HEARTS have made history after appointing Shelley Kerr to the new technical development manager role, the first female to hold such a position in Scottish football.
Kerr, who served as head coach of the Scotland women’s national team from 2017 to 2020, will focus on improving transitions to the men’s first team.
The 55-year-old is set to work on player and coach development across the academy set up, helping people reach their full potential.
Her role also includes assisting the new Jambos B Team head coach, Angus Beith.
Kerr joins the club after a period as technical lead and head of women’s development teams with the English FA.
Her CV also includes head coach roles at the Arsenal women’s team and Stirling University men’s team.
During her three years with the Scottish women’s team, she led them to the 2019 FIFA World Cup.
She also earned 59 caps as a player for the national side.
Speaking in a press release issued by the club, Graeme Jones, sporting director at Heart of Midlothian Football Club, said: “Shelley’s extensive experience and skill set is ideally suited to this new role at the club, and I look forward to working with her to harness the development pathway leading to the first team.
“She will support Angus from a coaching perspective with the B Team but her remit will be far more wide-ranging, from 18s through to B Team.
“She will have an overview of the talent pipeline – of coaches as well as players – but fundamentally the job of technical development manager is to make the route towards the first team clearer for those on the journey.
“As well as her coaching experience and UEFA Pro Licence, what made Shelley stand out was the work undertaken with the English FA in taking the principle of a high-performance environment and implementing key physical, tactical and technical strategies and objectives.”
Shelley Kerr said: “Firstly, I would like to thank Graeme, the football department and the board at Heart of Midlothian for the opportunity to work in such an important role at the club.
“I am fortunate to have undertaken a variety of leadership roles across men’s and women’s football since I retired as a player, and I am excited to bring the accumulation of that knowledge and experience to Heart of Midlothian.”
