Hertfordshire FA - Head of Football Development and Investment in Hereford

Could you lead the team supporting the development of grassroots football in Hertfordshire? An exciting opportunity for an experienced manager to lead Hertfordshire FA's Football Development Team. This is a key role in our organisation, with responsibility to lead, manage and develop the Football Development team to deliver Hertfordshire FA's strategic plan, including targets to increase participation opportunities for players, coaches, referees, volunteers and improve the quality of grass pitches across Hertfordshire. The role forms part of our Senior Management Team and supports safeguarding in the county, as well as strategic area-wide planning of partnerships, effectively engaging leagues, clubs, local authorities, health, and sustainability, to ensure a safe and enjoyable football environment for all.

Position: Head of Football Development and Investment

Contract Type: Permanent

Hours: 35 hours per week (including some evening and weekend working over the season)

Salary: £38,000 - £42,000 (dependent on experience)

Based: The County Ground, Baldock Road, Letchworth Garden City, SG6 2EN (with Hybrid working available)

Role purpose:

• To lead, manage and support a thriving and developing football development team.
• To lead and manage the delivery of the County FA Facility and Investment priorities in partnership with key stakeholders.
• Effectively lead the day-to-day delivery of Hertfordshire FA's Football Development priorities and targets in partnership with the Football Association and key stakeholders.
• To lead the delivery of the Grassroots Football Strategy in Hertfordshire.

The successful candidate will have significant experience of strategic Sports Development and experience of Safeguarding policies and procedures, ideally gained within a County Football Association or other relevant local sports governing body.

Other Benefits Include:

• Build a career in football with the local governing body of the grassroots game here in Hertfordshire.
• Access to high-quality training, networking and personal development opportunities.
• Opportunities to progress your career across the County FA Network and at The FA.
• Employee Assistance Programme offering support across a wide range of areas.
• Nike staff uniform provided and the opportunity to buy Nike products at a discount.
• Company laptop and mobile phone, access to tickets for events at Wembley Stadium, access to Bright HR discounts programme.
• Flexible and remote working as appropriate, starting with 20 days holiday (plus bank holidays).
• Complimentary access to the Local Gym and Leisure facilities in partnership with Everyone Active.

Closing date for applications is 5pm on Friday 11 September 2026. Due to the volume of applications we receive, we will only contact those candidates invited to interview. First stage interviews will be held Thursday 1 October with second stage interviews scheduled for Tuesday 13 October. Both stages will be held at The County Ground, Letchworth, Herts, SG6 2EN.

For further information on the role, please direct enquiries to Richard Darwin, Hertfordshire FA CEO on richard.darwin@hertfordshirefa.com.

We would appreciate if you could complete Hertfordshire FA's Diversity Monitoring Form along with your application. Completion of this form is entirely optional, however it does provide the Association with the opportunity to track the breadth and depth of the applications from different parts of the community. This should be filled in anonymously and sent back to us separately. They will be collated only for the purpose of monitoring diversity and will not be used to identify individuals.