Head of Psychology – Men's

Role purpose

To lead the drive towards a psychologically informed environment across the England Men's pathway (up to u21). Delivered primarily through leaders, coaches, and practitioners, this role will be critical in embedding the England Men's Psychology strategy, which comprises: 1. England 'Winning Behaviours' & Understanding our Players, 2. Developing Game & Emotional Management, and 3. Developing Impactful Leaders and Teammates.

What will you be doing?

• Lead the strategic delivery of psychology services to Men's teams with a specific focus on the Men's Pathway (up to u21), ensuring clarity of strategy and a consistent, complimentary approach for all Psychology services.
• Build and manage a network of consultant specialists to deliver psychology services into Pathway teams, providing quality assurance/governance, consistency of delivery and a point-of-contact for support and reflective practice for those 'on the ground'.
• Design and deliver a range of interventions to target the various aspects of the England Men's psychology strategy:
  • 'Winning Behaviours' & Understanding our Players:
    • Enhance the relationships and sharing of purposeful information between club and England psychologists, education and player care to create more aligned support and development.
    • Facilitate how MDTs use this information to create psychologically-informed on-camp approaches to players' support and development.
    • Provide development for MDT and coaching staff and work closely with The FA's Phase Leads in ensuring that the 'Winning Behaviours' frameworks and processes are consistently and skilfully executed pre-, during- and post-camp.
  • Game & Emotional Management:
    • Support coaches and players to manage the unique challenges of entering and performing within international environments.
    • Support and develop coaches to embed psychological principles into how they prepare teams for the momentum and emotional demands of international football.
    • Support teams to pre-empt and debrief key game scenarios through a psychological lens and develop team and individual-specific strategies to proactively manage these.
  • Developing Leaders & Teammates:
    • Build a more rounded understanding of various 'leadership' qualities (both on- and off-pitch) across all stakeholders within the pathway. Support coaches and staff to identify and develop these in a proactive and deliberate way.
    • Support individual players to recognise their own leadership skills and responsibilities and to expand their skillsets in this area whilst on camps.
    • Help players to recognise how they can best support newer teammates integrate into the England teams to enable more players to show their best as quickly as possible within this domain.
    • Embed communication insights and analysis into camp delivery to support the above bullet points.
  • Ensue continuity with psychology delivery to the England Senior Men's team.
  • Collaborate with key stakeholders in the drive to developing the next generation of football psychologists.
  • Lead the creation and delivery of key internal projects and external research associations which support the further development of psychology services.
  • Act as a key member of the Performance Support leadership team (Insights, Analysis, PPMN, and Psychology), building a cohesive departmental strategy and role modelling a collaborative culture.
  • Develop and maintain an extensive network of organisations and individuals outside football with whom to share and develop best practice.
  • Planning & management of departmental budget.

• Executes additional tasks as required to meet the FA's changing priorities.
• Comply with all company policies and procedures to ensure the highest standards of health, safety, and well-being 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 are we looking for?

Essential Qualifications & Accreditations

• Undergraduate degree in Psychology, Sports Psychology, or a related field of study.
• British Psychological or British Association of Sport and Exercise Science practitioner accreditation.
• HCPC registration.

Experience

• Significant experience delivering and leading psychological support services within elite performance environments.
• Experience leading and developing high-performing teams and consultant networks.
• Outstanding strategic planning, organisational and project management skills.Ability to build credibility and influence with coaches, players, senior leaders and key stakeholders.
• Strong coaching, mentoring and practitioner development capability.
• Experience creating psychologically informed cultures and environments.
• Deep understanding of talent development pathways.Experience working within multidisciplinary teams.
• Strong analytical and evaluation skills, using evidence, psychological data and insights to inform decision-making and practical interventions.
• Experience using psychometric and behavioural assessment tools.
• Creative presentation skills and experience designing and delivering engaging workshops.
• Commitment to continuous professional development and emerging best practice.
• Operates with professionalism, integrity and values aligned to The FA
• While experience in elite sport is preferred, it is not essential.

What's in it for you?

We pride ourselves on offering a competitive salary as well as great opportunities to develop and grow in your role. But that is not all; we also have a range of exciting benefits, some of which can be found below:

• Access to event day tickets at Wembley Stadium, alongside a host of regular internal events throughout the season, encourages you to connect and learn with your colleagues and look after your mental health and well-being.
• Free, nutritious lunches at Wembley Stadium and St. George's Park.
• Private medical cover funded by The FA.
• A contributory pension scheme.
• An additional 'Thank You' day's leave, volunteering days, as well as 25 days of annual leave (based on a full-time, permanent contract)
• A hybrid working model offering greater flexibility.

For more information on what it is like to work at The FA, please visit our FA Careers page, https://www.thefa.com/about-football-association/careers

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.