Purpose

The Waratahs Head of Player Development is responsible for identifying, recruiting, developing and retaining talented male players across NSW for integration into the Waratahs Development program. 

The role will lead the strategic development and delivery of the Waratahs Pathways model, including the Satellite Academy network, across the Junior Academy, Youth Academy and Senior Academy. The player development program will be grounded in long term player development principles and it will maintain world class standards of coach and player development. Players within the program are expected to develop into Super Rugby Pacific players, Junior Wallabies, Wallabies and Olympians.

This is a high level role requiring leadership and management across a number of areas to ensure a pipeline of talent to the highest level teams in NSW and Australia.

Key Accountabilities

Talent Identification & Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD)

• Develop and maintain a systematic, LTAD aligned approach to identifying and tracking key male talent within NSW

• Maintain systems, data and knowledge to continuously determine the talent requirements and player depth across the pathway

• Identify, lead and manage an effective team of talent development coaches throughout NSW, aligned to the Waratahs Way development model

Effective Recruitment & Talent Retention

• Lead the production and implementation of individual player development profiles and plans across all age groups and report bi-annually on player progress 

• Lead the production and implementation of a recruitment and retention strategy, based on the individual player development profiles

• Develop and maintain a three year depth chart for player recruitment and retention in order to produce the required players at a Super Rugby Pacific level

• Manage the player retention budget, in consultation with the Waratahs Director of Performance and the National Head of Player Development

• Produce an annual Player Development operational plan and budget with monthly progress monitoring and reporting

• Develop position-specific identification and recruitment opportunities to address positions of need.

• Contribute to the development and maintenance of positional depth charts with the Waratahs Director of Performance and Head Coaches of the Waratahs Men's program

• Impactful involvement in national depth chart development and discussions

Strategic Leadership & Pahtway Model Implementation

• Lead the implementation of the Waratahs Pathway to ensure a single, clearly defined performance pathway for male and female athletes throughout the state

• Lead the production of agreed Player Development Minimum Standards across the talent pathway and monitor club and school level compliance

• Ensure LTAD principles, coaching standardisation and Waratahs Way selection criteria are consistently applied across all Academy programs and environments

• Develop and maintain strong relationships with key schools and programs across NSW to promote player development, recruitment and retention

• Agree and implement an annual calendar of key face to face meetings and knowledge sharing opportunities with stakeholders such as schools, associations and Shute Shield academies

• Develop and provide expert technical advice, guidance, resources and tools in components of player development systems for use by key delivery partners

• Influence and be involved in national strategic planning and initiatives for male and female talent pathways 

Player Development & Pathways

• Ensure every pathway player has an Individual Development Plan

• Conduct regular individual performance reviews in conjunction with Waratahs Academy staff

• Work closely with performance support and coaching staff to monitor player progression

• Support leadership development throughout the playing group

• Develop position-specific learning opportunities

• Adopt a Whole of Player approach to development, working closely with the Rugby Union Player Association's Waratahs Player Development Manager and the Advantage Line program to support pathway players’ off-field growth, life skills and dual career (educational/vocational) needs alongside their rugby development

Leadership, Personal Development & Culture

• Effectively lead and manage the Waratahs Academy program staff

• Ensure an inter-disciplinary approach to working is adopted and engage fully with performance support staff in strength and conditioning, medical, nutrition and performance psychology to run a world class program

• Complete bi-annual performance evaluation plans with all direct reports and identify development opportunities based on them

• Engage fully with all national agreed elements of personal and staff development

• Promote the Waratahs values and behaviours

• Build a connected, accountable and resilient team culture

• Develop the leadership capability of players and staff

• Maintain high standards of professionalism

• Foster collaboration across all departments

• Champion innovation and continuous learning

System Alignment

• Support the integration of Rugby Australia's high performance and talent development initiatives

• Work collaboratively with the Waratahs Director of Performance to implement the Waratahs High Performance Strategy as it pertains to the Waratahs Academy and talent development

• Promote alignment across Academy and Pathway programs

Innovation, Research & Continuous Improvement

• Benchmark the Waratahs Pathway and Satellite Academy model against leading domestic and international player development programs, identifying opportunities for improvement

• Embed data and analytics into talent identification, player monitoring and selection decisions across the pathway

• Pilot and evaluate new pathway initiatives, sharing learnings with Rugby Australia and other state unions 

• Contribute insights and best practice to the LTAD framework

Stakeholder Engagement

• Represent the Waratahs professionally with Rugby Australia and other stakeholders

• Present regular performance updates to the Waratahs Director of Performance and Rugby Australia's General Manager of Men’s High-Performance & Competitions

• Ensure all player development programs and projects operate within Rugby Australia and Waratahs policies, integrity requirements and relevant regulatory obligations (e.g. Working With Children, Child Safe Standards)

Capabilities, Experience & Qualification Requirements

Capabilities

• Contemporary athlete development principles

• Talent Development planning and periodisation 

• Australian and international rugby development systems

• Rugby Australia High Performance framework

• Coach development principles

• Player welfare, dual-career and life-skills development frameworks

Experience

• A minimum of five years' experience in player development delivery, coach education and qualification, mentoring, etc. at a senior level

• Minimum of two years' experience leading and managing projects at a national level

• Led multidisciplinary talent development teams and managed coaching staff

• Experienced in recruitment and succession planning

• Successfully delivered rugby programs and developed elite pathways

• Experienced in budget accountability

• Managed a multi-site or geographically dispersed talent pathway network, e.g. regional/satellite academies

• Experienced in change management including the delivery and evaluation of new pathway programs

Qualification Requirements

Required

• World Rugby Level 3 qualification

• Current Smart Rugby accreditation 

• First Aid and CPR qualifications

• Working With Children Check

Desired

• World Rugby Level 4 High Performance Coach

• Bachelor or master level degree in the areas of sports administration, coaching or science, with application in the areas of player or coach development

• Postgraduate qualification in coaching, leadership, high performance or executive management