Sporting Director in Bristol

Bristol City Women is seeking a Sporting Director to lead all football-related activities and drive the club’s long-term sporting vision. Reporting directly to the CEO, the Sporting Director will be responsible for defining and executing a clear, cohesive football strategy across all areas, including recruitment, squad management, academy development, and performance services. The successful candidate will combine deep expertise in women’s football with strong leadership, strategic thinking, and a commitment to building a high-performance culture. This role will play a critical part in establishing Bristol City Women as a competitive and progressive force in the game. This is a full-time, Bristol-based role with travel as required.

Key Responsibilities

• Sporting Leadership
  • Define and deliver the club’s football strategy and overarching playing philosophy across all levels, from academy to first team
  • Lead the football management structure, ensuring alignment across all sporting departments
  • Establish clear player pathways and succession planning in collaboration with the Academy Manager
  • Oversee player trading, recruitment strategy, and squad planning
  • Act as the primary liaison between football operations and executive leadership on all sporting matters
  • Maintain up-to-date knowledge of trends and best practices in coaching and player development
• Organisational Leadership
  • Embed a high-performance culture across all sporting functions, driving accountability and continuous improvement
  • Lead, develop, and manage a multidisciplinary team of senior staff
  • Build strong relationships with the CEO, Board, ownership group, and key external stakeholders
  • Collaborate effectively with internal departments, including commercial and operations teams
  • Represent the club at league and competition meetings
• Talent Identification, Recruitment & Retention
  • Oversee recruitment strategy and squad development in collaboration with the Head Coach and Head of Recruitment
  • Monitor and evaluate recruitment outcomes, ensuring a strong return on investment both on and off the pitch
  • Support the development of academy players transitioning into the first team
  • Develop and maintain strong relationships with agents and intermediaries
  • Build and manage an effective scouting network
  • Ensure all recruitment and transfer activities comply with FA, UEFA, and FIFA regulations
• Budget & Risk Management
  • Work closely with the CEO and senior leadership to manage the football budget across all sporting areas
  • Ensure compliance with financial, legal, and safeguarding responsibilities within football operations
  • Identify and mitigate financial and reputational risks in a timely and effective manner

Key Objectives

• Establish a clear and compelling football strategy aligned across all sporting functions
• Achieve promotion to the Women’s Super League (WSL) and secure long-term top-tier status
• Build a sustainable, data-informed model for player recruitment, development, and retention
• Embed data and analytics into decision-making across recruitment, performance, and analysis
• Develop a leading regional academy and player pathway in the southwest of England
• Drive professional standards, structure, and accountability across all football operations

Bristol City Women Expectations

• Results-driven, resilient, and innovative, with strong decision-making capability under pressure
• Deep commitment to the growth and professionalisation of women’s football
• Collaborative and low-ego, with the ability to build trust across all levels of the organisation
• Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, evolving environment
• Curious and committed to continuous learning and development
• Self-aware, reflective, and accountable

Key Requirements

• Experience
  • Proven leadership experience in a senior football role (e.g. Sporting Director or equivalent)
  • Strong understanding of elite women’s football and high-performance environments
  • Demonstrated experience in squad building, recruitment strategy, and talent development
  • Experience managing budgets and operating within financial constraints
  • Track record of building culture and aligning multidisciplinary teams
• Skills
  • Strong leadership and emotional intelligence, with the ability to manage diverse personalities
  • High integrity, accountability, and adaptability
  • Analytical mindset with the ability to make objective, data-informed decisions
  • Excellent communication and influencing skills
  • Strong focus on performance, standards, and continuous improvement
• Desirable
  • Established network within football (agents, scouts, intermediaries)
  • Experience applying data and analytics within a sporting environment
  • Multilingual capability
  • Experience leading change or performance transformation
  • Strong belief in the growth potential of women’s football

About us

Bristol City Women is a football club entering a new era of growth under the stewardship of Mercury13. The club has ambitious plans to establish itself as a high-performing, sustainable organisation both on and off the pitch. Employees benefit from a collaborative, high-performance environment that champions development, innovation, and competitive excellence, alongside the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to elite women’s football.

Safeguarding Statement

Bristol City Women's is committed to safeguarding the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to endorse this commitment. Note: Due to the nature of the role, any job offer is dependent on a DBS check. All information will be kept by the Safeguarding Officer in strictest confidence.

Equality Statement

The successful candidate must ensure a positive commitment towards equality and diversity by treating others fairly and not committing any form of direct or indirect discrimination, victimisation or harassment of any description and to promote positive working relationships between all internal and external stakeholders.