Lead PDP Coach and Head of Coaching

Barnsley Football Club; Chipping Barnet; Hybrid; GBP 32,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

Barnet FC Academy seeks a Lead PDP Coach and Head of Coaching to drive the academy coaching programme and player development. You will align with the Academy Management Team to implement the Academy Performance Plan and ensure compliance with EPPP and EFL Youth Development Rules.

You will design a high-quality coaching curriculum, oversee ILPs, mentor coaches, and coordinate with sports science, medical and education departments to maximise player development.

Qualifications

• Experience designing and delivering coaching programmes for youth players.
• Strong knowledge of EPPP and EFL Youth Development Rules.
• Experience mentoring, coaching and performance-managing academy staff.

Responsibilities

• Be part of the Academy Management Team and support the Academy Manager in delivering the Academy Performance Plan.
• Lead design, delivery and development of the Academy coaching programme in line with APP.
• Deliver high-quality PDP training sessions covering technical, tactical, physical, psychological and social development.
• Ensure each PDP player has an ILP with regular multidisciplinary reviews.
• Mentor and manage academy coaches to ensure high coaching standards and consistency.
• Coordinate with sports science, medical and education departments for integrated development plans.
• Contribute to the Sporting Excellence Programme for football apprentices and CPD activities.
• Record session plans, reviews and player progress on the Football Intelligence Platform.
• Attend fixtures, training, and academy meetings and events.
• Oversee onboarding and performance management of academy coaches with safeguarding and YD/EPPP compliance.

Job description

The Lead PDP Coach and Head of Coaching is expected to lead the delivery and development of the Academy coaching programme. As a member of the Academy Management Team, the role supports the Academy Manager in implementing the Academy Performance Plan and ensuring compliance with EPPP and EFL Youth Development Rules.

The role is responsible for designing and delivering a consistent, high-quality coaching curriculum, overseeing Individual Learning Plans for Academy Players, and coordinating multidisciplinary support to maximise player development. In addition, this role is expected to lead, mentor, and performance-manage Academy coaches, ensuring coaching standards, professional practice, and player development processes are aligned.

Key Responsibilities

• Be part of the Academy Management Team (AMT), contribute to the Academy Performance Plan (APP), and assist the Academy Manager in running the operations of the Academy in accordance with the APP.
• Good working knowledge of the Youth Development (YD) Rules, ensuring that rules relevant to this position are being met.
• Lead the design, delivery, and continuous development of the Academy coaching programme in line with the APP.
• Deliver high-quality training sessions for the PDP age group focused on the technical, tactical, physical, psychological, and social aspects of player development.
• Ensure each player in the PDP has an Individual Learning Plan (ILP), regularly reviewed and updated through multidisciplinary input in line with EFL Youth Development Rules.
• Mentor, support and manage academy coaching staff across all youth phases, with a specific focus on ensuring quality and consistency in coaching delivery and ensuring alignment of coaching practices across all age groups.
• Co-ordinate and work with all academy departments including sports science, medical, and education departments to deliver an integrated development programme.
• Collaborate with the Head of Education to contribute to the delivery of the Sporting Excellence Programme (SEP) for football apprentices, ensuring they receive holistic support in their technical, tactical, physical, and personal development.
• Partake in Continued Professional Development (CPD) organised by the Academy, and attend the required amount of in-service training provided by The FA each year.
• Accurately record session plans, reviews, and player progress reports, ensuring everything is tracked on the Football Intelligence Platform.
• Attend all fixtures and training sessions as well as Academy meetings, workshops, presentations and any other academy events as required.
• Onboarding and performance management of academy coaches, ensuring compliance with EPPP, YD Rules and EFL audit requirements.
• Ensure that personal and departmental KPIs are being met, and undertake the corrective necessary action if not.
• Uphold safeguarding, equality, and health & safety standards at all times, and contribute to a positive learning environment.
• Ensure all facilities and property (kit, equipment etc.) is kept in good order and properly used, stored and maintained to avoid damage, destruction or loss due to negligence.
• Abide by all Club policies and processes including, but not exclusive to, safeguarding, equality and health & safety.
• Maintain high standards of work and act in a professional manner at all times whilst representing the Club.

About The Candidate

Due to the nature of the role and the work of the academy, the following pre-employment vetting checks will be conducted as part of Barnet FC Academy’s Safer Recruitment process:

• Criminal record checks (DBS)
• Two professional references

About The Club

At Barnet Football Club Academy, we are committed to creating a safe, supportive, and positive environment in which all young players can develop and thrive. Safeguarding is central to our culture, and the welfare of our club community is our highest priority.

We operate a robust Safer Recruitment Policy to ensure that every individual working with, or on behalf of, the Academy is suitable, vetted, and aligned with safeguarding standards and best-practice safeguarding principles. It should be noted that safer recruitment is not limited to a single stage of the hiring process; it is an ongoing, proactive commitment to preventing harm, identifying risks, and promoting the safety and wellbeing of all Academy participants.

Our pOlicy ensures that robust recruitment procedures, thorough background checks, and continuous monitoring practices are consistently applied, and it enhances transparency, reduces bias, and supports the selection of the most suitable applicant based on merit. By doing so, we aim to uphold the highest standards of integrity, professionalism, and child protection across our Academy.