10 key responsibilities of a club Technical Director

In today’s sporting landscape, football management titles are discussed and attributed without total clarity or understanding of how they differentiate.

These include the role of Sporting Director, Technical Director, High-Performance Manager, Director of Football, Football Development Manager, and Academy Manager just to name a few.

Of course, their descriptions and responsibilities are heavily influenced by the context within which they exist, be that by their club, city or cultural environment, however as their use becomes more commonplace even within amateur football, the perception of their impact begins to overlap.

This article focuses on the role of a Technical Director at a single club level (as opposed to a National Association or a multi-club ownership model) to outline a number of responsibilities and activities that should be considered by those who either hold or wish to acquire this role in future. Its aim is to help you/your club ensure that the position is a valuable acquisition that maximises the investment and its impact potential.

England Football Learning defines the role of a technical director as “…dynamic and multi-dimensional with the ultimate aim of continued success through the creation of a high-performance culture supported by an aligned vision and strategy.”

With this in mind, here are my “10 key responsibilities of a club Technical Director”.

Note: These are in no particular order of impact or importance and should all be addressed in relation to each other.

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1. Clubs and prospective Technical Directors should understand that this is not a coaching role before embarking on their recruitment process. While there may be some overlap between the roles of Technical Director and Coach, they are ultimately two distinct positions that require different skills and responsibilities.

A Technical Director is responsible for the overall management and strategic direction of the football aspects of a club. They oversee the club’s operations including player recruitment, coach development, performance analysis, sport science and strategic planning. They are responsible for developing and implementing long-term plans to ensure the club’s success both on and off the pitch, playing the long game to help the club plan for tomorrow, while taking care of today.

On the other hand, a Coach is responsible for the day-to-day management of the team and is focused on developing and implementing strategies to win matches. They work with the players to develop their skills, tactics and physical fitness and are responsible for selecting the team, determining strategy and making substitutions during games.

Many clubs try to combine these roles, often due to finance or staff availability. Unfortunately, I am yet to see many individuals and organisations (professional or amateur) who are able to perform both of these roles successfully and with full justification.

2. When hiring, clubs should ensure they are confident that their Technical Director has the ability to establish compelling coaching and playing philosophies.

This involves defining a clear vision and philosophy for each stream, setting two linked yet clearly distinguishable ideologies. These need to be communicated impactfully to coaches, players and even other members of Senior Management, whilst managing the change process for any existing members of staff who need to be updated.

There are many frameworks to assist with the creation of these philosophies, including localised resources such as Balance is Better, from Sport New Zealand. https://balanceisbetter.org.nz/what-is-a-coaching-philosophy/

On the field, the Technical Director should work with the coaching staff to develop a clear style of play that aligns with the club’s overall strategy and objectives across all levels. To add complexity, you can link the style of play to club identity, city identity or even cultural/national identity.

‘Developing a Playing Philosophy’ is an excellent online module on OFC Learn, which can be accessed here: https://ofclearn.com/courses/creating-a-playing-philosophy-p/

3. Technical Directors should acknowledge that strong administration and technology skills are required. A Technical Director needs to be able to maintain accurate records of all aspects of the club’s operations. This includes sensitive information such as player contracts, financial transactions and other important documentation such as policy manuals or program guidelines. Strong administration skills are essential to keep these records organized and up-to-date. Utilising club based technologies and subscriptions such as HUDL or VEO, project management software and managing online databases are also essential tools.

Presentation, computer and technology skills should be a minimum expectation and can really help to establish high standards and credibility with clubs when engaging with both internal and external stakeholders.

4. Technical Directors should be responsible for establishing a club performance culture. Start by setting clear goals and expectations for everyone involved and enable input from key stakeholders within the club. An effective club performance culture requires a clear understanding of what is expected from players, coaches, and staff. This is in the form of behaviours and daily actions as well as providing opportunities for accountability and critical reflection on a regular basis.

The club, in conjunction with the Technical Director, should establish clear goals and expectations for both short-term and long-term performance in tangible outcomes that should be referenced and understood by all. This helps to create a sense of purpose and direction for everyone involved with the club, offering a framework for ongoing monitoring and reflection as well as any reporting that may need to take place for the Technical Director or staff.

