West Harbour Rugby Union Football Club (WHRC) “The Pirates” was founded in 1900, and competes in NSW rugby union’s premier competition, the Charter Hall Shute Shield. The Club’s vision is to create a high performance club rugby community - thriving on its diversity and a “win-well” culture. 

The WHRUFC Centre of Excellence and home ground at Concord Oval has recently undergone an $84m redevelopment, and significant further investment and expertise has seen the establishment of a dedicated High Performance Committee (HPC) aligning all its programs for excellence on and off the field. Player participation levels are at an all-time high and the foundations set for the right people to drive success. 

The Club is seeking a Head Academy Coach. The role will be to run the Pirates Elite Academy and Pirates Next Gen Academy Programs. The role will work closely with Head of Colts and Pathways, Lead - Pirates Program Manager and the Head of Athletic Performance to deliver a player development program that fits the club’s strategic goals

The successful candidate will have:

• A passion for talent development; 
• Relevant rugby and/or high performance coaching accreditations, and,
• Have coached at a similar or higher level for 2 or more years. 
• Program and people management experience and an ability to balance high performance with a fun and family orientated approach will be highly regarded.

Position Brief 

The position will have both set and flexible days/hours around the annual rugby season and program. The Head Academy Coach will be based at West Harbour’s Centre of Excellence at Concord Oval. The key responsibilities of the role are:

• Strategic: Support the clubs strategic goals of increasing “home-made” colts and 1st grade players;
• Retention and Recruitment: Develop the academies into a super strength for the club. Players want to come here and then they want to stay;
• Management & Coaching: Boots on ground coach for the Elite and Next Gen Academy.  Responsible for augmenting the program with specialist coaches as required.
• Pathways and Talent Development: Collaboratively coordinate the delivery and evolution of the West Harbour Academy to support the club’s long term player development goals
• Community Engagement: Assist with growing the club’s connection with its local high schools to increase the numbers in the academy 
• The following are compulsory requirements.
  • Must be legally entitled to work in Australia;
  • An ability to attend to work events outside of ordinary office hours;
  • Valid Australian Passport and Valid Australian Drivers Licence; and
  • Working with Children's Check.
• Typical Working Hours (negotiable depending on scope)
  • Off-Season (Sept - Nov): 1-day per week or select strategy meetings
  • Pre-Season (Nov - Mar): 1-2 evenings and administration
  • In-Season (Apr - Aug): 1 evening and administration

Key Performance Indicators

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) will cover the three strategic areas of Participation, Experience and Performance. KPIs will be co-developed with the position holder as part of the Club’s annual strategy day and reviewed monthly - they will likely include, but are not limited to:

• Total number of players registered in the Next Gen Academy (Participation).
• Feedback surveys from players, parents and club representatives (Experience).
• Number of players graduating out of the academy that wish to join the club’s senior programs (Experience).
• Increase in Academy members athletic testing scores (Performance)
• Number of players transitioning from the Pirates Elite Academy into 1st Grade and further representative levels (Performance).