Hannah Dingley is to leave her position as the Football Association of Ireland's head of women and girls' football after just over a year in the job.
The Welsh woman was appointed last April as the successor to Eileen Gleeson, who had been made permanent head coach of the senior women's side.
However, Dingley, who in July 2023 became the first female manager in men's English professional football when she took charge of Forest Green Rovers on an interim basis, has handed in her notice to the FAI, to take over as girls head of academy with Manchester City in the summer.
Dingley said: "I've taken the difficult decision to leave the Association to take on a new challenge with Manchester City.
"I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time working in women and girls’ football in Ireland and believe there is so much potential to build in this area to ensure that the Football Pathways Plan has maximum impact on Irish football."
FAI CEO David Courell said: "We thank Hannah for her time at the Association where she showed excellent professionalism and hard work in helping us to further develop the women and girls' game in Ireland."
It is the second high-profile departure from the governing body in less than a month, following the news that Marc Canham will step down in June as chief football officer.
The FAI would appear to have a ready-made replacement on hand in Gleeson, who has retained the right to employment with the association, despite them not renewing her contract as head coach last December.
An FAI spokesperson told RTÉ Sport in March that Gleeson's position hadn't been "defined".
Dingley only made her first formal media appearance at that time, when she said that increasing female-friendly facilities at grassroots clubs must be the top priority if rising participation levels are to be properly harnessed.
The ratio of boys to girls playing football has reduced from 6:1 to 3:1 in the last six years, with over 45,000 women and girls registered to play competitive football in Ireland. However, just 33% of amateur clubs have female-friendly changing facilities.
