Youth Development Phase Coach (Professional Player to Coach Scheme)

Contract:

Salary: £30,000 per annum

Length: 23-month fixed term

Hours: 40 hours per week

The Club / Academy:

Fulham Football Club is committed to delivering an equitable, diverse, and inclusive environment. We recognise that a diverse and Inclusive

Academy workforce is crucial in creating a positive and supportive environment for our players. We understand that diversity and inclusion are not

only important values but also essential for the success and growth of our Club.

Our aim is to create an environment whereby those connected to the Club feel valued, respected and supported, regardless of their background,

ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation or disability. We believe that by embracing and celebrating our differences, we can cultivate a culture of

collaboration, creativity and innovation as we move forwards. Our Club is committed to attracting talented individuals from a wide range of

backgrounds and experiences, ensuring that our workforce reflects the diversity of our players and the communities we serve. We are proud of

our Academy’s long history of developing players and young people for the Club’s First Team, the professional game, and many other industries

both in and away from sport.

The Academy’s mission is to ‘support every individual to fulfil their potential’, consequently great emphasis is placed on the design of the

environment to appropriately challenge and support individuals in the persuit of their potential. Our Academy aims to be close and personal in it’s

approach to supporting people within the environment. Our culture encourages and rewards individuals who are humble, honest and hard

working.

While focusing on the individual development journeys of players and staff, the Academy’s aspiration is that the support players and staff receive

isn’t organised into traditional disciplinary silos, nor ages and stages, instead our focus is on the holistic development of each person in an

integrated and whole fashion. A central feature of this approach is the way in which responsibility is shared and valued, as a tool across the

Academy, to support the achievement of our mission.

Introduction:

In partnership with the Premier League, Fulham Football Club aim to improve the diversity of football coaches in the professional game to make

this area more representative of society and our playing population. As part of our commitment to increasing the number of highly skilled and

diverse coaches, we are proud to be able to support the Professional Player to Coach Scheme, providing a high-quality fixed-term employment and

development opportunity.

The scheme is exclusively open to PFA members who are currently under-represented within English Professional Football – these identified

groups being Males or Females from Black, South-Asian and Mixed Heritage backgrounds.

Scheme outline:

Fulham Football Club aim to identify a high potential coach who will remain highly employable within the footballing industry after the initial fixedterm 23-month period.

Fulham Football Club will act as the ‘base’ of employment and the individual will work across a variety of football functions within the Academy in

order to broaden their learning experience and development. Successful applicants will enter the Premier League’s Coach Development

Programme, accredited by Leeds Beckett University. Upon successful completion of the programme, coaches will receive a Diploma in Professional

Football Coaching. The development programme includes mentoring, workshops, peer learning, projects and FA/UEFA qualifications

dependent on need.

The role:

This new role will be multi-faceted with core coaching responsibilities across the Youth Development Phase (U15-U16).

Core coaching responsibilities include:

• Supporting the establishment and on-going refinement of Seasonal Plans for specific YDP age groups.

• Designing a programme capable of supporting individualised elite player development.

• Contributing to, and where necessary leading, the MDT including weekly meetings and the establishment of plans for training and

games.

• Contributing to on-going review processes, including the use of video, match reports, individual player reviews, and other individualised

reflection tools that support learning and development.

• Sustaining frequent, consistent and supportive communication with all players and their families.

• Providing written and verbal feedback to trial players.

• Understand statistical reports and synthesise the information to inform training or game approaches in support of player development.

Across the 23-month period there will be opportunities to gain experience and insight across various Academy sub-departments, such as Talent

Identification & Recruitment, Insights (Analysis & Data), Sports Science, Medical, Education and Player Care.

The intention is to support the development of the successful individual through a suitably challenging set of responsibilities and experiences,

enabling the individual to have the maximum impact on the Academy and its mission.

Who should apply:

Background

Individuals from Black, South-Asian and Mixed Heritage backgrounds, including women from all backgrounds. This is a positive action scheme

aimed at addressing under-represented groups in football coaching. Applications will only be accepted from individuals from those backgrounds.

Experience

Essential

• PFA member with professional football playing experience (inclusive of Academy PDP playing experience).

• Experience of delivering coaching and or player development experiences to players.

• To be eligible for this scheme, applicants must not have held a full-time coaching role in a Premier League or EFL Club

academy or first team.

Desirable

• Experience of coaching a team or group of players throughout a full season or more.

• Experience of holistic youth development activities.

Qualifications

Essential

• UEFA B Coaching Licence

• FA Safeguarding Certificate

• Emergency First Aid in Football Certificate

Desirable

• UEFA A Licence

• FA Talent ID Level 1

Person specification

• Clear and consistent passion for the development of others.

• Hard working, detail driven and intrinsically motivated by the Academy’s mission.

• High potential to be an outstanding football coach and visible role model in the future.

• High-level interpersonal skills, including being an effective and adaptable communicator.

• Resilience for the everyday rigours of high-performance football environments.

• Highly motivated to become a football coach in English Professional Football and to help other footballers and teams to successfully

develop and perform.