Department: Aston Villa Foundation and Community Partnerships – Central Team

Hours of Work: 22 hours per week

Contract Type: Permanent

Salary: £18,850–£22,000 per annum pro rata based on 22 hours per week, depending on experience.

Location: Villa Park

Closing Date: Sunday 19 July 2026

Interview Date: W/C 3 August 2026

The Department

The Aston Villa Foundation is the official Charity of Aston Villa Football Club and prides itself on being innovative in its approach in serving the community and helping to use the club as a ‘Force for Good’.

We are committed to creating a culture where safeguarding is widely understood and embedded throughout the Foundation. We are responsible for providing effective leadership and management, ensuring compliance with Premier League rules and government legislation, whilst maintaining key stakeholder relationships internally and externally.

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced Safeguarding Manager to join our Foundation Department to provide effective safeguarding management.

The Role

In this role, you will lead the safeguarding provision and champion best practice across the Aston Villa Foundation in line with the Club’s Safeguarding strategy, vision and policies to ensure a safe environment that nurtures, encourages and develops young people.

You will be the first point of contact for responding and managing any safeguarding concerns within the Foundation and will provide guidance support and advice to colleagues, participants and parents / guardians. This will include attending relevant Foundation training sessions and matches, delivering local safeguarding inductions and working collaboratively with Foundation staff to support projects, initiatives and events from a safeguarding perspective.

For further information about the Role, please see the Role Profile.

The Person

You will need to be personable, approachable and be able to build and maintain relationships at all levels, particularly with parents and participants, and be able to communicate effectively and clearly.

You will need to be a safeguarding and/or a welfare professional with a relevant degree/professional qualification (or equivalent experience) and have worked or volunteered with children or young people, ideally in an elite sporting environment. You must be credible with expert level of knowledge and understanding of current safeguarding legislation, statutory guidance and best practice including recording and handling clear and comprehensive records.

You will need to be organised, able to prioritise workload whilst being flexible and responding to dynamic situations displaying integrity and discretion as and when required.

This will be a hands-on role attending relevant training sessions and travelling to various locations so you will need to hold a UK Driving Licence with access to your own vehicle. You will also need to be available to work flexibly, including working matchdays, evenings and weekends.

Why Join Us?

There has never been a better time to join Aston Villa Foundation. We are building a family ethos and culture to be proud of and realising our ambitious plans for the expansion and improvement of our world-class facilities. If you are already excited by this challenge and want to play your part in our historic Club, then you'll be pleased to hear about our amazing staff benefits you'll receive whilst working for us! See our Staff Benefits booklet to find out more.

As part of your application, please ensure you upload your CV and Cover Letter.

For further information and to ask any questions about the role, please contact Debbi Rawson by emailing debbi.rawson@avfc.co.uk.

Right to Close Vacancy Posting Early

The Club reserves the right to close any advertised vacancies earlier than the advertised closing date if sufficient applications have been received.

Equality Statement

Aston Villa Football Club celebrates the diversity of its Club and embrace equal opportunities for all.

We welcome applications from all candidates regardless of age, race, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, sex and religion or belief.

Safeguarding Statement

Aston Villa Football Club is fully committed to safeguarding children and adults at risk across our Club. As such, we adhere to Safer Recruitment processes and for some roles a satisfactory enhanced disclosure via the Disclosure & Barring Service may be required prior to starting in a role at the Club. For more information, please see Aston Villa Football Club | The official club website | AVFC - Safeguarding