls’ Academy, this is an important managerial role responsible for effective coaching activities for Girls’ Academy.
Key accountabilities will include:
- Manage all logistics required for the successful delivery of Girls Academy programmes, including staffing
- Organisation and management of all coaches in Girls Academy including monitoring Coach and team performance
- Liaison with the Women’s Team Head Coach on players within the Academy and who are sought to be in the Academy
- Provide in-house coach education sessions
- Create a performance culture and ensure player wellbeing is at the core of the development philosophy
- Assist in organising fundraising activities, events and sponsorship in conjunction with the commercial team
- Assist in researching and identify potential new funding opportunities
- Retain, recruit and identify players and staff
- Implementation and management of Celtic’s young player development program
- Provide a support mechanism to assigned players, coaches and parents
- Ensure regular, clear communication with players and parents at all times and facilitate meetings and events as required with parents and coaches
- Establishing and maintaining appropriate standards, practices, and procedures
- Work alongside the Safeguarding team to ensure all child protection policies are in place
- Work alongside the Football Administration team to ensure the correct implementation and adherence to all rules and regulations, including around registrations
- Complete all onboarding paperwork in liaison with HR and in line with safe recruitment processes
- Process invoices and raise purchase requisitions as required
- Liaise with other internal departments to help support Girls’ Academy programmes where required
- Build and maintain relationships with internal and external stakeholders
- Maintain all records of activity and provide timeous reports as required
- Manage the marketing and branding of Girls’ Academy programmes
- Actively work with the Girls’ Academy Coaching team to lead and deliver a comprehensive coaching programme
- Plan, deliver & review coaching sessions, motivating and challenging the players & ensuring the highest standard of coaching is maintained at all times
- Ensure each player is coached as an individual via the implementation of management protocols and reviews that are tailored and designed to maximise the potential of that individual
- Monitor and lead all coaching standards across the Girls Academy, implementing initiatives such as coach mentoring, coach filming and feedback
- Ensure there is a comprehensive CPD program implemented to improve understanding of the game model and playing style
- Maintain a working knowledge of best practice in player development
- Assist in scouting and building a database of players for the Girls Academy, utilising the current player profile
- Establishing and maintaining appropriate standards, practices, and procedures
- Demonstrating a professional conduct to all staff and players
- Liaison with the Women’s Team Head Coach on players within the Girls’ Academy and who are sought to be in the Academy
- Monitor coach and team performance
- Ensure all communications with colleagues is professional, appropriate and considerate of individual needs and circumstances
- Actively build and maintain positive working relationships with Colleagues across the Club, ensuring a collaborative approach is adopted at all times
- Treat all colleagues with dignity and respect by ensuring that your behaviour and approach during the course of all workplace activity is inclusive of all backgrounds and abilities and welcomes diverse contributions
LEADERSHIP & PEOPLE
- Provide effective leadership to all direct reports, enabling the continuous development and improvement of team members.
- Ensure sufficient succession planning is in place within the Girls’ Academy team, with development plans identified and implemented.
- Manage both individual and team performance appropriately, ensuring performance gaps are identified and addressed constructively.
- Ensure team members feel valued and recognised by acknowledging and celebrating team and individual successes.
- Alongside HR, provide relevant wellbeing support to colleagues and maintain open channels of communication ensuring sufficient opportunity is available for team members to ask for support
- Ensure roles within the team are designed fairly and that work is allocated appropriately between colleagues
- Ensure the health and wellbeing of colleagues is considered in all team tasks, processes and communications
SAFEGUARDING AND WELLBEING
- Develop and maintain an up to date understanding of Children’s Rights.
- Develop and maintain professional relationships with players, parents and carers.
- Prioritise at all times the general wellbeing and care of players.
- Maintain a basic knowledge of and skills within in the areas of wellbeing, safeguarding and child protection in Scottish Football.
- Participate in training as part of continuous personal development on Safeguarding, Wellbeing and Child Protection.
- Encourage good practice which is in line with procedures that protect children and young people across all areas of responsibility.
- Show a commitment to support the Clubs programmes of education for players, providing access to knowledge and understanding which will enable them to plan effectively for their future.
- Support and positively participate in the off boarding and aftercare of players as required.
- Ensure conversations with children and young people are held with compassion and fairness.
Note: Management has the right to amend the above Role Summary in consultation with the employee to reflect the changes in or to the job.
Skills and Experience required:
Essential:
- UEFA B licence or above
- Child Wellbeing in Scottish Football qualification
- Minimum of 2 years’ experience in similar Academy positions
- Experience in safeguarding and promoting the wellbeing of children
- A working understanding of inclusion, equality and anti-discrimination, safeguarding and best practice
- To be empathetic, approachable and able to build and maintain positive working relationships
- Ability to create a child centred environment
- Ability to have difficult conversations with excellent listening and judgement skills
- Capacity to handle confidential data and information sensitively
- Good IT skills with good understanding of using Word, PowerPoint, Keynote and Excel.
- Confident & engaging with the ability to be self-composed and patient in all situations
- Excellent communication skills both written and verbal
- Excellent interpersonal, administration and organisational skills
- The ability to work within a team environment
Additional Requirement
- Ability to work flexible hours, including weekends, evenings and match days
- This role is considered regulated work and therefore will require membership of the Disclosure Scotland Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme. If the role incumbent is already a member of the PVG scheme, at the point of appointment, relevant updates will be required to be completed by the Club.
Club Benefits
- Dedicated Employee Assistance Programme
- Staff retail discount on Celtic and Adidas merchandise
- Access to our Colleague Benefits & Discount Platform
- Regular colleague social events
- Subsidised on site canteen