Women's Teams

We are seeking 2 individuals in casual roles as Women's Teams Safeguarding & Welfare Oversight Leads.

These casual roles will work flexibly for up to 130 days per season, based primarily at St. Georges Park (nr. Burton Upon Trent). Working as an extension of The FA's Strategic Safeguarding Team, the roles will support the Senior Safeguarding Manager to embed Safeguarding across the Women's Technical Division.

Each role will oversee approx. 3 casual Designated Safeguarding and Welfare Leads (DSWL), ensuring that all England Women's Development Team events and camps are allocated a DSWL.

Note: Due to the level of flexibility and experience required for these roles, we are particularly interested in applications from people;

• in existing flexible roles with safeguarding and welfare remits or who are retired;
• with experience from teaching, youth work or specific safeguarding roles.

Post holders would be contracted initially until 31 July 2025.

What Will You Be Doing?

• Oversee the work of a small team of Casual Designated Safeguarding and Welfare Leads (DSWL), ensuring all England Women's Development Team events and camps have a Designated Lead deployed to the event. Be the primary point of contact to support the DSWL in their roles during deployment.
• Provide coverage as a DSWL for those camps & events where a DSWL may become unavailable, sometimes at short notice.
• Carry out Safeguarding Plans and Risk Assessment for England Women's camps and events and provide support to the pre-event recce process, where necessary.
• Provide advice and guidance to England Women's Teams with regards to safeguarding matters, including with regards to understanding and compliance with England Women's Safeguarding Policies and Safer Working Practice Guidance.
• Deliver safeguarding briefings, training and workshops to staff, players and parents/carers across England Women's Development Teams, via both in person and virtual classroom mechanisms. Refine associated contextualised resources to support understanding and learning.
• Attend relevant pre-event planning and Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) meetings, including tournament working groups, providing safeguarding input to these processes.
• Cover the Safeguarding Duty Line (out of hours phone support) for England teams, in the absence of the Senior Safeguarding Manager.
• Support the Senior Safeguarding Manager in ensuring that all safeguarding/welfare concerns and incidents are responded to, reported and recorded using internal FA processes and systems. Support and advise colleagues on safeguarding matters and incidents.
• Support colleagues to understand their safeguarding responsibilities and ensure practice matters are raised and addressed as appropriate, escalating serious concerns in a timely manner e.g., allegation involving a member of staff, in line with FA Policy and Procedures.
• Be a point of contact for Clubs and other organisations across the player pathway, including Education Providers, to discuss matters which relate to the individual needs or safeguarding requirements of players. Work with Team Operations and the Player Education and Lifestyle Lead, with regards to liaison with players parents/carers regards safeguarding needs/requirements, including managing matters relating to child protection plans, education, health & care plans (EHCP's) and that welfare and behaviour management needs are supported, with joined-up plans in place for event delivery.
• Review post camp/event reports from DSWL's, highlighting areas of good practice, ensuring development areas are identified with clear actions, and agree follow up on those actions with the Senior Safeguarding Manager and Women's Technical colleagues.
• Support the recruitment, induction, onboarding and retention of DSWL's, ensuring they are supported in their role and are orientated to their responsibilities.
• Support the Senior Safeguarding Manager in completing a programme of camp and event Quality Assurance Visits, this will at times, involve travel both within the UK and abroad, for extended periods of time.
• Contribute to the wider work of the Strategic Safeguarding Team, including revising resources, attending/contributing to meetings, supporting safeguarding planning and risk assessments for events and complaint management as required.
• Executes additional tasks as required in order to meet FA Group changing priorities.
• Comply with all company policies and procedures to ensure the highest standards of health, safety and wellbeing can be maintained.
• As part of The FA's commitment to ensuring a safe environment for everyone in football, every employee will be required to complete a DBS check. The level of the check required will be based on the activity of the specific job role and in line with legislation and government guidance.

What Will You Need?

