Dmitri Halajko, previously Town’s academy director, has been appointed the new director of football operations, TWTD having revealed Gary Probert’s departure for a job at Liverpool a fortnight ago, while Ben Chenery has been named academy manager.
Halajko joined the club in August last year having been Colchester United’s sporting director and over the course of 2024/25 worked on the changes required to move the academy up to category one with the Blues having received the rubber-stamp earlier this month.
The 45-year-old’s new role will see him continue to oversee the academy, while also heading up a number of first-team areas and the women’s team programme.
"We are really pleased to appoint Dmitri to this important role,” Town chairman and CEO Mark Ashton said.
"He has made a significant contribution to the club over the last year, notably leading the work which has seen the academy awarded category one status ahead of the new season.
"He brings a wealth of experience to this role from his time working at various clubs in England, across a range of different roles, giving him the necessary tools to oversee a number of crucial areas at the club.”
Halajko added: "I am delighted to have moved into such an exciting role at Ipswich Town.
"I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time at the club over the last year and am supremely proud we have been able to move the academy to category one status ahead of the new season.
"I’m excited to now be able to expand my role to include many other areas of the club and continue the excellent work which has been done over the last few years.”
Prior to his spell at Colchester, Halajko had been coaching manager for the Premier League.
Before that, between July 2019 and November 2021, he was lead coach with West Ham’s U23s having joined the Hammers from Leicester, where he had been head of player development U9-U23 for just over two years.
Between July 2014 and June 2017, Halajko was U21s coach at Norwich City having spent a three-year stint as a youth coach educator at the FA.
Another spell with the Canaries, coaching their U16s for two years, preceded that position.
He worked with the FA as a regional manager between 2010 and 2012, having been Colchester’s centre of excellence manager/community manager for 10 years taking on various roles over that time.
As a player, he was a midfielder in non-league for FC Clacton and Rowhedge among others.
The Blues have also announced that Chenery will join as academy manager in the middle of August.
A one-time Town academy player, he followed former Town youth coach Terry Westley to Luton in 1995 along with Matthew Upson.
He subsequently went on to play for Cambridge United, Canvey Island, Kettering and Chelmsford.
The 48-year-old joined Bury Town as assistant manager in 2012 and was appointed manager two years later, leaving in 2023.
While at Ram Meadow, Chenery also led the West Suffolk club’s academy partnership scheme and coached Town’s U15s and was an U21s support coach.
Latterly, the Ipswich-born former defender spent two years at Spurs as youth development lead phase coach and then U21s assistant coach.