Overview

Aston Villa Women’s Football Club is a top-tier Women’s Super League side with ambitions to mirror the high-performance environment of the men’s team while tailoring support to the specific needs of the women’s game. The Head of Performance role was introduced to lead and align performance and medical services for the Women’s First Team, ensuring a fully integrated, player-centred approach. 

Challenge  

Aston Villa Women were building on a solid foundation, continuing to invest in their performance infrastructure and professionalising the women’s football environment. The Head of Performance position was designed to create a clear leadership layer, bringing cohesion across sports science, medical, nutrition, and psychology, while ensuring departments worked in unison toward shared goals. 

This role would be pivotal in strengthening communication between specialists, streamlining decision-making, and embedding a high-performance strategy to support domestic and European ambitions. The ideal candidate needed to combine technical expertise with the personal qualities to inspire trust and collaboration. 

The search focused on identifying a leader who could deliver against three key priorities

  • Specialist leadership – Leading multiple performance disciplines within elite football is a rare skillset. 
  • Time sensitivity – The hire needed to be in place for pre-season, allowing only two months for the full process. 
  • Cultural alignment – A leader who was approachable, collaborative, and able to connect quickly with players and staff. 

Solution 

Executives in Sport Group had previously partnered with Aston Villa, so when the club approached them to run the search, Women’s Sport specialist Beth Reid who focuses on this area took on the assignment. With her deep understanding of the women’s football landscape and established network, Beth was able to begin targeted outreach immediately, engaging both active and passive talent. 

The search strategy included

  • Market mapping across football and other elite sports to identify leaders with cross-disciplinary experience 
  • Approaching candidates with proven ability to integrate performance services into daily training and match preparation 
  • Prioritising individuals with strong communication skills and a collaborative leadership style 
  • Weekly progress calls with the hiring manager to ensure decisions kept pace with the pre-season timeline 

“Aston Villa Women were clear on their vision for the role and the impact it would have on the players. Having worked extensively in women’s football, I knew where to look for leaders with the right balance of technical expertise and people skills to bring their performance services together.” – Beth Reid, Consultant, EISG 

Outcome 

The role was successfully secured in just 6 weeks.  

40 candidates were approached, 24 screened, 10 shortlisted, and 4 reached final interview. The appointed candidate brought extensive leadership experience across performance disciplines, a track record of embedding performance strategies in elite environments, and the interpersonal qualities to unify the team around shared objectives. 

The hire positions Aston Villa Women to further strengthen their performance culture, ensuring players receive world-class support on and off the pitch as the club continues its upward trajectory. 

“Executives in Sport Group were great to work with and did an excellent job identifying a suitable candidate for our staffing team.” Hiring Manager, Aston Villa Women   

Want to know more?

To read more case studies and discover how EISG’s specialist search connects elite sports organisations with winning talent visit the website. Beth Reid specialises in Medicine and Women’s Sport recruitment. 

🌐 For more information about Executives in Sport Group and Beth visit www.eisg.com