Education Lead

This is a great opportunity to join our Women’s Academy in a newly created role as Education Lead. This role will be responsible for leading and managing the educational development and academic welfare of all players within the Women's Academy, ensuring a dual career pathway that supports academic achievement alongside an elite football programme.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, implement and manage the Women’s Academy’s education programme in collaboration with local educational institutions.
• Monitor and support players' academic progress, engagement and attendance, ensuring compliance with the club and regulatory standards.
• Create EIAP (Educational Individual Action Plans) for player U16 – U18, balancing elite football commitments with studies.
• Offer tailored academic guidance and career advice to Women’s Academy players, including support with subject choices, coursework and transitions to Higher education or Vocational pathways.
• Work alongside the Player Care lead, to promote a healthy balance between football and education to support the holistic development of each player.
• Act as the primary liaison between the Women’s Academy, players, parents and educational institutions.
• Monitor and support the emotional, social and mental well-being of players in relation to educational pressures.
• Work closely with the club's safeguarding and player care lead, to ensure a safe and supportive environment is offered.
• Develop strong working relationships with partner schools, colleges and education authorities.
• Ensure the Women’s Academy meets the requirements and standards of any governing bodies (The FA or government education standards).
• Maintain accurate records and documentation of academic progress, engagement, attendance and interventions.
• Work collaboratively with the Player care lead to implement workshops on life skills, personal development, and post playing career pathways.
• Utilise the educational budget provided to organise guest speakers, mentoring opportunities and enrichment activities across the pathway.
• Collaborate with the Boys academy to understand their educational journey and provision, and utilising club wide resources to support the programme delivery for the present and future.
• Contribute to internal reviews and audits.
• Perform any other duties as required for the Senior Team & Academy.

What you will bring to the role

• Excellent observation, evaluation, and communication skills.
• Qualified Teacher status (QTS), educational advisor, or equivalent background in education.
• Postgraduate qualification in relevant subject (e.g. PGCE) (Desirable).
• Understanding the demands of elite youth sport, particularly women's football.
• Strong organisational and interpersonal skills.
• Familiarity with FA education and dual-career frameworks.

What we can offer you

• 25 days annual leave.
• Pension Contribution (Perm & FT Employees 5%).
• Private Health Insurance through Vitality.
• Life Assurance (4 x base salary).

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

At Chelsea we recognise that the diversity of our people is one of our greatest strengths and we are taking positive action to ensure our existing colleagues and job applicants can fully be themselves and bring their own unique experiences and perspectives to Chelsea FC. This means giving full and fair consideration to all applicants regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy and maternity. If you need reasonable adjustments made to the recruitment process, please reach out to your recruiter, who will be able to advise and support you.

Chelsea FC is fully committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all children, young people and adults at risk (vulnerable groups). We therefore require all successful applicants to complete a DBS Check prior to starting employment. Depending on the role, successful applicants may also be required to undergo other child protection screening where appropriate.

This Job Description is not intended to be exhaustive; the duties and responsibilities may therefore vary over time according to the changing needs of the Club.