Commercial Director – Football Association
Football Association

An exciting opportunity has come up to hire a new Commercial Director; this is a high-profile leadership role in the organisation, sitting on the senior leadership team and reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer. You will be a self-starter, capable of building and managing successful stakeholder relationships. A strategic thinker, you will have the ability to develop and execute a commercial plan, optimised through digital capability, across The FA portfolio of England teams, Wembley and St Georges Park, Barclay’s Women’s Super League and Championship, and the Men’s Emirates FA Cup and Women’s FA Cup including:

• Data, direct marketing, and loyalty programmes
• Commercial partnerships and sponsorships
• Broadcast sales and distribution
• Licensing, merchandising and retail
• Events at Wembley
• Wembley tours
  

How to apply

Applications for the role of Commercial Director at The FA will be managed externally by Egon Zehnder. For further information, or to apply, please email your CV and cover letter to TheFA@egonzehnder.com by Wednesday 6th September 2023.

What will you be doing?

The Commercial Director will evolve and execute a commercial strategy in line with The FA’s overall strategy, culture, and values. Leading our commercial division, the key areas of initial focus will include:

• Developing and executing The FA’s commercial strategy, ensuring the organisation meets or exceeds its annual revenue targets.
• Setting the future vision and model for key revenue streams, particularly via digital and data led channels.
• Maximising the commercial potential through intelligent engagement and use of our databases of players, fans, and customers.
• Maximising the potential of FA competitions, such as FA Cups and England teams both in the UK and international markets.
• Ensuring commercial potential of The FA OTT platform, in line with the broadcast strategy.
• Ensuring the commercial team collaborate with key partners internally to maximise the impact on our overall strategy.
• Leading commercial discussions with UEFA, FIFA and other Federations.
• Creating and developing new commercial opportunities.
• Leading significant sales negotiations, able to cut through and close deals with maximum impact.
• Executes additional tasks as required in order to meet FA Group changing priorities.
• Comply with all company policies and procedures to ensure the highest standards of health, safety and wellbeing can be maintained.
• As part of The FA’s commitment to ensuring a safe environment for everyone in football, every employee will be required to complete a DBS check. The level of the check required will be based on the activity of the specific job role and in line with legislation and government guidance.
  

What are we looking for?

Critical Experience

• Proven success in a high profile and demanding commercial environment and can evidence sound commercial judgement and decision-making capability.
• Operates successfully in a matrix organisation where managing and influencing internal stakeholders is the norm alongside a naturally collaborative style.
• Proven ability to negotiate multi-million-pound contracts and develop strong relationships with key strategic partners.
• Savvy in the strategy and use of digital platforms to develop and activate revenues.
  

CHARACTERISTICS

• A successful leader who has a proven track record of building high performing teams and developing a healthy and inclusive culture, a role model for FA values.
• High standards of personal integrity and EQ.
  

What’s in it for you?

We are committed to ensuring everyone can flourish in their roles, to achieve this we have unique office spaces under the arch of the iconic Wembley National Stadium, which is the home of English Football. We are also delighted to offer a world-class, Elite Performance Centre, St. George’s Park in Staffordshire which is an exceptional setting to develop and inspire high-performing England teams and leaders.

We pride ourselves in offering a competitive salary as well as great opportunities to develop and grow in your role. But that is not all; we also have a range of exciting benefits, some of which can be found below:

• Access to event day tickets at Wembley Stadium, alongside a host of regular internal events throughout the season encouraging you to connect and learn with your colleagues and look after your mental health and wellbeing.
• Free, nutritious lunches, at Wembley Stadium and St. George’s Park.
• Free private medical cover.
• A contributory pension scheme.
• An additional Thank You days leave, volunteering days as well as 25 days annual leave.
• A hybrid working model offering flexibility on where you work.
  

For more information on what it is like to work at The FA, please visit our FA Careers page, https://www.thefa.com/about-football-association/careers

Our Organisation

The Football Association [The FA] is the not-for-profit governing body of football in England. It is responsible for promoting and developing every level of the game, from grassroots through to the professional game, and generates significant revenue to support investment into English football each year.

The FA oversees England international teams across men’s, women’s, youth and disability football, as well as running the National League System and FA Competitions including the Emirates FA Cup, Barclays FA Women’s Super League, FA Women’s Championship, and Vitality Women’s FA Cup, and the world-class facilities of Wembley Stadium and St. George’s Park, all with a purpose to Unite the Game and Inspire the Nation.

We currently work within a hybrid working model whereby the expectation is to work from your contractual location for part of the week, and as and when required by the team. The remaining days can be worked remotely. We will continue to monitor this model and it may be adjusted in future if deemed necessary.

Your contract with The FA will specify a fixed location of either Wembley Stadium, St. George’s Park or our Processing Centre, unless the role is advertised as a homebased contract. The contractual location of this role can be found at the top of this advert on our FA vacancy page.

The FA, For All, For You

Our equality, diversity and inclusion strategy forms an integral part of our long-term commitment to using our influence across English football to create a game free from discrimination.

A Game For All outlines three key strategic commitments – Lead the Change, Be the Change, and Inspire the Change – which will ensure tackling discrimination remains a core priority for English football for years to come.

We are a diverse workplace, aspiring to represent football across the country. The Football Association actively promotes inclusion and diversity, encouraging you to be the best version of yourself at work.

We welcome applications from everyone and are proud to be an equal opportunities employer. If you have any particular requirements in respect of the recruitment or interview process, please mention this during your application.

As part of The FA’s commitment to ensuring a safe environment for everyone in football, every employee will be required to complete a DBS check. The level of the check required will be based on the activity of the specific job role and in line with legislation and government guidance.

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