National Academy Manager

JOB DESCRIPTION 

NATIONAL ACADEMY MANAGER 

Reports to:                   

Performance Director

Based:                          

Headquartered in Cricket Ireland HQ in North Dublin, but will work with a national brief working in a variety of venues throughout Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

1. Purpose of the Job:

The National Academy Manager will manage the recruitment processes of the most talented young players from schools and clubs to the National Cricket Academy, and enrol them on a bespoke personal development programme, which provides them with the opportunity of achieving their potential.

They will work in partnership with Sport Northern Ireland, the Irish Sports Council, and their respective Institutes of Sport, the ICC and other relevant organisations, to introduce and implement policies, programmes and practices that will improve the way in which young talented cricketers (both male and female) are identified, selected and developed. 

They will manage and oversee Cricket Ireland’s player development programme for all under-age male and female youth teams (U/13 – U/19) through to Ireland ‘A’ and the professional contracted playing staff.  They will be responsible for the development and implementation of a strategy for the recruitment and development of players within these areas.

In its simplest form the Cricket Ireland National Cricket Academy will be a well-structured vehicle for developing the most promising Irish Cricketers, arming them with the skill, techniques and disciplines which are key to progression in the modern game at the very highest level.

Academy students will have the best possible quality cricket coaching within a structured and high quality framework; the Academy will be seen as a finishing school for our Under 19 cricketers as they progress to senior Inter-Provincial and Ireland teams.

2. Main Areas of Responsibility:

2.1 Management and Administration:

• Responsible for the production of academy player contracts and their distribution.
• Manage, operate and administer the National Cricket Academy and associated programmes.
• Provide 6-monthly and an annual academy report to the Performance Director.
• Line-manage the (Academy) Performance Coach and all youth coaches/managers.
• Support the Performance Coach and Specialist Coaches in providing high quality coaching for the players on the Academy Programme.
• Manage and oversee the maintenance of coaching reports on players, profiling records, video libraries and the monitoring of player performance diaries.
• Manage and organise overseas placements and training camps to develop Academy players, and as and when required travel on such programmes.
• Recruit specialist cricket coaches and support staff and monitor their work.
• Responsible for the purchasing, storage and maintenance of dedicated equipment necessary to deliver the development and support programmes of the National Academy.
• Oversee indoor and outdoor facility provision in order to deliver the Academy programmes.
• Promote links with a nominated range of sporting educational institutions at secondary, further and higher education.
• Actively liaise with each player’s educational institution, and ensure those individual educational needs are accommodated and not compromised in any way.
• Advertise and promote the National Academy programme and participate in joint promotions with CI, ICC and the two Sport Councils as required.
• Ensure the players, parents/guardians and Academy coaching and support staff adhere to the CI code of conduct.
• Attend regular meetings on the National Academy Programme with the Performance Director and Performance Coach.
• Report to and attend National Selection Committee meetings (men’s and women’s) as and when required by the PD/Chair of Selectors.
• Ensure all instructions issued with regard to branding of facilities and equipment within the Academy are implemented.

2.2 Finance:

• Manage the day-to-day finances of the national academy, including producing purchase orders, processing and approving invoices/expense claims.
• Overall responsibility for the setting and maintaining of the national academy budget.
• Manage budgets to cover the programme for the Under 13 – 19 squads for training and matches.

2.3 Ireland Youth Under-age Programme:

• Manage youth team coaches and assistant coaches/managers (Boys U/13 - U/19 & Girls U/17 - U/19).

2.4 Talent Scouting and Recruitment System:

• Identify, recruit, manage and support talent scouts as part of an all-Ireland network. 
• Establish and manage a player talent database and benchmarking system. 

• Observe and review as many players as possible throughout the season with the Performance Coach. 

2.5 Talent Identification and Development:

• Identify and select up to 16 male and female players between the ages of 13 and 20 onto the annual National Academy Programme.
• Overall responsible for the development of, and adherence to, 12 month personal development programmes for all Academy players. In the case of players involved in Ireland age group squads, the Academy Manager will agree and implement the programme in conjunction with the respective National Senior or Youth under-age Coach.
• Responsible for overseeing the provision of a performance lifestyle programme in order to ensure a balance between the demands of cricket, education, personal and social lives of the Academy players.
• Responsible for the welfare of the Academy players.
• Responsible for coordinating the playing programmes of the Academy players, and the monitoring of their workloads with support staff.

• Deliver coaching programmes to the Academy players on a local basis.
• Liaise and communicate with school, club and Provincial Union coaches to ensure each player’s programmes are consistent, understood and complementary.
• Encourage a culture of fun, discipline, skill, participation and self-maintenance.

3. Working Relationships:

• Performance Director
• National Senior Men’s and Women’s Head Coaches
• Performance Coach
• International Teams Administration Manager
• Ireland Youth Team Lead Coaches and Managers
• Sport Science Support Staff
• Specialist coaches
• Coach Education Officer
• Schools, specialist sports colleges, colleges and universities, and player’s parents.
• Sport Northern Ireland & Sports Institute of Northern Ireland (SINI)
• Irish Sports Council & Irish Institute of Sport
• Sponsors
• Cricket Committee, National Selection committees, Girls and Women’s Game Development Group

4. Remuneration: 

€35,000 - 40,000 plus car, laptop and iPhone for business use

5. Knowledge and Experience

The successful candidate should have the following skills, education and experience: 

The selection panel reserves the right to consider Desirable Criteria during the short-listing process should candidates remain on an equal footing using simply Essential Criteria

The closing date for applications is Monday the 12th of August.

For further details and how to apply click here