U21 Coach - Elite Player Development & Pathway Lead

Fulham Football Club Limited; Greater London; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 62,000; Full time

Job summary

Fulham Football Club's academy is seeking an U21 Head Coach to deliver the player development strategy and shape a high performance environment for emerging talents, bridging the gap to the First Team.

You will lead the U21 programme, oversee ILPs, season plan, MDT meetings, and ensure alignment with academy and club playing philosophy. This critical role supports progression into professional football within a collaborative, ambitious setting.

Qualifications

• Experience working with Professional Development Phase (u18-u21) aged players.
• Experience of successfully holding a leadership role or position within a Club or organisation.
• Experience of successfully supporting the development of people.
• To hold appropriate and up to date qualifications to conform to PL Academy Licence requirements.
• UEFA A License (FA Level 4 qualification).
• FA Advanced Youth Award (FA Level 4 qualification).
• Broad awareness of the football industry and governing policies.
• An understanding of player development principles or applied knowledge from across other sports, countries and/or clubs.

Responsibilities

• Establish and continually refine the Season Plan for the u21 age group, shaping the player development programme in line with individual player and group needs.
• Lead coaching sessions across the u21 age group which align and integrate Season Plan commitments & players ILPs to wider Academy and Club approaches and Values.
• Create and sustain an elite learning environment that appropriately balances challenge and support, empowering players to take ownership of their development and become independent decision-makers.
• Manage the u21 Games Programme in line with the Season Plan to ensure teams and players compete and develop appropriately through these experiences.
• Ensure all training and match experiences are purposefully designed to accelerate individual player development whilst maintaining alignment with the Academy Performance Plan and Club playing philosophy.
• Lead weekly u21 MDT meetings to shape and guide player development while ensuring the highest quality operations and organisation of resource.
• Integrate and connect the u21 group to both the u18 and First Team programmes.
• Maintain close alignment with First Team staff to ensure shared coaching language, tactical principles, behavioural expectations and physical demands that facilitate seamless player transition.
• Support the u21 MDT to integrate player development across disciplines.
• Plan, upload/record and reflect systematically on all coaching activity within the u21 age group.
• Support the delivery of u16 & u18 training and games programme to share ideas and approaches across the department, contribute to effective succession planning, and cover coaching colleagues as required.
• Continually evaluate and innovate coaching practice by integrating current research, emerging methodologies and reflective practice to enhance player and programme development.

Skills

PL Academy Licence

UEFA A License

FA Advanced Youth Award

Football industry awareness

Player development knowledge

Job description

Fulham Football Club's academy is seeking an U21 Head Coach to deliver the player development strategy and shape a high performance environment for emerging talents, bridging the gap to the First Team.

You will lead the U21 programme, oversee ILPs, season plan, MDT meetings, and ensure alignment with academy and club playing philosophy. This critical role supports progression into professional football within a collaborative, ambitious setting.