Description
INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW OF DURHAM CRICKET
Durham County Cricket Club (DCCC) was established as an amateur Minor County in May 1882 and went onto become cricket’s most successful Minor County and the first to beat a FirstClass County when defeating Yorkshire in 1973. Durham was awarded first class professional status in December 1991 – the only new First-Class County in over 70 years – and played in the professional structure from 1992.
Since 2007 DCCC has had significant success winning the County Championship three times and being runners up once, and also won the Fifty Over Competition twice in Lord’sfinals and appeared twice in T20 Finals Day.
Since becoming a first-class county, DCCC has established English cricket’s most successful academy, regularly producing international stars for England, including Steve Harmison, Paul Collingwood, Mark Wood and Ben Stokes.
Durham CCC created the first new English Test Match stadium in over 100 years securing a long-term stadium naming rights sponsorship with Emirates Airways that ended in 2021. The venue has a 14,000 permanent seating capacity and the Club has staged international cricket every year since 1999, including the successful Ashes Test held in 2013 and three games in the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2019. The Club has been awarded a further package of
international matches to 2024.
A successful rebrand in 2018 created a new Durham Cricket identity. Durham Cricket is now the umbrella organisation encompassing all elements of cricket provision in the county covering the professional and recreational game and all activities impacting on the wider community of the county and beyond. Four separate organisations sit under the Durham Cricket umbrella and these are briefly described below.
Durham Cricket Community Interest Company (CIC) – Durham Cricket CIC operates the professional cricket side of the business.
Durham Cricket Foundation - the Foundation is the recreational body in Durham responsible for all non-first class cricket related activities in the County. Primarily responsible for driving the growth in participation and ensuring the cricket clubsin the county are organised in a way to provide safe, welcoming environments to allow people to enjoy a lifelong involvement in cricket. It is also the charitable arm of Durham Cricket and delivers initiatives aimed at providing opportunities and improving the lives of the local community.
Durham Cricket Events – Durham Cricket Events runs the meetings and events, hospitality and catering operations at the Riverside.
VISION, PURPOSE AND VALUES OF DURHAM CRICKET
BUSINESS DIRECTION, VISION AND VALUES
Durham Cricket has an essential role as the strategic delivery arm of the ECB in north east England. Durham Cricket also has the opportunity to mark out a very distinctive position in the world of cricket through the development and communication of an inspiring common purpose and strong individual identity (the Durham Cricket brand).
Our vision aligns the organisation from Changing Room to Boardroom, bringing together cricketing and commercial goals and resonates with our community (customers).
An effective Durham Cricket brand demands focus, ambition and a consistent approach to everything we do. There is an expectation that all our people will follow the vision, live and breathe the values and adhere to a set of consistent of behaviours. These are all set out below.
VISION
The vision of Durham Cricket has two key elements. Firstly, there is an internal vision which is designed to guide how the staff go about delivering on the organisation’s values and objectives. Secondly there is an external vision which shows how Durham Cricket are going to deliver on its cricketing objectives and assist the ECB in meeting their strategies.
Internal Vision:
Durham Cricket will be recognised for having a winning culture both on and off the field achieved by highly engaged people who enjoy working together with pride and passion.
External Vision:
2 £2 million invested into recreational and community programmes
0 No debt
2 Winning two trophies
8 Producing 8 new England players
PURPOSE
UNLEASHING POTENTIAL THROUGH CRICKET IN THE NORTH
VALUES
PROUDLY NORTHERN
We stand for something. We are family. Genuine, welcoming with a resilient spirit and a sense of fun.
PASSIONATE ABOUT DURHAM
We care about our club, our business and our brand. The passion and emotion unites us and drives us forward to create opportunities for the north on a national and global stage.
PURSUING EXCELLENCE
We strive to be the best we can be. Continuously improving and pushing ourselves to set higher standards.
UNIQUELY CRICKET
Cricket is at our heart and heritage. It makes us unique and its principles guide everything we do.
BEHAVIOURS
The following are a series of behaviours that we expect all of our people to
adhere to:
• We are ambitious in the goals we set
• We actively seek and encourage feedback in pursuit of excellence
• We focus on continuous improvement
• We are accountable for our actions
• We catch people doing things right
• We are adaptable and flexible
• We are equitable and inclusive in the way we operate
• We care for our staff and look out for them at all times
• We stay true to our vision
Background
Durham Cricket is proud to deliver a high-performance player pathway that continues to produce outstanding talent for both Durham and England teams.
We are seeking an experienced, strategic, and inspirational leader to oversee the future of Durham’s Boys County Talent Pathway. The successful candidate will work closely with coaches, the ECB, clubs, schools, Durham Cricket Foundation, and community partners to identify, nurture, and develop the region’s most talented young cricketers.
Role Purpose
The Academy Director - Head of Talent Pathway will lead the strategic and operational delivery of Durham Cricket’s Boys’ Talent Pathway. The postholder will be responsible for the identification, development, and progression of players capable of representing Durham and England, while ensuring the pathway is fully integrated and aligned across all performance levels of the Club.
Areas of Responsibility
Pathway Strategy & Leadership
• Work with the Director of Cricket to develop a clear, compelling strategy for Durham’s County Talent Pathway.
