Mumbai City FC Hiring For Safeguarding and Player Welfare Manager at Mumbai, Maharashtra, India Full Time

The City Football Group (CFG) has a well-established Safeguarding Strategy* and Framework (known as SafeAtCity) which is implemented across its portfolio of football clubs. Safeguarding and welfare risks are recognised as some of the most significant identified in the organisational Risk Register and we all work hard to prevent potentially harmful experiences for anyone taking part in our activities.

Reporting locally to the CEO at Mumbai City Football Club (MCFC) and working closely with the CFG Director of Safeguarding, the post holder will be the local Subject Matter Expert and a key member of the City Football Group’s Safeguarding Team. The post-holder will be focused on the development and implementation of an effective, Club-wide Safeguarding program working in close collaboration with all departments that operate within Mumbai City Football Club and will provide a player welfare function to all athletes in the player development pathway. The post-holder will also provide support to other CFG-related projects located in India.

The post holder will be responsible for applying all safeguarding-related laws and regulations that apply to these activities and in particular, ensure compliance with all the relevant regulations of the AIFF, ISL and other related sports bodies.

Role-specific Accountabilities: 

1. To advocate, promote, and protect the rights, safety, and well-being of children and other vulnerable people who come into contact with any MCFC activities.
2. To ensure that all participants, parents, caretakers and workers clearly understand these rights and ensure that everyone within the club works together to maintain a safe, respectful and welcoming environment.
3. To provide support, monitoring and visibility across all MCFC operations – in particular: football performance pathway, community projects, match days and events, residential provisions, education, commercial and publicity activations – and ensure that the safeguarding and welfare program is effectively planned, promoted, implemented, embedded, monitored, reviewed and continuously improved.
4. To support all MCFC operational managers in the development of policy, procedure and projects that involve or impact children or other vulnerable people, ensuring that these include an appropriate, proportionate, and contextualised safeguarding and welfare response.
5. To create systems that ensure that voices and experiences of all participants are heard and taken seriously where they have concerns or welfare needs; also to create and advocate opportunities for these individuals to have influence in decisions, policies and practices that impact on their participation and development.
6. To collaborate with Recruiting Managers and Human Resources staff to develop, co-ordinate and implement the Safer Recruitment Policy and take responsibility for ensuring suitably robust vetting of individuals joining the business, including background checks (and other relevant overseas checks where necessary) for relevant staff, and in accordance with Indian legislation, AIFF and ISL rules, and other Club policies.
7. To co-ordinate and deliver a scheme of safeguarding and welfare awareness and education to the workforce, participants and other stakeholders (such as parents), including the coordination and delivery of activities for safeguarding and well-being campaigns throughout the season.
8. To provide subject matter expertise to the design and implementation of relevant policy and practice to address key safeguarding and welfare issues specific to the MCFC football pathway including (but not limited to) under 18s playing in the senior environment, education, trips & tournaments, residential provision, disciplinary matters, and transitional moments (e.g. recruitment, on-boarding, loans, playing out of age group, off-boarding).
9. Co-ordinate the response to safeguarding and welfare-related concerns across MCFC functions, liaising with relevant internal colleagues and external support mechanisms, alongside sports bodies and statutory agencies where it is appropriate and/or necessary to do so. When required and appropriate, act as Concern Manager or lead investigator on such matters.
10. To contribute to and support the maintenance of accurate records (using established recording systems) in respect of training, vetting checks and concern management systems and ensure all sensitive data and information is held securely and in accordance with data protection and privacy obligations.
11. Providing decision-ready, data-driven insights to organisational leaders upon request, whilst supporting the production of, regular reports and annual reviews, of the safeguarding and welfare programs to the Safeguarding and MCFC Leadership teams.
12. To provide, when necessary, safeguarding support (including in person visits) to CFG-related projects in India including those developed by City Football Foundation, City Football Education, eSports and the player scouting & recruitment networks.

Role specific knowledge, skills and experience: 

Essential:

• Fluent written and oral language skills – English, Hindi and Marathi. – This an absolute must.
• Experienced professional with with 2-3 years of experience in a relevant organisational or management role.
• Graduate-level qualified or professional equivalent in contemporary safeguarding or child protection practice or similar.
• A team player who demonstrates an understanding of the need to share and work with others to achieve common goals and able to inspire those others on their safeguarding journey.
• IT literate with ability to communicate both in writing and verbally at all levels of business operations in the required language(s).
• Approachable, diplomatic, discrete, thoughtful and driven to succeed and demonstrates high levels of personal and professional integrity and a ‘can do’ attitude.
• Able to travel domestically and internationally and for short periods of time to conduct support, training, monitoring and compliance visits.
• Experience of developing and implementing policies, protocols and guidance in a child or adult social care setting and experience of managing and influencing people, meetings, projects, events within this setting.
• Experience of handling sensitive data in accordance with local data protection regulations.

Desirable:

• Knowledge of contemporary social care systems and the relevant legislation and regulation in those fields.
• Knowledge of the workings of professional sports businesses and particularly the application of safeguarding principles therein.
• Demonstrate a working knowledge and understanding of inclusion, equality and anti – discrimination legislation, policy and practice.
• Knowledge of sports coaching principles and practice and, in particular, able to demonstrate experience of working within sport or academic performance pathways and/or community/charitable projects.
• Experience of working directly with children and listening to and valuing their views, opinions and concerns.
• Experience of developing and delivering training to groups.
• Experience of counselling or mentoring young people.
• Demonstrates ability to influence and negotiate with staff, other members of the workforce, participants, players and parents.
• Ability to conduct or lead investigations of a sensitive nature.

Women candidates, specifically those with a background in child welfare and education, ware preferred.

Duration of the role: 2 years.