Head of Coach Development

Role Summary

The Head of Coach Development is responsible for leading, implementing, and continuously improving Badminton England's Coaching Strategy. The role plays a critical part in ensuring that badminton in England is supported by an inclusive, high quality, and expanding coaching workforce-from grassroots through to the performance environment.

Key Responsibilities

1. Lead and deliver Badminton England's Coaching Strategy, ensuring alignment with A Sport for Everyone.
2. Oversee the national coaching pathway, ensuring clear progression routes and consistent, high-quality development opportunities for coaches at all levels.
3. Drive the growth of the coaching workforce, growing overall capacity and increasing the number of full-time coaches across the badminton ecosystem.
4. Ensure the quality, rigour, and relevance of coach education, including qualifications, CPD, and mentoring, in-line with national standards (e.g., CIMSPA, UK Coaching).
5. Provide leadership to the Coaching Development Manager and Coaching Coordinator, ensuring effective planning, delivery, and evaluation of coaching programmes.
6. Embed world-class coaching standards, supporting the recruitment, training, and continuous improvement of volunteer and professional coaches across both community and performance pathways.
7. Collaborate across the organisation, ensuring coaching is integrated with talent, performance, clubs, competitions, and workforce initiatives.
8. Build strong partnerships with external bodies (NGBs, Sport England, education providers, CIMSPA, UK Coaching) to enhance development opportunities and national alignment.
9. Use data and insight to inform decision-making, track workforce needs, and report progress against strategic objectives.
10. Oversee quality assurance and compliance, ensuring that all coaching delivery meets relevant national standards, and organisational policies.

Other Responsibilities

Undertake other duties as reasonably required, consistent with the purpose of the post.

Successful Candidate

• Proven leadership experience in coach development within a national governing body, sport system, or comparable environment.
• Strong understanding of coaching workforce pathways, coach education, and coach accreditation models.
• Strong understanding of the business of coaching including volunteer, employed and self-employed models implemented within sports.
• Experience of being a coach and the ability to empathise with the workforce and the challenges they face.
• Demonstrated ability to implement strategy and deliver system-wide change.
• Experience managing teams and developing staff to achieve high performance.
• Deep knowledge of national standards for coaching (e.g., CIMSPA Professional Standards, UK Coaching frameworks).
• Evidence of enhancing coach quality and increasing coaching capacity in a sport or physical activity setting.
• Strong relationship-building skills with internal teams and external partners.
• Ability to design, evaluate, and improve workforce development programmes.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to engage and influence stakeholders at all levels.
• Comfortable using data, insight, and evaluation to drive improvement.
• Strong understanding of welfare, safeguarding and governance requirements related to coaching.
• Strong badminton technical knowledge and/or the proven ability to work with technical experts from within a sport to ensure appropriate information is incorporated across a coach development programme.
• Commitment to diversity, inclusion, and ensuring coaching is accessible to everyone.

Diversity & Inclusion

We positively celebrate Diversity & Inclusion at Badminton England. Our aim is to become the UK's most inclusive National Governing Body - for our staff and members, reflecting and connecting with the diverse communities that we serve. We want people from all walks of life to feel valued for their individuality, thrive in our business and share a sense of belonging. To find out more about D&I at Badminton England, head over to our website to read out Inclusion Strategy.

Job Details

Job Title: Head of Coach Development

Responsible to: Sport Director

Responsible for: Coaching Development Manager, and Coaching Coordinator.

Office Location: National Badminton Centre, Milton Keynes (Hybrid working with minimum 2 days in the office to include Thursdays)

Term: Permanent

Hours: Full-time (35.58h)

Salary: £48,000 - £53,000