NEC Nijmegen Youth Robert de Pauw began his managerial career at the age of 13 after his father, who was the then sporting director at
SCE Nijmegen, offered him to help train the 7 to 8-year-olds. After coaching several youth teams, he was able to coach the first teams at the professional level with the U15, U19 and U23 teams of
NEC Nijmegen. He became the manager of
NEC Nijmegen U15 again in March 2025 and became the U19 manager on 4 August 2025.
Achilles '29 Vrouwen The first senior team managed by de Pauw was
Achilles '29 Vrouwen and he was appointed as their manager in May 2017; he stayed until the end of the
2017–18 season.
FC Twente Vrouwen He then joined
FC Twente Vrouwen as their manager in 2021, and in 2022, he completed the
double with them by winning both the
2021–22 Eredivisie Vrouwen and the 2021–22
Eredivisie Cup.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen Women de Pauw joined
Bayer 04 Leverkusen Women in the summer of 2022. In the
2022–23 season, he guided the club to fifth, and during the
2023–24 season, his club placed sixth within the
Frauen-Bundesliga. On 11 December 2024, Aston Villa announced that de Pauw had left the club. At the time of his departure, Aston Villa were one point above the relegation zone of the Women's Super League, having won one league game in nine since de Pauw took charge. == Personal life ==