Head of Youth Rugby: Melrose Rugby

The Greenyards, Melrose, Scottish Borders Contract: Permanent, full-time

Salary: Competitive and reflects the role, dependent on experience

Contract type: Permanent (full-time) Closing date: Friday 7th August Interview date: From 24th August

About Melrose Rugby

Melrose Rugby is one of Scotland’s historic community rugby clubs. Founded in 1877, the club plays at The Greenyards, the world‑famous home of Rugby Sevens.

Our youth rugby programme is central to the club’s future. Almost 300 boys and girls currently play through our youth pathway, including:

Melrose Hornets – Nursery ELC4 to P7

Melrose Wasps – S1 to U18 boys

Melrose Queen Bees – P6 to U18 girls (groups are mixed up to P5

We work closely with local primary schools, Earlston High School, Scottish Rugby, and community partners to provide a strong pathway from first involvement in rugby through to senior, representative, and lifelong participation.

Melrose has a proud record of developing players, coaches, volunteers, and leaders. Over 30 Scotland internationalists have come through the club’s youth system, including Kelly Brown, George “Doddie” Weir, Craig Chalmers, Mark Robertson, Scott Wight, Gillian Inglis, and Jim Telfer.

In 2023 we established our Melrose Rugby Academy, which is aimed at further developing our U13, U14 and U15 players.

The opportunity

Melrose Rugby is seeking a Head of Youth Rugby to lead the next stage of development across our youth programme, as we approach our 150th year.

This role was first created in 2023 and is a senior rugby leadership role. Working with the Director of Rugby (Jerry Brett), General Manager (Doug Crawford) and the Rugby Board the successful candidate will build on the excellent work undertaken by Iain Chisholm and shape, lead, and manage a safe, inclusive, ambitious, and sustainable youth rugby system across P1 to U18.

The role is not simply about delivering sessions. Instead, it is more about leading and aligning a robust system around our youth players, coaches, volunteers, standards, culture, safeguarding, partnerships, and performance pathways.

It is deliberately a big and ambitious role and is aimed at someone with a deep rugby background – perhaps, but not necessarily, with existing Rugby Development Officer experience – who wishes to progress to the next level.

Strategic priorities

• Participation and retention – grow and retain player numbers across boys’ and girls’ rugby.
• Coaching and volunteer development – recruit, support, develop, and retain coaches, team managers, parent helpers, match officials, and volunteers.
• Player pathway and transition – support players from first involvement through youth, academy, representative and into senior, and lifelong rugby.
• Safeguarding, welfare, and inclusion – ensure youth rugby is delivered safely and responsibly.
• Partnerships and sustainability – build effective relationships with schools, Scottish Rugby, parents, community partners, and club staff.

Key responsibilities

• lead the annual youth rugby plan across Hornets, Wasps, Queen Bees, schools, camps, festivals, and Melrose Rugby Academy activity;
• set clear standards for coaching delivery, player experience, behaviour, and culture;
• lead a coherent player pathway from P1 to U18;
• strengthen transition points from primary to secondary school, youth to senior, and club to representative rugby;
• lead the youth coach development programme;
• recruit, induct, support, and retain coaches and volunteers;
• observe coaching delivery and provide constructive feedback;
• ensure the Melrose Way of Playing and Coaching is understood across age groups;
• act as a key operational contact for Scottish Rugby, Earlston High School, local primary schools, Live Borders, Scottish Borders Council, parents, and other partners;
• support camps, festivals, grants, sponsorship, and fundraising where they directly support youth rugby;
• participate in and contribute to the Club’s Rugby Board and Management Board (CMB);
• Work with the Director responsible for the youth budget to deliver on‑budget activities;
• maintain a youth rugby risk register and elevate material issues promptly.

Key relationships

• Director of Rugby and Rugby Board;
• General Manager, Office Manager, and Safeguarding Lead;
• Hornets, Wasps, and Queen Bees coaches;
• Team managers, parent helpers, and volunteers;
• Scottish Rugby development and National Talent Coaches;
• Earlston High School and local primary schools;
• Parents, carers, Live Borders, Scottish Borders Council, and community partners.

You – the candidate

We are looking for someone who is passionate about rugby and developing coaches and young people.

The successful candidate will be able to lead and inspire people, communicate clearly, and run a youth programme that is ambitious but realistic.

This role may suit

• an experienced rugby development officer ready for a broader leadership role;
• a coach or player moving into programme leadership;
• a school, club, or community sport leader with strong rugby knowledge;
• a candidate from another sport with proven coaching, pathway, and volunteer development experience.

Experience, skills, and qualifications

• experience planning, delivering, and reviewing rugby or sport development programmes;
• experience supporting coaches and volunteers;
• understanding of player‑centred coaching and age‑grade development;
• strong communication, leadership, and relationship management skills;
• sound administration, IT and operational management skills;
• commitment to safeguarding, welfare, inclusion, and positive youth development;
• full driving licence.

The successful candidate should hold, or be willing to work towards, appropriate rugby coaching, first aid, match officiating, coach education, safeguarding, and child wellbeing qualifications. Appointment will be subject to satisfactory references, PVG checks, and safeguarding requirements.

Success measures

• Participation: Registration numbers, attendance, retention, dropout trends;
• Coaching: Coach recruitment, development, observation, feedback, retention;
• Player pathway: Scottish Rugby National Talent Programme engagement, representative readiness, player welfare;
• Safeguarding: Compliance completion, risk assessments, incident escalation, welfare reporting;
• Governance: Rugby and Club Management Board participation, monthly reporting, budget discipline, risk register, board updates.

This is an opportunity to shape one of Scotland’s most respected community rugby pathways.

You will join a club with history, ambition, and a strong youth base. You will influence players, coaches, volunteers, families, schools, and the wider rugby community while helping build something sustainable for the next generation of Melrose players.