Growth Manager - Women and Girls

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 & 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 Growth Manager - Women & Girls to join our Player Experience team.

Job Title : Growth Manager - Women & Girls 

Department : Rugby Development

Reports to : National Player Growth Manager

Direct report(s) : Women & Girls Development Officers (x3)

Salary : c. £53,000 per annum

Job Level : Guide

Location : Homebased

Travel Requirements : Regular travel nationally, and to Allianz stadium

Employment Type : Permanent

Working Hours : This is a full-time role, covering 35hrs per week on any five out of the seven days of the week (from Monday to Sunday inclusive)

Application Information:

• Please submit an anonymised CV (i.e. remove personal details). You do not need to submit a cover letter.


• Vacancy closing date:  13th August at 5pm 

To help us get to know your unique experience and voice, we encourage you to complete your application using your own words and experiences. We recognise that some candidates may use assistive technologies, including AI-based tools, for accessibility reasons. Where such tools are used, applications should continue to reflect your own skills, perspective and experience, enabling us to fairly and accurately assess your suitability for the role.

The Role:

The RFU has recently launched Plan 2030: ‘More Than A Game’, which is our strategy to grow rugby across England for the next five years. Our strategy contains four big goals that support and connect to one another - Play, Perform, Follow and Fund. In ‘Play’ we’re aiming to have an additional 50,000 registered players and have more people playing rugby for longer. 

Women's and Girls' rugby is experiencing strong growth with a significant increase in participation in recent years, further accelerated by the visibility and excitement generated by the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup.  The Growth Manager - Women & Girls will play a critical role in ensuring that this momentum is sustained and acts as a springboard into long-term strategic growth across the game.

The purpose of this role is to increase opportunities for new women and girls to play rugby through the development and implementation of innovative programmes and campaigns that grow participation and contribute to achieving the strategic objective of 50,000 more players by 2030. This role is instrumental in embedding, sustaining and accelerating Women and Girls growth across the country, through defined regions, with a focus on the recruitment of players and their transition into regular rugby playing. 

Central to this approach is the use of data and insight to identify opportunities for growth across target audiences and locations, ensuring that activities and campaigns are evidence-led and designed around Women and Girls’ needs and motivations, to drive new engagement and ongoing player retention.

Success in this role will require the ability to work with and influence a broad network of stakeholders, aligned around shared objectives to maximise reach, impact and scale. By enabling the delivery of relevant activities and effective support structures through this network, the postholder will drive strategic growth and create positive, accessible experiences that attract, engage and retain women and girls in rugby.

The Team

The Player Experience team focuses on bringing new people into the game across schools, colleges, universities and clubs, with a strong emphasis on youth and women and girls’ participation. The team works closely with national bodies and delivery partners to support this 

growth. This role reports to the National Player Growth Manager and works alongside similar roles centrally and in regions to share best practice and successful delivery models.

Some key responsibilities include:

• Create activities and campaigns that attract more women and girls into the game and promote retention


• Embed and manage relationships with stakeholders and partners to increase access to initiatives and ensure Women and Girls activity is sustained and accelerates growth


• Establish and maintain positive relationships with Regional Growth Partnership Boards, clubs, regional partners and RFU colleagues to support delivery


• Monitor and evaluate impact of activities


• Analyse and share insights, data and learning to shape future work and contribute to regional and national forums, incorporating wider information where relevant from other sports / industries


• 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:

• Understanding of the sporting landscape and experience increasing participation


• Awareness of the motivations, triggers and barriers that influence participation, especially for women and girls 


• Evidence of building strong, productive relationships and experience of facilitating collaboration and influencing internal and external stakeholders


• Experience of developing programmes and managing/coordinating work across stakeholders. 


• Ability to analyse data and insight, identify solutions, and prioritise effectively. 


• Self-motivated, able to work independently and deliver against deadlines. 


• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including presenting and report writing. 


• Confident IT user, especially Microsoft Office and MS Teams. 


• 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:

• Experience of managing people / teams


• A knowledge of the rugby landscape across England


• Experience of working with volunteers


• Ability to deliver administration and coordination, alongside strategic thinking and influence.

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.


• The role description, person specification, job level and job title may be subject to change at the discretion of the RFU and under business developments. Any changes will be communicated to the role holder as appropriate.


• 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]. 


• 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.


• If you are a trans candidate applying for a job that requires a DBS check, please reach out to [email protected] or directly to our safeguarding team ([email protected]) to use the confidential sensitive application route. This will provide applicants with the choice not to have any gender or name information disclosed on their DBS certificate.