Born in 1947 at Hazlewood Castle in the English county of Yorkshire, Harbin grew up in Swillington Common before emigrating with his parents to Australia at the age of ten, settling in Queensland.
[6] After a brief spell as chief executive officer[7] at Dewsbury Rams, Harbin joined Oldham as head coach in January 2002.
[8] Late in 2002 Harbin joined Oldham Athletic as fitness conditioner and sports psychologist, alongside then-assistant, manager Iain Dowie.
After Dowie's sacking in November 2006, Harbin briefly stayed under new manager Les Reed, but departed by the end of 2006.
[17] He was appointed as performance coach at League One club Port Vale by manager Rob Page later in the month.
[20] On 2 January 2019, Harbin was appointed as head coach of National Conference League side Oulton Raiders.