The Role

We are looking for a Professional Development Phase Lead to operate within our Women's Academy and lead the planning, delivery and analysis of a 360 degree holistic development training and matchday provision for all activity for those aged 16-21.

Who we are

We are one of the most famous clubs in world football, with a rich heritage and history of success – read more about our history, here.

Beyond that, we are passionate about our local community and, behind the scenes, we have a wide variety of opportunities and career paths for all. We have a very defined purpose: to act for a winning team, culture and community. We achieve this by ensuring we are courageous in the pursuit of progress, we champion our community and each other, and that we do the right thing (even when no one is looking).

Your day-to-day

• Act as Head Coach for our U21s - you'll take pride in effectively leading preparation and delivery of all aspects of the AWFC U21 Academy training and games programme, and you will lead players and coaches to develop all individual and team training sessions, to cater for the needs of the players both individually and collectively 
  
• Oversee an impactful review process - you will organise and lead a player review process, supported by the multidisciplinary team and discuss and record development plans and player progress against agreed process, performance and outcome goals
• Deliver a best-in-class games programme - you'll create, review and plan a varied and challenging games programme to ensure our Academy adheres to all rules, criteria and regulations 
  
• Stay connected with our Women's First team - you will diligently establish communication lines and feedback loops with our Women's First team staff around player and programme development and you will attend one First Team training day a week, joining all necessary meetings and sessions
• Evolve our coaching programme - you will proactively seek out ways to improve the coaching programme and assist with the implementation and operation of these ideas, alongside our Academy Manager and Head of Player Development 
• Partner with our Talent ID and Player Recruitment teams - you will support the talent identification, talent acquisition and talent management of gold standard talents across the U15-U21 age groups to ultimately build an U21 squad of the highest potential talents both nationally and internationally 
• Collaborate with fellow Phase Leads - you'll communicate effectively with the Youth Development Phase Lead to manage the transition of top talents
• Attend international fixtures - you will eagerly attend youth international games from U17-U23
• Nurture players leaving our Academy system - you'll support the exit routes for all graduating players 

What we are looking for

• Experience of elite academy coaching - you come with a background of coaching high level players and/or talented young football players within an elite academy environment and you are confident in building a progressive age appropriate periodised curriculum
• Credible expertise - you've gained or are working towards an FA Advanced Youth Award for Coaching and you hold a UEFA B License and an FA Youth Module 3 Coaching Award or equivalent; with a FA Level 4/UEFA A Coaching Award or equivalent being desirable
• Certified in First Aid and Safeguarding - you possess a First Aid Certificate as well as an up to date FA Safeguarding Certificate 
  
• Track record of working with players that have made the step up - you're proud to have coached players at youth level who have progressed to play professional football
• Solid knowledge of football analysis methodologies - you are equipped with experience of creating, presenting and reviewing analysis feedback
• Inspiring coaching leader - you're easily able to lead a coaching team and operate within the guidelines set by our Academy Manager 
• Outstanding communicator - you can build and uphold exceptional relationships with players in the age range and colleagues across our club, in order to set realistic goals for our players and teams
• Confident IT skills - you're able to work with a variety of software, tools and platforms in order to fulfil the key requirements of your role
• Ambassador for our club - you relish the opportunity to act as a role model at all times and embody our Academy's values of discipline, humility and respect as well as our club's wider values 

Why choose us

At Arsenal, we want everyone to feel a sense of trust and belonging, so we are proud of both our club values and also what we offer to our employees. As one of our Gunners, you will receive:

• An exciting reward and recognition scheme
• Generous holiday allowance which increases with your length of service
• Great internal learning and development programmes
• A flexible hybrid working model
• Priority access to apply for match tickets
• A competitive health and wellbeing benefits package
• A leading Employee Assistance Programme
• Great discounts with some of our Partners

Arsenal for Everyone

Arsenal for Everyone is our commitment to promoting and embracing equality, diversity and inclusion, so that everyone connected to the club feels like they belong to the same Arsenal family. We believe that diversity of background, skills and experience drives our success on and off the pitch. 

Disability Confident Leader

We are a Disability Confident Leader. We actively welcome and encourage applications from people with disabilities and long-term health conditions. If you need disability-related adjustments to the recruitment process, please indicate this in your application.

If you are likely to meet the definition of being a ‘disabled person’ according to the Equality Act 2010, you may be eligible to apply for an interview via the Disability Confident Scheme - please indicate this in your application form below. The information you share with us about your health or disability will not be used in recruitment decisions.

Our Commitment to Safeguarding

We are committed to ensuring that our environments for children, young people and adults at risk remain safe and inclusive. We therefore require successful candidates to complete a DBS check and other essential background checks prior to starting their employment. Depending on the responsibilities of the role, a DBS will be either a basic, standard, or enhanced check.

Application Closing Date - Friday 20th June 2025

Please note: we reserve the right to close the position early if application volumes are particularly high. We encourage you to get your application in sooner rather than later.

Good luck!