5. The Technical Director should maintain oversight of staffing structure and club organisational matters. A Technical Director is responsible for the overall management of the football department and may wish to reallocate staff based on their strategic impacts and desired objectives.

This involves coordinating various sub departments, managing staff and ensuring that the club operates efficiently and effectively. This could include establishing departments, establishing staff interaction models or encouraging communication and collaboration opportunities between staff.

6. Linked to the above, a Technical Director may need to hire new staff and will need to undertake staff profiling and recruitment either to replace existing employees/ contractors or to grow their team based on the strategic needs of the football department.

In conjunction with the club’s Human Resource team, the Technical Director will need to determine the profile and necessary skills and experience of potential new staff members, including any prerequisite qualifications.

As I have written about previously, this is a very delicate process and should be treated with the appropriate expertise to get it right. You can refer to my “10 Step Guide for Best Practice Coach Recruitment” for more tips and advice. https://medium.com/@stevenleedillon/a-10-step-guide-for-best-practice-coach-recruitment-bd178b411419

7. A Technical Director should oversee and/or facilitate ongoing Coach development opportunities A performance culture requires a commitment to continuous improvement from all coaches involved in the club, part time or full time. The club should encourage coaches and staff to strive for excellence and continuously seek ways to improve their performance through formal, non formal and informal coach development opportunities. This could involve regular feedback and evaluation as well as providing opportunities for training and development both in house and through wider reputable education partners.

This should include support of the formalised Coach Education pathway from the National Association as well as any bespoke educational opportunities that may be available. In a future article, I will highlight sources for coach development and provide context scenarios where particular types of education opportunities may be best suited.

8. A key role in preparing the club for the future is for the Technical Director to determine player profiling, scouting and recruitment strategies. An overall player management system or club scouting database can help a Technical Director keep track of all players that are in the region, monitor the progress of potential future signings and ensure they are getting the right experience and exposure to further their development.

These initiatives should be implemented with a view to determining the suitability of future players and whether there may be any anticipated challenges when they are integrated into the club environment. They may also serve as a predictor of the player's transfer viability or help to determine if the club can build enough value to sell the players as cash assets later down the line, should league regulations permit.

9. As an extension of the administration requirements of a Technical Director, a key role will be to establish operational processes and procurement processes for the sporting department. A Technical Director needs to have strong financial skills to effectively manage the budget of a football club. This involves tracking the income and expenses of departments, identifying areas for cost-saving and ensuring that the club operates within its financial means. This will be very important when curating reports for the board, committee or other senior management bodies that the Technical Director reports to. These reports are a great opportunity for Technical Directors to showcase their progress inc. budget forecasting updates on revenue generating sources such as implementing user pay programs.

For more information on some of the many ways in which clubs can create value and generate additional revenue, see my “10 tips for club revenue generation in amateur football”: https://medium.com/@stevenleedillon/10-tips-for-club-revenue-generation-in-amateur-football-e971ff30dbbe

10. A Technical Director has an important role domestically, particularly when establishing and nourishing strategic alliances. Having a focus on networking and partnerships can also lead to mutual organisational relationships that benefit the club in various ways, such as sharing resources, joint marketing initiatives or the development of other football programs. This will be particularly important for clubs that need to establish themselves in the local market and intend to improve their reputation and credibility through these collaborations.

For those in the appropriate context, a Technical Director can also help foster international opportunities by establishing meaningful and logical global partnerships. In turn, this can create opportunities for international travel and competition for their players and coaches, exposure to different playing styles, cultures and football markets, as well as associated commercial benefits.

In both the above points, networking and establishing global partnerships are important assets for a Technical Director in football to improve recruitment and to build the brand, international opportunities, knowledge sharing and strategic alliances.

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All of the above will need careful consideration by club boards, committees and operations teams and should be reviewed in conjunction with their Football Strategy and overall Club Development Plan.

For tips on how clubs can increase their supporter base, check out my recent article here: https://medium.com/@stevenleedillon/10-tips-for-attracting-more-fans-and-supporters-to-games-d58e53283e88

For other football management articles and tips, please follow me on Twitter @stevendillon

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This article has been inspired by my current experience as part of the Focus Education Advanced Certificate Program in Sporting Directorship and acts in part as a reflection of the learning journey so far on how my opinion of the growing role of the Sporting Director and linked roles such as the Technical Director is evolving each week.