Head of Methodology

Build the development framework that will shape every player in one of Europe’s most storied academies.

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Few academies in Europe carry the history of AS Saint-Étienne. The club has won ten French titles, has a fiercely loyal city behind it, and its pathway has produced players such as William Saliba, Wesley Fofana and Kurt Zouma. ASSE now wants to make that pathway sharper, more joined-up and more distinctive, and is creating a new Head of Methodology role to lead that work.

You will own the ASSE Development Framework: the playing identity, age-phase priorities and coaching standards that shape every player from the youngest age groups through to the first team. Rather than simply applying the national model, you will bring the best ideas in player development from across Europe and beyond, adapt them to Saint-Étienne, and build something that is genuinely the club’s own. The club’s vision puts game intelligence, player autonomy and decision‑making at the centre. Your job is to turn that vision into a framework coaches can use every day.

This role suits a coach educator and system builder who wants their work to show on the pitch, in the coaches they develop and in the players who make it. Reporting to the Academy Director, with a line to the Sporting Director, you will work closely with the club’s senior football leadership on its long‑term sporting plan.

The impact you’ll make

• Own and evolve the ASSE Development Framework, defining the club’s playing principles, age‑phase priorities, progression logic and evaluation standards.
• Set the exposure philosophy for training and competition, so every player moves through the pathway against shared reference points.
• Shape a distinctive playing identity, writing and refining the academy’s playing models in line with the first team’s football philosophy and long‑term sporting goals.
• Bring international best practice to Saint‑Étienne, building on the FFF development guidelines with the strongest ideas from other countries and elite environments, adapted to local conditions rather than copied.
• Design and deliver the academy’s internal coach education programme, observing sessions and matches and giving clear methodological feedback that helps coaches put the framework into practice.
• Join up the player pathway, overseeing consistency across age groups and supporting Individual Development Plans (IDPs).
• Work closely with the professional staff to make the step from academy to first team as smooth as possible.
• Keep the academy ahead of the game, tracking developments in football methodology, learning science and coaching practice, and producing clear documents and learning resources that keep staff aligned.

What’s in it for you?

• A newly created role with a remit to build, not just maintain.
• Direct influence over the playing identity of one of France’s great football clubs.
• The chance to put your own stamp on a historic academy, drawing on the best of European and international development practice.
• Close working with the Academy Director and Sporting Director on the club’s long‑term sporting plan.
• A role where your impact is visible, in how teams play, in the coaches you develop and in the players who progress to the first team.
• An academy with a proven record of producing international‑level players.

What success looks like

Because this is a new role, success will be clearly defined from the start. In the first 12 to 18 months, the club expects:

• a documented, signed‑off ASSE Development Framework that coaches use week to week
• a running coach education programme, with every academy coach observed and supported
• visible consistency in how teams play and train across the age groups
• IDPs in place and reviewed for players in the key phases
• clear measures of progress agreed with the Academy Director.

Your skills and experience

• Strong experience in youth player development within a professional academy, as an academy coach, methodology lead or technical coordinator.
• A proven ability to build and formalise a development framework, not just work within one.
• A deep understanding of football tactics, pedagogy and training methodology.
• Credibility in leading coach education and technical supervision, with the communication skills to bring multidisciplinary staff with you.
• A UEFA A or UEFA Pro licence.
• A degree or postgraduate study in sports science, coaching or a related field.
• Experience of more than one footballing culture or development system.
• French, or a commitment to reaching working French quickly. Strong candidates without French will be considered.

The Executives in Sport Group are retained on behalf of AS Saint‑Étienne to appoint a Head of Methodology. xzragkv All direct applications and CVs will be forwarded to The Executives in Sport Group.

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