Player Care Officer (Maternity Cover)
Location
Blackpool, Lancashire | United Kingdom
Job description
Job Description
Who we are:
Blackpool Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the seaside town of Blackpool, Lancashire.
The club was founded in 1887 and has a very storied history, from being a founding member of the Lancashire League in 1889, rising to the Top-Flight of the Football League (the old First Division) in 1930, to winning the FA Cup in 1953 and being promoted to the Premier League in 2010 (becoming the first club to gain promotion from every division of the Football League via the play-off system.)
The team are competing in the Championship division of the English Football League, the second tier of English football, having gained promotion from League One in 2020–21.
The club have played their home games at Bloomfield Road since 1901.
Job Purpose:
Blackpool Football Club are seeking a Player Care Officer for Maternity Cover to join our Academy Welfare team. Working with the Academy Education, Safeguarding and Player Care Manager, you will be responsible for the planning, delivery and recording of Player Care sessions, Personal Development and Life Skills Plans for Academy players, coordinating the delivery of the induction and transition strategy.
You will ensure that the Player Care principles are embedded into the Clubs’ overall duty of care including the mental and emotional wellbeing of the academy players while building relationships with the players and parents enabling them to have an active voice within the academy.
Key Responsibilities and Duties:
- To contribute to the development and delivery of a bespoke Player Care department, specific for Blackpool Football Club Academy stakeholders.
- Implementing, delivering, and evaluating positive Mental Health initiatives across the Academy.
- Design, deliver and review Life Skills programmes across all ages, including parents and guardians.
- To be responsible for ensuring all departmental KPI’s are measured effectively, assessed, and evolved in line with the Academy’s aspirations.
- To provide ‘best in class’ Player Care delivery and set examples for all Academy staff to emulate.
- Ensure that all Player Care expectations and standards as defined by the EFL, Premier League and Auditors are met or exceeded.
- Support the mental & emotional wellbeing of all Academy members, including staff, through training, awareness, and response.
- Ensure welfare needs are met for Blackpool Football Club players and non-Blackpool Football Club-signed players (e.g., Trialists), including accommodation, transport, and initial introductions to the Academy.
- Monitor the welfare of Academy players, establish feedback from both players and parents.
- Ensure player development plans are in place, for all Academy players, to support their holistic development.
- Plan and oversee the induction process, internal and external Transition strategy for players and parents.
- To work with clubs first team players when entering the environment to ensure a smooth transition into life at Blackpool FC
- Carry out Quality Assurance visits to sessions, Club wide.
- Monitor, support and deliver, where appropriate, relevant training to staff, players and host families as needed.
- Maintain effective relationships with external partners and other clubs, e.g., Schools, FA, EFL, LA, LFE.
- Support the management of and implementation of the accommodation policy.
- Develop and maintain effective relationships between the Academy, Parents and Host Families to ensure Academy Players have the necessary support to help them to meet their personal targets.
- An awareness of best practice externally and using this to make changes and recommendations to the provision at Blackpool Football Club Academy.
- Co-ordinate the dissemination of policy, procedures, and awareness of Player Care throughout the organisation, in particular Phase Meetings, Academy Meetings and Induction Events.
- Record, manage and investigate all reported welfare concerns, where required, managing the caseload appropriately.
- Provide advice and support to all staff and associates of the organisation in relation to wellbeing concerns and queries.
- Manage the electronic management system “PMA” for recording and tracking, life skills, Player Care, and where appropriate transition.
- Report and refer to internal and external agencies safeguarding concerns, child protection/poor practice in line with policy guidance advised by the club, EFL and the FA.
- Ensure a person-centred approach is taken no matter what the issue is, provide support and sign posting where required.
- Provide support and guidance to any member of staff engaged in Player Care, transition, and life skills.
- To support the Blackpool Football Club values, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy and our Safeguarding policies in every aspect of your work and positively promote the principles of these policies amongst colleagues, stakeholders, service users and other members of the community.
- To represent Blackpool Football Club at external meetings, creating new links with external statutory and voluntary agencies.
- Confidentiality is important within our business, understanding the need for boundaries and privacy is paramount.
- To make sure that your own knowledge, skills and training are up to date.
- To liaise closely with the Academy Psychologist to help deliver emotional management training.
- The role holder will also be required to take on new tasks from time-to-time as instructed by the Academy Education, Safeguarding & Welfare Manager.
The above job description is not intended to be exhaustive; the duties and responsibilities may therefore vary over time according to the changing needs of the club.
Person Specification |
Essential Requirements | Desirable Requirement |
Qualifications | - Educated to a Degree Level Qualification ie Teaching.
- FA Safeguarding Certificate or equivalent.
- FA Emergency First Aid or equivalent.
- Mental Health First Aid Qualification.
|
Experience | - Experience of implementing policy and procedures.
- Evidence of promoting good practice, continuous improvement, and management in a sporting environment.
- Experience of working to deadlines.
| - Previous experience in a Player Care / Safeguarding role.
- Experience of working with elite young players, preferably in football.
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Knowledge & Skills | - Effective communication skills with both internal and external stakeholders.
- The ability to work under pressure in a fast-paced environment.
- Proficient IT user, in particular Word and Excel.
- The ability to write and deliver training across different departments and engage key stakeholders internally and externally to the Club.
| - Knowledge of Youth Development Rules.
- Knowledge and understanding of current best practice around Player Care.
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Personal Qualities | - A quick learner with the ability to work independently.
- Values & respects others with the ability to form strong relationships with players, parents, colleagues, and officials.
- Delivers to the highest of standards, good attention to detail.
- Approachable person with the ability to deal with day-to-day issues on own initiative.
- Effective time management and planning skills.
- Flexible to meet the requirements of the needs of the business – this may include working evenings, weekends & match days, when required.
- Ability to travel between different sites e.g. the Club & Training ground.
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To apply for the position please submit an application form and a covering letter detailing how you meet the criteria for the role to [email protected] or Blackpool Football Club, Bloomfield Road, Seasiders Way, Blackpool, FY1 6JJ.
The form will be separated from your application on receipt. The information on this form will be used for monitoring purposes only and will play no part in the recruitment process.
We encourage early applicants as we reserve the right to close the application process at any time.
This job will be subject to satisfactory references and enhanced DBS procedures.
Safeguarding: Blackpool Football Club Ltd and the EFL are committed to safeguarding the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to endorse this commitment. Posts advertised may require Enhanced Criminal Record Checks and may include checks against the Barred lists, as such it is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (1974). Therefore, all convictions, including spent convictions that have not been subject to filtering by the DBS should be declared.
Recruitment checks : You will also be required to provide details of referees for the previous five years working history or referees whilst in full time education.
Equality and Diversity : Employees must always carry out their duties with due regard to Blackpool Football Club’s policies and procedures. The employee must ensure a positive commitment towards equality and diversity 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.
Inclusion and Anti-Discrimination Mission Statement: At Blackpool Football Club we aim to provide an enjoyable experience for all supporters and hold inclusion and anti-discrimination at the core of our values. We are committed to creating an environment which welcomes and respects people from all communities, promoting equality and diversity at Bloomfield Road and its associated premises. As a Club we recognise the nine protected characteristics (age, disability, gender re-assignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and belief, sex and sexual orientation) under the Equality Act 2010 and will play an active role in supporting inclusion and putting an end to discrimination.
The employee 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.
Blackpool Football Club is an equal opportunities employer.
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