Join FA Learning as a Programme Manager and play a pivotal role in delivering our strategy while advancing our purpose: Inspiring positive change through football by raising standards of coaching and ensuring a safe and inclusive game.
Working in partnership with Strategic Leads, you will translate strategic priorities into coordinated programmes of work that drive measurable outcomes, meaningful change and lasting impact across the game.
Through effective governance, stakeholder engagement and programme leadership, you will help turn strategic ambition into action, managing dependencies, risks and change across a complex portfolio of strategic initiatives. The role provides the oversight, connectivity and delivery discipline needed to ensure programmes are aligned, embedded and focused on delivering sustainable value.
A key area of focus will be leading the successful delivery, adoption and value realisation of FA Learning's digital and data ecosystem. By enabling modern, connected and insight-driven learning experiences, you will help strengthen organisational performance and support coaches, learners and colleagues to thrive in an evolving game.
What will you be doing?
- Strategic Alignment & Value – Partner with Strategic Leads to shape, coordinate and deliver strategic programmes aligned to FA Learning's purpose, strategy and business plans. Support portfolio prioritisation, sequencing and resource allocation to focus effort on initiatives that deliver the greatest strategic impact and measurable value.
- Digital & Data Portfolio Management – Lead the programme management of FA Learning's digital & data portfolio, overseeing the coordination, governance & delivery of a complex set of interconnected initiatives. Ensure activity is strategically aligned, effectively prioritised & connected to wider business objectives, managing dependencies, risks & stakeholder engagement to maximise adoption, value realisation & impact.
- Programme Delivery – Lead end-to-end programme management across strategic initiatives, providing the governance, coordination and delivery discipline needed to translate strategic priorities into action. Manage plans, milestones, dependencies, risks and resources, ensuring effective connectivity across programmes and between strategic, operational and delivery teams to enable successful outcomes.
- Stakeholder Influence & Connectivity – Build and sustain trusted relationships across FA Learning and the wider organisation, bringing together stakeholders around shared priorities and outcomes. Facilitate collaboration, alignment and informed decision-making, ensuring strategic programmes remain connected, coordinated and positioned for successful delivery.
- Change Leadership, Adoption & Business Readiness – Champion engagement, adoption and organisational readiness across FA Learning, ensuring strategic change and digital and data initiatives are effectively embedded through coordinated activity across people, processes, governance, capability and communication.
- Governance, Assurance & Financial Stewardship – Establish and maintain effective programme governance, reporting, risk management and budget oversight, ensuring appropriate decision-making, transparency, assurance and value for money across the programme portfolio.
- Insight-Informed Performance & Value Realisation – Work closely with Strategic Insight Leads and Strategic Leads to track programme performance against agreed outcomes and measures of success, using evidence and insight to inform decisions, adapt delivery and maximise benefits realisation.
- Capability Building & Continuous Improvement – Support the Strategy team to embed best-practice programme management across FA Learning, contributing to business & financial planning cycles, portfolio reviews, post-programme evaluation & continuous improvement of programme delivery and ways of working.
- Executes additional tasks as required to meet the FA's changing priorities.
- Comply with all company policies and procedures to ensure that the highest standards of health, safety, and well-being 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?
Essential for the role:
- Project management qualification.
- Experience managing business change programmes in complex and fast-paced environments.
- Ability to align programmes with strategy and business plans.
- Ability to make informed decisions and manage risk effectively.
- Strong leadership and influencing skills, with the ability to manage multiple stakeholders.
- Ability to work within matrix-structured organisations and galvanise people within non-direct reporting structures.
- Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities.
- Excellent organisational and planning skills.
- Excellent interpersonal, communication and relationship building skills.
- Experience of project management software e.g. Smartsheet.
- Extensive experience of Excel.
- Advanced Reporting Writing skills.
- Advanced Microsoft Office.
- Ability to create presentations and present to a wide range of key stakeholders.
Beneficial to have:
- Undergraduate degree or equivalent.
- MBA or relevant postgraduate qualification or equivalent.
- Programme management qualification.
- Experience working in an educational or sports-focused environment.
- Passion for sport and/or football.
- Delivering project and programme management training to a diverse workforce.
- Strategy planning and management.
- Financial planning and management.
- Understanding of the importance and requirements to develop the next generation of coaches and young players.
- Excellent influencing & negotiation skills.
- Smartsheet experience.
Important note to candidates: this role is primarily based at St George's Park, reflecting the location of the FA Learning division; there will be business requirements to travel to Wembley Stadium.
Interviews will be held at St George's Park on Tuesday 25th August.
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 on 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, encourages you to connect and learn with your colleagues and look after your mental health and well-being.
- Free, nutritious lunches at Wembley Stadium and St. George's Park.
- Free private medical cover.
- A contributory pension scheme.
- An additional 'Thank You' day's leave, volunteering days, as well as 25 days of annual leave (based on a full-time, permanent contract)
- A hybrid working model which offers greater flexibility.
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
Currently, we are working 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. The contractual location of this role can be found on the FA Careers page.
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 guidanc
