Director of Rugby

The Director of Rugby will manage and develop all aspects of the Queen’s Rugby performance programme, delivering a high-quality, innovative and sustainable rugby environment that enhances the University’s sporting reputation.

The role will operate as part of the sports development team at Queen's and will lead out on the delivery commercial, coaching, player development, performance services and stakeholder engagement.

The postholder will apply specialist expertise to design, implement and continuously improve a high-performance system, integrating coaching, athlete development, partnerships and commercial activity, while ensuring alignment with Queen’s Sport, Ulster Rugby and wider University strategy.

Successful applicants will be expected to hold a degree (OR substantial equivalent professional experience) in Sport, Coaching, Performance or related field. They will also have an IRFU Performance Coach Award and demonstrate evidence of continued professional development in high-performance sport.

Applicants should have significant experience in a high-performance rugby environment, including coaching at senior level and proven experience of leading and managing teams, coaches, and multidisciplinary support staff. The role will require experience of designing and delivering player development pathways and performance programmes alongside experience of building and managing partnerships with external stakeholders.

We anticipate that the successful candidate will have demonstrable experience in commercial activity including fundraising, sponsorship or income generation.

To be successful at shortlisting stage, please ensure you clearly evidence in your application how you meet the essential and, where applicable, desirable criteria listed in the Candidate Information on our website.

What we offer:

Beyond a competitive salary, the University offers an attractive benefits package including a holiday entitlement of up to 8.4 weeks a year, pension schemes and development opportunities. We support staff wellbeing with flexible working options, work-life balance initiatives and support for physical and mental health. You can find more detail on all of this and more on our website.

Queen's University is committed to promoting equality of opportunity to all. We subscribe to Equality Charter Marks such as the Diversity Charter Mark NI and Athena Swan and have established staff networks such as iRise (Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic and International Staff Network) and PRISM (LGBTQ+) which help us progress equality. For further information on our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, please visit our website.

If you are an international applicant and don't already hold a visa that permits you to take up the role you are applying for, please use the information provided on our website to self-assess whether the University is likely to be able to support a visa application.

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