Job Description
Head Coach
Job Title:
Head Coach
Location:
England Hockey Head Office - Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre
Salary:
Competitive
Hours:
All hours worked
Term:
Fixed Term – 2yrs to end of Rio Olympic Cycle with potential to
extend to 6 years
Responsible to:
Performance Director
ENGLAND HOCKEY BOARD
England Hockey (EH) is the National Governing Body for the sport of Hockey. EH has income and expenditure
of circa £9m p.a. It is responsible for the management and development of the sport from grass roots to elite
activities and has responsibility for preparing international hockey teams for England for European, World and
Commonwealth Games and on behalf of Great Britain for the Olympic Games.
EH employs 70 staff and has over 200 consultants in performance / coach / official / leadership education and
development, many of which fall with the performance team remit.
EH is nominated by Great Britain Hockey (GBH) to qualify and prepare teams for the Olympic Games for the
Rio Olympic Cycle. GBH delegates complete responsibility to lead its business and performance activity to EH
as the “nominated country”. As nominated country, the Head Coach of EH is automatically designated as the
Head Coach for Great Britain for the Rio Olympic cycle.
ROLE SUMMARY
Reporting to the Performance Director, the Head Coach will be responsible for leading the national senior team
with a view to achieving success at European and World Level events and at the 2016 Rio Olympics. The
senior team operates within a centralised programme at Bisham Abbey and the Head Coach is required to
work closely with the Performance Director and Performance Operations Manager to provide detailed planning
for the programme to Rio and multi-cycle planning to ensure a sustainable high performance programme into
the 2020 / 24 cycles.
The priorities for the role are:
To work with the Performance Director to plan the timetable and content of the centralised programme
to ensure maximum use of all resources
To be responsible for setting standards of a high performance culture within the centralised programme
To be responsible for the selection, preparation, coaching and performance of the England and GB
Team and the teams’ results in international competition
To be part of the performance department leadership team and contribute to the leadership and longer
term development of the wider performance programme, including but not limited to high performance
Job Description – Head Coach
coach development, talent identification and elite player development and player and coach succession
processes
REPORTS & KEY RELATIONSHIPS
The Head Coach will report to the Performance Director and will be responsible for a number of employed EH
staff members and circa 12 Consultants who work within the senior programme. Effective relationships with
peers in the performance department including the Performance Operations Manager, GB Head of Talent and
GB Head of Coaching are critical to this role. In addition the Head Coach will need to develop relationships
with key staff in the commercial, finance and development departments of the wider business.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Hands on Coaching
Be responsible for leading the coaching and preparation of the England and GB National Squads and
individual team members.
Planning and monitoring
In partnership with the Performance Director, create, maintain and develop short-term, annual and
cyclical plans for the centralised programme that includes:
o
The England Team
o
The GB Team
o
Individual athletes
Monitor and evaluate athlete performance using relevant data to ensure standards are met and
potential is maximised
Maximise the use of coaches (hockey specific and other eg: Strength and Conditioning) throughout the
system to assist with the monitoring and skill development of athletes
Work with the GB Head of Talent and GB Head of Coaching to create and develop technical content
for dissemination to the pathway
Programme management
Provide effective leadership and management to ensure that all England and GB Team support staff
are ‘high performance’ focussed and success driven
Lead the provision of support services to the team, squad and individuals
Selection
Ensure compliance to the England and Great Britain Hockey selection policy when national squads are
selected and announced
Communicate directly and in a timely manner to players regarding selection process and criteria
Contribute to the leadership and development of the wider high performance programme
Work with the Performance Director, GB Head of Talent and GB Head of Coaching to:
o
ensure that national programme objectives and key initiatives are reflected through the player
pathway
o
provide technical and tactical direction for the national junior programmes
Job Description – Head Coach
o
assist in high performance coach and player development initiatives
Work collaboratively with all the performance team
Administration
Provide regular written reports and KPI data to the Performance Director following all international
events as well as providing programme reports as required
Work with the Performance Operations Manager and finance department in managing the centralised
programme budgets
Work with the commercial team to ensure effective integration of commercial relationships and
communications
Demonstrate :
o
an understanding and commitment to equal opportunities in employment and equity issues
o
an understanding of and commitment to individual responsibility to comply with Health and
Safety Policy and Arrangements
Other duties as directed
Assist in England and GB promotional activities where required
Conduct other duties as requested by Performance Director or CEO
PERSON SPECIFICATION
The Head Coach must demonstrate through their behaviour the values of EH :
-
Ambition
-
Integrity
-
Inspiration
-
Focus
Experience, knowledge and qualifications, are likely to be:
Experience of successful performance achievements at the highest level (Olympic level competition) in
a coaching capacity
Experience in planning, organising and implementing a comprehensive high performance coaching
programme for international teams and athletes
Experience and proven capability in the holistic development of athletes and programmes
Experience of working with multiple partners to achieve success including working with public funding
agencies
Outstanding technical hockey knowledge of individual and team principles including techniques, tactics,
coaching trends and international developments
Knowledge of leading trends in coaching, including coaching science, practices and the appropriate
application of leading technology tools
High performance coaching qualifications (England Level 3 and above or equivalent)
A full Driving Licence
Qualities and Skills are likely to include:
The ability to attain excellence from players, coaches, staff and all stakeholders through the
Job Description – Head Coach
establishment of a culture that strives to raise the bar higher every day
Ability to apply the principles of coaching, sport science, medicine and technology within a high
performance programme
Effective management skills that can build and successfully implement long-term strategic plans that
are supported by informed operational decisions
Efficient and organised, and strong awareness of self and self management
Well developed interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills
Well developed influencing skills
Self motivated and able to work independently and as part of a team
Demonstrated ability to meet competing demands through effective prioritisation in a results oriented
environment
Demonstrated success in managing individual differences and group dynamics
Demonstrated ability to exercise sound judgement, observe confidentiality and use discretion and
initiative
Ability to thrive in a pressured environment of irregular and long hours, and capacity to travel
domestically and overseas for extended periods
Driven by achieving results, a passion to succeed
The ability to effectively leverage and manage expertise from support services and other staff to ensure
team success
This role is subject to a satisfactory enhanced DBS check that will be carried out by EH.
This job description is not to be regarded as exclusive or exhaustive. It is intended as an indication of the
areas of activity and will be amended in light of the changing needs of the organisation.
TO APPLY:
Please submit your CV (maximum 3 pages) with a covering letter (maximum 2 pages) by email to Michele
Townsend ([email protected]) clearly identifying how your skills and experience are
relevant to the requirements of the role.
Closing date:
31 July 2014
Interview date: 5 August 2014