Here’s a talent development role that would require giving 110%

Any recruiters out there fancying a rather dramatic change of careers have until midday on Friday to send a full CV and covering letter to the Football Association (FA) to apply for the job of England Under-21 head coach.
Mon, 5 Aug 2013Any recruiters out there fancying a rather dramatic change of careers have until midday on Friday to send a full CV and covering letter to the Football Association (FA) to apply for the job of England Under-21 head coach.

According to the job advertisement on the FA's website, the full-time role is based between St George’s Park – the FA’s new National Football Centre in Burton – and FA headquarters at Wembley Stadium in London.

The ad specifies “no agencies please” – but presumably if you are “a proven leader with a wealth of coaching experience” and have played or coached at international level, that bar would be lifted.

Among essential characteristics listed in the full job spec on the FA website include “experience of managing sensitive political discussions” and also being “aware of diversity and equality challenges in football”.

The successful candidate would report to the director of elite development and board of Club England, an FA-led structure that looks to create a “club culture” within the various national football teams.

Early last year, recruiter.co.uk reported that New Zealand rugby assistant coach Wayne Smith said he was put off applying for the job of England head coach by a “waffly” job description that made it sound like applying for a role as “the head of a PR company”.

And in April of this year, the controversial appointment of a new manager at Sunderland AFC suggested that search firms could play a positive role in the recruitment process for such roles.

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