Player Pipeline Assistant @ England Rugby

About England Rugby

England Rugby or Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the national governing body for rugby in England. We deliver three core activities, and our purpose is to enrich lives, introduce more people to rugby union and develop the sport for future generations.

Our core activities are

• Rugby – supporting rugby from grassroots to performance level
• Commercial – building partnerships and hosting matches and events
• Running the business - ensuring our organization and people can thrive

Our Culture

At England Rugby, one of our core objectives is to drive rugby union to better reflect the diversity of society. We are aware that rugby, and sports in general, has not always been as welcoming an environment for everyone as we would like, and we are working hard to make rugby a more inclusive space for all identities.

We believe hiring people from underrepresented groups into positions at all levels is vital to creating spaces and initiatives that better support those identities. We would love to see applications from disabled people, LGBTQIA+ people, people from ethnically diverse communities, people of faith, people from lower socio-economic backgrounds, and women and non-binary people.

We know that representation is more than just getting people through the door, it’s about keeping people by responding to structural barriers relating to identities and valuing the insights that different lived experiences bring. We have network groups that provide peer-to-peer support and drive forward change internally. We support colleagues to develop, and each colleague has access to a personal coaching platform that can provide same-day one-to-one coaching. We are pushing ourselves to create a more inclusive culture every day through role modelling our culture and core values; This Rose Means Everyone: Put The Team First, Shape The Future, Respect Each Other.

We know that flexible working is important to our colleagues, so our guiding principles are designed to support everyone to work in the way that suits them, their teams, and the organisation in the best way.

We want you to have every opportunity to demonstrate your skills, ability and potential. If there is anything we could do to support you through your application or to provide the best environment for your interviews, including assistance or adjustment, please reach out to [email protected].

What we can offer you

We are proud of the range of benefits we can provide:

• A variety of corporate discounts
• Priority access to purchase match tickets
• 25% discount in Rugby Store and EnglandRugby.com
• 25 days of annual leave
• Your birthday day off
• Free access to the stadium gym
• Life assurance of 4x your basic salary, income protection scheme and Employee Assistance Programme that offers anonymous and confidential, emotional and practical support 24/7
• Pension Scheme; the RFU will double match your individual contribution up to 10% of salary

Ride-to-work scheme, eyecare vouchers, season ticket loans and so much more. If you would like to find out more about our diversity and inclusion work or the culture at England Rugby, please visit our website here: https://www.englandrugby.com/about-rfu/rfu-policies/diversity-and-inclusion/our-approach

Working at the RFU means being part of the ‘bigger picture’ at England Rugby: to be rooted in our purpose, which is to enrich lives, introduce more people to rugby union and develop the sport for future generations. If our purpose resonates with you, and you recognise the value that sport can bring to people’s lives, we’d love to work with you. An opportunity has arisen for a Player Pipeline Assistant to join our Rugby Development team.

Job Title : Player Pipeline Assistant

Department : Rugby Development

Reports to : Schools & Colleges Manager

Salary Banding : c. £28,500

Job Level : Core

Location : Homebased

Employment Type : Permanent

Working Hours : This is a full-time role, covering 35hrs per week

Application Information

• Please submit an anonymised CV (i.e. please exclude personal details). You do not need to submit a cover letter.
• The closing date for applications 22nd November 2026 at 12:00PM
• Successful candidates will need to be available on W/C 7th December for a first round interview
• Please note that we reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of applications. We encourage interested candidates to apply as soon as possible.

The Role

The role will provide frontline support and systems to underpin all Player Pipeline activity in age grade rugby, schools, colleges and universities. It will manage the administration and coordination of major activity in this area, and support operational delivery, events and planning.

The role will provide high levels of customer service to, and work with, a variety of stakeholders, as well as support the needs of the wider Player Experience team where possible and appropriate.

Responsibilities

Day-to-day responsibilities will include

• Provide an excellent day to day customer service system that delivers, guides and administers support to all internal and external stakeholders, establishing effective and strong relationships
• Provide administrative and operational support to the Player Pipeline team to coordinate. targeted projects, initiatives and programmes, delivering effective integration/tracking of these workplans where relevant.
• Work with other RFU functions to create, update and communicate relevant tools and resources relating to the above, including Constituent Body and Partner liaison, playing out of age grade processes, sub-committee coordination, website and guidance content and reporting schedules.
• Ensure base knowledge of all relevant key regulation, technical and operational information to cover and triage the age grade and sector inboxes.
• Maintain up to date contacts and membership data systems, and all other associated records and information relating to player pipeline activity.
• Provide event management/delivery support for individual projects, including basic data collection and analysis as required.
• Actively collaborate with colleagues to contribute to the development and delivery of the current strategic, business and operational plans.
• Act as an ambassador for, and promote the best interests of the RFU, including the promotion of our culture and core values – This Rose Means Everyone: Put The Team First, Shape The Future, Respect Each Other.
• Undertake other duties as may be required from time to time as are consistent with the responsibilities of the post and the needs of the organisation.

Qualifications, Skills & Experience

The skills and attributes outlined in this description are not exhaustive and we welcome candidates who can bring different relevant experiences to the role.

Essential

• Experience of working in a fast-paced customer-facing role, communicating guidance and support effectively and systemically.
• Strong experience in an administrative role with a good aptitude to work with data, budgets, detail and spreadsheets; and to produce accurate written reports and resources.
• Experience of working with multiple organisations at the same time across different levels and multi-functional teams and stakeholders.
• Confidence and experience in dealing with a wide range of people and building relationships across organisations with diverse priorities.
• Ability to effectively plan, monitor, report and share work with others (e.g. managers, volunteers, national partners).
• Strong organisational skills and a keen attention to detail.
• Committed to embodying the ethos our culture by using our three core values – Put The Team First, Shape The Future, Respect Each Other – to guide your day-to-day decisions, actions and interactions.
• Committed to actively contributing and building an inclusive culture in your role and day to day behaviours.

Desirable

• Project management experience on a national or regional scale.
• Recent/relevant experience of the rugby environment.
• Understanding of administering sport development or other similar programmes (e.g. charitable sector, marketing agency).
• Understanding of the educational landscape and connections between schools, colleges, universities and their local community.
• Experience in digital, marketing, communication of technology.

Additional Information

• All role holders must maintain an appropriate standard of confidentiality. Any disclosures of confidential information (including personal information kept on computer or other media) made unlawfully outside the proper course of duty will be treated as a serious disciplinary offence.
• We want you to have every opportunity to demonstrate your skills, ability and potential.
• During your application, we will ask questions about your identity. This information is considered highly confidential and will not be seen by hiring managers. You can find out more about why we ask these questions here.
• This role will require a DBS certificate.