Independent Non-Executive Director

English professional football has over recent years made considerable investment into elite talent pathways. Clubs and other entities running elite talent programmes for young players must comply with advanced and evolving regulatory frameworks. These frameworks have been developed to deliver on English football’s shared mission of developing more and better homegrown players, and compliance with them is a condition of receiving central funding to support elite youth development.

On the boys’ side and as part of the Elite Player Performance Plan — the Professional Game’s national strategy for developing male youth footballers in England — professional club Academies are licensed and placed into one of four categories (Category 1 to 4). These categories are based on a combination of factors, including investment levels, facilities, staffing, and the quality of provision across key multidisciplinary areas. We are currently reviewing the audit and assessment framework used on the boys’ side.

On the girls’ side, the female talent pathway aims to support the development of more and better home‑grown players through two key programmes, with around 60 licensed Emerging Talent Centres for girls aged eight to 16 and 20 licensed Professional Game Academies delivering training and development to girls aged 14 to 21. It is likely that, as the girls’ game continues to grow, the licensing requirements for both Emerging Talent Centres and Professional Game Academies – together with the way in which PGAAC assesses them – will continue to evolve.

To ensure licensing conditions are complied with and to support the continual raising of standards in both sides of elite player development, an independent standards organisation has been developed, mandated by the professional game, to monitor safety, compliance and the quality of work being delivered across both the male and female environments. The Professional Game Academy Audit Company (PGAAC) is the independent standards organisation established by The FA, the Premier League and the EFL, overseeing a multidisciplinary assessment of all licensed training programmes.

Directors of the board are required to provide overall leadership and strategic vision for PGAAC, acting as a critical eye on the outputs of the multi‑disciplinary assessments on the boys’ side and making licensing and other recommendations based on these assessments, and supporting the management team. A committee of the board, the Women’s Talent Pathway Assessment Board (WTPAB), has been established. Its membership consists of the PGAAC chair and representatives of The FA, WSL Football, the Premier League, and one independent member. The WTPAB monitors the delivery of PGAAC’s audit and assurance programme in the girls’ game and makes licensing and other recommendations based on the outputs of assessments.

Key responsibilities of the INED include:

• Support PGAAC to deliver on its mission through a period of continued change.
• Contribute and, where appropriate, lead the discussion around strategy and forward thinking actions with the ultimate aim of having a clear plan and framework in place which enables focus for all involved and gives opportunity to measure success.
• Ensure that PGAAC is run in a transparent and equitable manner and operates in line with accepted best practice in corporate governance.
• Review the output of the audits of boys’ Academies undertaken by PGAAC staff.
• Evaluate and assess that output in order to determine whether an Academy should be awarded or maintain its licence to operate as such, and make recommendations accordingly.
• Where appropriate, consider, advise on and make recommendations regarding systemic areas of quality, risk and developmental need in the male and female elite talent pathway.
• Offer check and challenge to the Chair, General Manager and PGAAC staff.

Experience and capabilities sought include:

• Experience working with organisations during periods of developmental growth and change.
• Experience of operating within a Board or committee or C‑suite in a commercial organisation or national governing body of another sport.
• Capacity to contribute actively to the strategic direction of PGAAC demonstrated by evidence of an ability to think strategically and to analyse complex concepts.
• Confident and effective communication and influencing skills.
• A proven track record of effective, independent decision making.
• Ability to review, understand and analyse complex technical reports.
• Ability to adopt an open and constructive approach to PGAAC proceedings.

Desirable experience includes:

• Experience of sports governance, working with or as part of a board.
• Experience of managing complex projects to ensure delivery in line with expectations.
• Experience of audit and quality assurance processes.

Eligibility and Time Commitment:

Due to the nature of the position, candidates must be independent of any football club which runs an Academy, and of The FA, the EFL, the Premier League, the County FAs, Football Club Charities and organisations linked to the talent pathways.

This is a non‑executive role with attendance expected for up to eight meetings, which are equally distributed throughout the year and include one strategy away day in the close season. Attendance will be required at all Board meetings. There may on occasion be the need for short notice attendance at additional meetings and diary flexibility will be required. The role involves both virtual meetings via Teams and in‑person meetings.

The position is remunerated at £500 per day. PGAAC is an equal opportunities employer and strives to create an inclusive culture where talent can flourish. All appointments will be made based on merit; however, we particularly encourage applications from women, people from minority ethnic communities, LGBTQ+ people and disabled people.

Our commitment to safeguarding includes implementing robust safer recruitment procedures to assess the suitability of individuals applying for roles that involve work with children and adults who are or may be at risk of harm.