• Collaborate with the Men’s Head Coach, Assistant Coaches, and wider performance staff to ensure the Club’s coaching philosophy and performance standards are aligned across all levels.
• Oversee all aspects of County Talent Pathway cricket, including the Academy, Emerging Player Programme (EPP), County Age Group (CAG), Early Engagement Programme (EEP) squads.
Player Identification & Development
• Design and implement a robust player identification and selection strategy across the Academy, EPP, CAG, EEP squads.
• Lead the planning, monitoring, and delivery of individualised, holistic development programmes for Academy and EPP players.
• Deliver and oversee high-quality coaching interventions for players and teams, as agreed with the Director of Cricket.
Programme Design & Delivery
• Plan and deliver comprehensive winter and summer training and competition programmes for all pathway squads.
• Develop, maintain, and implement a Talent Development Framework to guide player development, coach education, and performance standards across the pathway.
Staff Leadership & Support Team Management
• Lead, manage, and organise the pathway support team, including permanent and specialist coaches, and age-group coaches and managers.
• Ensure effective internal communication, organisation, and administration across all pathway operations.
Financial & Operational Management
• Manage the County Talent Pathway budget in conjunction with the Club’s Director of Cricket and Finance Director, including planning, monitoring, and reporting.
• Ensure all activities comply with the County Partnership Agreement and the Pathway Performance Review process to maintain funding and best practice standards.
Stakeholder Engagement & Communication
• Maintain effective communication with schools, clubs, players, and parents
throughout selection and deselection processes.
• Liaise regularly with England age-group coaches and ECB talent personnel to support the nomination and progression of players into regional and national programmes.
• Work closely with the ECB Regional and National Talent Managers to ensure continued advancement and alignment of Durham’s pathway programmes.
• Establish strong relationships with National Counties, and other First-Class County Talent Leaders to share knowledge and enhance best practice.
• Liaise with the PCA Personal Development Manager to ensure effective player welfare support and personal development opportunities for Academy players.
• Maintain clear communication links between the Pathway, Second XI, First XI, and Community Cricket programmes to ensure alignment and connectivity across the Club.
Working Relationships
• Director of Cricket
• Head Coach and Assistant Coaches
• Pathway Head Coaches
• Age Group Coaches and Managers
• Cricket Operations Manager
• Academy & Pathway Administrator
• Local Clubs and Schools
• ECB Talent Personnel
• Other First-Class County Talent Leaders
• County & National Scouting Networks
• Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA)
Knowledge and Qualifications
• In-depth understanding of the qualities and characteristics required for young players to thrive and perform within a professional cricket environment.
• Proven experience in designing and delivering successful coaching and player development programmes within a high-performance setting.
• ECB Level 4 qualification, or ECB Level 3 working towards Level 4 (or overseas equivalent).
• Broad and demonstrable experience of leading within a boys’ or girls’ performance pathway environment.
• Demonstrates outstanding coaching skills and experience of working with elite and emerging cricketers.
Person Specification
• A natural leader with the ability to inspire, motivate, and drive a culture of
continuous improvement.
• An innovative and strategic thinker capable of delivering an engaging and sustainable talent development programme.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to engage
effectively with players, parents, staff, and stakeholders.
• Strong organisational and administrative skills, with the ability to plan, monitor, and implement strategic frameworks effectively.
• Holds valid DBS, Child Protection (Safeguarding Young People), and First Aid certifications.
• Full, clean UK driving licence and the ability to travel independently across the region.
This Job Description should not be regarded as exclusive or exhaustive. It is intended as an outline of areas of major activity.
OTHER CONDITIONS
The post holder will be based at Seat Unique Riverside as part of the High-Performance department. Due to the nature of the work the post holder will carry out his/her duties as such times/days which are most effective to perform the tasksrequired. This will involve some out of hours work – evenings, weekends, Bank Holidays, as necessary. There will also be significant travel around the region to meet different organisations.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES IN EMPLOYMENT POLICY STATEMENT
It is the policy of Durham Cricket to treat all employees and job applicants fairly and equally regardless of age, disability, gender, reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity,race,religion or belief,sex orsexual orientation. Furthermore, Durham Cricket will ensure that no requirement or condition will be imposed without justification which could disadvantage individuals purely on any of the above situations.
We recognize and value the difference and individual contribution that people make to the organisation. We strive to ensure that diversity as well as equality is embedded in all our policies, procedures and practices, responding to employees’ needs and encouraging employee development to increase their contribution to effective service delivery.
SAFER RECRUITMENT POLICY
Durham Cricket is committed to safeguarding and protecting the children and young people that we work with. As such, all posts are subject to a safer recruitment process, including the disclosure of criminal records and vetting checks. We ensure that we have a range of policies and procedures in place which promote safeguarding and safer working practice across our services.
HOURS
Full Time
SALARY
£50,000 - £55,000 depending on experience
HOLIDAYS
28 days per annum (pro rata) which includes the 8 statutory Bank Holidays in England & Wales.
PENSION SCHEME
Automatic Enrolment into the Royal London Group Personal Pension Plan. Matched employee contributions up to a maximum contribution of 5% of Basic Salary.
WORKPLACE
Durham Cricket, Banks Homes Riverside, Chester-le-Street, DH3 3QR
TO APPLY
To apply for the role please complete and send the Application Form to
[email protected]
Closing date for applications – Friday 7th November 2025