Birmingham, England, United Kingdom, September 2025 – Clare Avery has joined Birmingham City Football Club as the new Head of People and Culture, marking the next chapter in her distinguished career in people leadership within the sports, tech, and startup sectors. In her new role, Clare will be responsible for advancing the Club’s people agenda, cultivating a high-performance culture, and aligning talent strategies with the Club’s transformative ambitions on and off the pitch.
Clare brings with her over two years of leadership experience at Nottingham Forest FC, where she served as Director of People & Culture. As part of the Executive Leadership Team, she led People Operations, Safeguarding, and ED&I efforts across the Men’s First Team, Academy, Women’s and Girls’ teams, and Netball programmes. She also served as a Board Member for Nottingham Forest Women and Netball, embedding culture and equality principles into the Club’s wider strategy.
Before that, Clare held the role of Head of People at Wattbike, where she shaped the organisation’s 4-year People Plan, introduced new HR technology, launched ESG strategies, and led wellbeing, compensation, and diversity initiatives during a phase of strategic growth. Her data-driven, values-led approach contributed to notable improvements in engagement scores and operational efficiency.
Earlier, she was Head of HR at Spark44, where she supported major transformations during the agency’s integration with Accenture Song. She launched the UK’s first D&I strategy for the company and managed COVID-related operations, hybrid work models, and TUPE processes. She also served as Head of People & Culture at Edays, overseeing rapid scale-up initiatives, the rollout of OKRs, people analytics dashboards, ISO 27001 certification, and office relocations.
Clare’s earlier career includes HR leadership roles at Ella’s Kitchen, Huel, and Everton Football Club, where she developed extensive experience in organisational design, employer branding, succession planning, and employee wellbeing. Her foundation in football HR was built through more than five years at Everton FC, where she rose through the ranks from HR Officer to HR Manager.
About Birmingham City FC
Birmingham City Football Club, founded in 1875, is a historic club at the heart of English football. Based at St. Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park, the Club is driven by values of resilience, community, and ambition. With a legacy of fostering local talent and deep community engagement through the Birmingham City Foundation, the Club is now focused on redefining its future through innovation and inclusivity. It aspires to create fan-first experiences—both digital and in-person—while building a culture that reflects its working-class heritage and future-forward identity.
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