Essential for the role:

Knowledge

• A professional safeguarding qualification and/or significant relevant experience in a safeguarding / welfare role in education, youth work or similar environment.
• Knowledge of child protection and safeguarding legislation, policy and implementation.
• Understanding of current issues that impact on the development of elite young players/athletes, particularly females in these environments.
• Sound working knowledge of data protection, information sharing and confidentiality, principles and practice.
• Sound knowledge of equality legislation and inclusive practices as they relate to safeguarding and additional vulnerability.

Experience

• Experience of implementing safeguarding policy and safer working practice guidance.
• Experience of making referrals to statutory organisations.
• Experience of risk and crisis management.
• Experience of delivering safeguarding training and CPD in sport environments.
• Experience of managing others, particularly those who have been in child facing roles.
• Experience in collaborating effectively within a multi-disciplinary setting.

Technical Skills

• Ability to deliver engaging safeguarding briefings, training and workshops to a wide range of staff and players in a way that is accessible and age appropriate.
• Proficient project management skills.
• Proficient reporting writing skills.
• Proficient Microsoft Office skills.
• Excellent communication, management, presentation, and facilitation skills.
• Willingness to work flexibly, sometimes with extensive travel with national teams for extended durations.

Beneficial to have:

Knowledge

• An understanding of case management processes and the role of a Designated Safeguarding Lead in these processes.
• Understanding of women's football, professional game academies, and player pathway, and international travel involving elite teams.

Experience

• Experience of running residential activities with young people.
• Experience of working in a safeguarding role or player wellbeing role in an elite sport pathway or environment, with a multi-disciplinary team.
• Experience of differentiating learning materials and using a blended approach to learning.
• Experience of delivering safeguarding awareness learning opportunities with young people.

Technical Skills

• Completion of the FA Safeguarding Children Course or similar sports-related training.

A full driving licence will be required.

If appointed, you will need to complete an Enhanced DBS with a check of the Children's Barred List

What's in it for you?

We pride ourselves in offering a competitive rate of pay as well as great opportunities to develop and grow in your role.

We are committed to ensuring everyone can flourish in their roles, and by doing this we offer top-of-the-range facilities across two core business locations. We have unique office spaces under the arch of the iconic Wembley National Stadium, which is the home of English football. We are also delighted to have a world-class Elite Performance Centre, St. George's Park in Staffordshire which is an exceptional setting to develop and inspire high-performing England teams and leaders.

Our Organisation

The Football Association [The FA] is the not-for-profit governing body of football in England. It is responsible for promoting and developing every level of the game, from grassroots through to the professional game, and generates significant revenue to support investment into English football each year.

The FA oversees England international teams across men's, women's, youth and disability football, as well as running the National League System and FA Competitions including the Emirates FA Cup, Barclays FA Women's Super League, Adobe FA Women's Championship, and Women's FA Cup, and the world-class facilities of Wembley Stadium and St. George's Park, all with a purpose to Unite the Game and Inspire the Nation.

Your contract with The FA will specify a fixed location. The contractual location of this role can be found at the top of this advert on our FA vacancy page.

The FA, For All, For You

Our equality, diversity and inclusion strategy forms an integral part of our long-term commitment to using our influence across English football to create a game free from discrimination.

A Game For All outlines three key strategic commitments - Lead the Change, Be the Change, and Inspire the Change - which will ensure tackling discrimination remains a core priority for English football for years to come.

We are a diverse workplace, aspiring to represent football across the country. The Football Association actively promotes inclusion and diversity, encouraging you to be the best version of yourself at work.

We welcome applications from everyone and are proud to be an equal opportunities employer. If you have any particular requirements in respect of the recruitment or interview process, please mention this during your application.

As part of The FA's commitment to ensuring a safe environment for everyone in football, every employee will be required to complete a DBS check. The level of the check required will be based on the activity of the specific job role and in line with legislation and government guidance.