Overview
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. For example in boys’ Academies, the assessment covers Leadership & Management, Coaching, Performance Support, Duty of Care, Education, Safeguarding, and Productivity.
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. It thus maintains some operational independence from the main PGAAC Board which, notwithstanding, monitors its work. It is not anticipated that the successful candidate will also sit on the WTPAB although we are open to discussion on this point.
Background of the Board
The Board of PGAAC is comprised of an independent chair, and includes representatives from its three shareholders: the EFL, The FA and the Premier League.
Key Responsibilities of the INED
Reporting to the Chair, the INED will be required to work with the other Directors of the Board to:
- 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
This is a role which combines strong business and governance acumen with some understanding and passion for youth development in English football. You do not need to be a football youth development expert as this expertise is already represented in depth on the Board. But you will be motivated by the vision of PGAAC and by the English football stakeholders’ shared desire to produce more and better home‑grown players, and the development and wellbeing of children within the game.
- Experience working with organisations during periods of developmental growth and change is highly valuable. This includes expertise in building a strong organisational culture and fostering team cohesion, particularly where staff members work remotely.
- Experience of operating within a Board or committee or C‑suite in a commercial organisation (not necessarily in sport) 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 with a willingness to speak their mind but to do so in a constructive and respectful way.
- A proven track record of effective, independent decision making.
- Proven ability to work effectively as part of a team that makes collective strategic decisions and to accept collective corporate responsibility for decision making.
- Understand what ‘good’ looks like within organisational design.
- Has proven business acumen that they want to share to help the development of PGAAC.
- Ability to review, understand and analyse complex technical reports, and to draw out their key points in order to make robust, informed decisions.
- Ability to adopt an open and constructive approach to PGAAC proceedings, making a full contribution and offering check and challenge in a collegiate manner.
Desirable
- 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.
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