National Health and Wellbeing Lead

Job Title:                                       National Health and Wellbeing Lead

Location:                                       FAI HQ, Abbottstown, Dublin

Direct Reporting Line:           Head of Grassroots

Commencement Date:            TBC 

Duration:                                       3 Years Fixed Term Contract

Work Model:                                Hybrid

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI), as the national governing body for football, plays a vital role in communities across Ireland. Through its Social and Environmental Sustainability Strategy (2024), the FAI has identified Health and Wellbeing as a core pillar, aligning closely with national policy and the vision of Healthy Ireland. Existing initiatives such as the FAI Club Mark programme provide a strong foundation for governance and quality standards across grassroots clubs, creating an ideal platform to embed health and wellbeing practices.

Healthy Ireland is the national framework for action to improve the health and wellbeing of people living in Ireland. It represents a proactive response to the social, economic and environmental factors that influence health, with a vision that everyone can achieve their full physical and mental wellbeing potential. Central to this approach is the recognition that health is shaped within everyday settings - where people live, learn, work, and play - and that promoting wellbeing is a shared responsibility across society.

The Healthy Ireland Strategic Action Plan emphasises place based approaches to health promotion, identifying community settings as key channels for impactful interventions. Sports clubs, in particular, are recognised as powerful environments for fostering inclusion, participation and positive health behaviours.

In partnership with the Department of Health, the FAI is committed to further strengthening the role of football clubs as inclusive, accessible, and health-promoting environments. This collaboration builds on existing successes in community engagement, participation initiatives and volunteer development and aims to deliver long term sustainable impact at local level.

Purpose of the Role

The National Health and Wellbeing Lead will be responsible for developing, coordinating, and embedding a national Health and Wellbeing framework across grassroots football clubs in Ireland. The role will ensure alignment with the FAI’s strategic objectives and national health policy, while supporting clubs to create environments that promote physical, mental and social wellbeing.

Working in partnership with key stakeholders, the successful candidate will drive the integration of health and wellbeing into existing club structures, including the FAI Club Mark programme and support the delivery of targeted initiatives at grassroots level. The role requires a proactive and collaborative approach to enable clubs to enhance participation, strengthen community connections and contribute to improved health outcomes nationwide.

This position is funded by the Department of Health for an initial three-year period and will be managed by the Football Association of Ireland.

Key responsibilities include

• Coordinate the development of the FAI Healthy Club initiative.
• Engage with clubs to identify needs in relation to promoting health and wellbeing.
• Develop an implementation plan which aligns with existing FAI programmes and national priorities in relation to health and wellbeing.
• Lead the development of resources to support the implementation of the healthy clubs, for example, toolkits and good practice guidelines.
• Develop and deliver training on promoting health and wellbeing at club level including champion training.
• Manage strategic partnerships with statutory, voluntary and community groups supporting the healthy club.
• Identify and develop the online resources required to enable club engagement throughout the country.
• Support the development and application of knowledge and research relating to healthy clubs and create a communication channel for information and knowledge generated.
• Develop and manage strong relationships with partner organisations to develop opportunities for productive collaborations across and within sectors.
• Monitor and report on the progress of implementation of the healthy club including managing and collating data.
• Agree an evaluation model for the FAI Healthy Club
• Provide regular updates and briefings as required on the project.

Person Specification

• Proactive, self-motivated, and results-focused
• Strong interest in health, wellbeing, and grassroots football
• Excellent interpersonal and relationship-building skills
• Clear and confident communicator
• Well organised with strong time management
• Adaptable and solution-oriented
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Strong sense of ownership and accountability

Essential Criteria:

• A minimum of two-years’ experience in sport management/ development/ governance, and/or health promotion/public health and/or community development
• A relevant third level degree with a health / sport element (Level 7 NFQ or above)
• Knowledge and understanding of the concepts and principles of health promotion, and in particular the settings-based approach to health promotion
• Knowledge and understanding of Healthy Ireland Plan and relevant National Policies
• Knowledge and understanding of the FAI Club Mark programme
• Excellent administrative and IT skills with a strong working knowledge of IT related packages and systems
• Exceptional interpersonal skills with demonstrably strong ability to build and maintain effective working relationships with both internal and external stakeholders at all levels
• A self-starter and self-motivated; must demonstrate experience of working on own and as part of a team
• Demonstrate skills in area of programme planning, evaluation and budgetary control
• Ability to work independently on own initiative and perform as part of a team
• Ability to effectively manage multiple projects and deadlines
• Excellent communication (written and verbal) and organisational skills
• Good understanding of FAI structures.  

Desirable Criteria: 

• Experience in Health Promotion
• Previous experience of working within sport at a professional or volunteer capacity. 

Other Requirements:

• The role holder will need to be flexible in the performance of their responsibilities as they will be required to work out of office hours and some weekends
• Clean full driving licence and ability to travel for meetings across the country.

Skills & Professional Knowledge 

• Health promotion, national policy, and community wellbeing
• Programme planning, delivery, evaluation, and project management
• Stakeholder engagement, partnership development, and relationship building
• Training, resource development, and facilitation
• Data monitoring, reporting, and organisational/IT skills
• Understanding of grassroots football structures within the Football Association of Ireland 

Our Benefits

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

• Two premium level tickets to each home international game
• Sick pay scheme and family friendly leave
• Opportunities to work at international matches
• Company pension
• Life assurance
• Bike to work scheme
• Free onsite parking
• Employee assistance program
• Hybrid working arrangements and flexible hours working arrangements
• Discounted access to the National Aquatic Centre and gym complex

Application Details

Closing date for receipt of applications is close of business on Thursday, 21 May 2026. Shortlisting and interviewing process will take place thereafter.

The Football Association of Ireland is an equal opportunities employer and promotes Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (ED&I).