USA Rugby has created a new position within its women’s High Performance department — Head of Player Systems and Development — and is currently seeking qualified candidates to fill the role. The position is full-time, based in San Diego or Denver, and with an annual salary between $75-85,000. See the original job post. Deadline to apply is Friday, Jan. 24, 2025.
The women’s Head of Player Systems and Development will report directly to the USA Women’s 7s Head Coach (Emilie Bydwell), as well as dotted-line (i.e., secondary) reporting to the USA Women’s 15s Head Coach (Sione Fukofuka). The mission is to “enhance the capability of our coaches and athletes to strive for international success to ensure we win when it matters,” with three metrics for success:
• Performance: Winning Medals at Olympics and become consistently competitive at Rugby World Cups
• People: Highly engaged coaches, athletes, and staff that deliver a focused environment that produces better athletes and better people
• System: Performances on and off the field provide a positive influence on retaining and growing our rugby community, fans, sponsors, and philanthropists to grow and sustain our game
For more information or to submit your application materials (résumé and cover letter), email Women’s HP Head of Team Services Liz Strohecker at Lstrohecker@usa.rugby.
JOB DETAILS
Title: Head of Player Systems and Development – Women
Reports To: National Head Coach – W7
Direct Reports: n/a
Department: High Performance
FLSA Status: Exempt
Classification: Full time
Location: San Diego or Denver
Pay Range: $75, 000 – $85, 000
Closing Date – Friday, January 24, 2025
ROLE PURPOSE
• Lead and manage the National underpinning and pathway programs, Academies, and initiatives across women ‘s rugby 15s and 7s to develop a pipeline of high quality, internationally ready, playing, coaching, and staff talent for future national senior teams.
• Responsible for planning, program development, management, and operations of National Underage campaigns, coaches, and staff.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
• Under the technical direction of National Head Coaches Women’s 15s and 7s, design, develop, and implement talent development programs and initiatives that accelerate player development towards national team representation and performance.
• Aligned with the specific game model/style and associated positional profiles, work with talent development coaches across the country, with a focus on HP rugby geographical ’hot spots’, to identify, develop, and retain talent in age and stage of development appropriate programs.
• Oversee national underage campaigns ensuring appropriate preparation and staffing towards international competitions, tours, and events.
• Build the systems, processes, and education/training for a decentralized network of coaches and talent scouts to capture and monitor player development.
• Regularly report progress of playing talent to the Head Coaches and explore and facilitate opportunities for enhanced ‘top up’ development opportunities for national senior environments where appropriate for the most prodigious talent.
• Build strong relations with universities, clubs, and other stakeholders responsible for the daily training environments for USA Rugby women’s high potential players.
• Develop creative and pragmatic low cost, high impact player development solutions where required across the system.
• Lead and model high performance behaviors and a winning mindset, while embedding values and standards that unite and inspire the USA Eagles and the broader rugby community.
DELIVERABLES (WHAT WILL SUCCESS LOOK LIKE FOR THIS ROLE?)
• Women’s 15s and 7s talent development plan, systems, and programs/initiatives are designed and implemented
• Oversupply of talent developed through the programs/initiatives increasing the competitive selection pressure for both women’s 15s and 7s national senior teams.
• Build and maintain trusted relationships with the respective Head Coaches and key internal/external stakeholder ensuring solutions and added value to build player depth.
• High quality preparation and performance progression over time of National underage teams at international tournaments and events.
• Accurate records management, systems, and tracking of talent shared and accessible to key national program staff.
• Demonstrate consistent high-performance culture, behaviors, and work ethic aligned with USA Rugby values.
EXPERIENCE, SKILLS, AND COMPETENCES
Qualifications:
• Tertiary qualifications in sports coaching, teaching, management, business, or a related field (essential)
Experience:
• Proven experience as a General Manager, Academy Manager, or coach within a high-performance rugby environment, women’s program expertise highly desirable.
• Demonstrated success in designing and developing HP rugby programs particularly in resource constrained environments.
• Direct experience in pathway and age grade program development necessary to accelerate the skills and competencies of players, coaches, and staff.
• Extensive knowledge and expertise in the trends of the international game.
Competencies:
• Deep understanding of high performing team culture and the requirements to maximize the performance of rugby players and teams at benchmark events.
• Strong planning skills, with a high level of organization and proven communication abilities.
• Experience in managing teams to deliver performance within a psychologically safe performance environment.
• Demonstrated learning capacity and ability to adapt and resolve complex programs in a timely manner