Role description

Purpose of Role:
The purpose of the Head of Domestic Leagues role is to develop and deliver the strategies for the Adran and Cymru Premier leagues to ensure both these leagues and the wider football pyramid reach their full potential as the pinnacle of domestic football in Wales.

Location:
The position is full-time and based at the Football Association of Wales offices in Hensol, Vale of Glamorgan. The post holder will at times, be required  to perform their duties, or additional work, or attend training, outside of normal office hours and/or in different locations, either domestically or internationally.  The FAW has a Hybrid Working Policy.

Position Reports to:
Chief Operating Officer, with clear reporting lines into National League Board and FAW Board

Position is responsible for:
General Managers of Cymru and Adran Premier Leagues, support roles for the Cymru Premier and line management of Senior Competitions Manager.


KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY

Strategic/Operational

Develop and oversee the delivery of the Cymru Premier League strategy, and ensure that the implementation plan is in line with FAW EDI, Sustainability and Welsh Language strategies.
Drive the realisation of the Adran Leagues strategy and support the next phase of its development in line with wider FAW strategies.
​Build a detailed implementation plan on the Cymru Premier League strategy from 2024 to 2027, to include clear resource plan and budgets.
​Build strong working relationships with key strategic stakeholders in the domestic leagues including sponsors, broadcast partners and senior figures within the clubs.
​Ensure regular opportunities for FAW affiliated clubs and stakeholders in the wider pyramid to provide feedback and inputs into the strategic direction of the league.
​Drive revenues for the leagues by increasing awareness, interest and attendances, using data and insight to drive league strategies.
​Ensure that the FAW leagues deliver a high quality experience for players, match officials, volunteers, supporters, broadcasters and sponsors.
​Lead on a projects to develop discrete areas of the Cymru Premier league strategy, to include the process of consultation around the competition format.
​Develop clear commercial and marketing strategy for the Cymru and Adran Premier leagues and ensure the delivery of this through clear short and long-term targets with regular monitoring.
​Oversee the development of individual strategies for the Cymru Premier clubs ensuring these support the overall league strategy.
​Support the development of the Cymru and Adran Premier clubs into strong, sustainable organisations.
​Increase media coverage of the Cymru and Adran Premier leagues, including ensuring that results are covered by national and international media.
​Lead on the sharing of best practices amongst Welsh elite clubs, European leagues and clubs.
​Ensure closer working links between the Cymru and Adran Premier leagues and Cymru National teams.
​Report National League Board on a regular basis and main FAW Board/Shareholders as required.
Ensure that Cymru Premier and Adran Premier league strategies align with other national leagues, and that their development supports the wider league pyramid.
​Work closely with other FAW departments to ensure that they proactively contribute to the effective delivery domestic game in Wales  These will include, but not be limited to  - Match Officials, Commercial, Content and Engagement, Compliance plus support functions.
​Assume P&L responsibility for the domestic football leagues.
Continually review FAW processes (both people and system related) to identify areas for future improvement including rules and regulations.

Leadership

Set objectives and manage the performance of the individuals who deliver the Cymru and Adran Premier leagues in line with the FAW strategy, budgets and forecasts.
​Motivate, coach, mentor and develop staff to ensure high performance outputs.
​Ensure people management processes are conducted effectively within the department, including giving effective feedback through performance management processes
​Embed the FAW’s values within the team as well as being a role model for living the values.

The above list of accountability and responsibility is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all the duties involved and consequently the post holder may be required to perform other duties as appropriate to the role.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Qualifications

Educated to degree level or equivalent.
Project management qualification (desirable)

Knowledge/Skills

Strategic thinker with the ability to influence at all levels.
​Commercially minded with the ability to deliver fresh initiatives
​Ability to manage change and lead on complex projects with multiple stakeholders.
​Strong people management skills to support and develop employees.
​Analytical decision making with the ability to prioritise and communicate key objectives
​Strong written and verbal communication skills
Ability to build strong relationships with multiple stakeholders.

Experience

Experience of strategic development and delivery
​Experience of instigating and delivering commercial initiatives.
​Experience of working at a strategic level in a sporting environment (desirable)
​Experience of working with a professional sports league (desirable)
Experience of working with sports teams/clubs (desirable)