Vacancy description
Key Information
- Division:CEO and Chair's Office
- Location:Home based
- Vacancy Type:Voluntary
- Closing Date:4 July 2025
Independent Advisor to the Disability Football Committee (DFC)
The Football Association (The FA) is the not-for-profit governing body of football in England, dedicated to promoting the sport and inspiring positive change through the game. We are responsible for developing and advancing football at every level, from grassroots to the professional game, generating revenue to support investment in English football.
The FA oversees all England international teams, including men's, women's, youth, and para football. We manage FA competitions such as the Emirates FA Cup, the Youth Cup, and the Adobe Women's FA Cup. Additionally, we oversee men's and women's leagues below the professional level. Our remit includes the world-class facilities of Wembley Stadium and St. George's Park.
The FA Disability Football Committee (DFC) is an integral part of our governance structure, dedicated to promoting and developing disability football across England. We are seeking to appoint an independent advisor with the requisite skills and knowledge to advance the important work in this area.
The Role
The primary role of the Independent Advisor is to provide strategic direction during meetings, support the implementation of the Disability Football Strategy, and offer an independent perspective on matters such as development, performance, stakeholder management, and good governance
The Independent Advisor will:
- Provide guidance to the committee, contributing to collaborative meetings and ensuring the Executive is supported to succeed.
- In conjunction with the Executive, support the development and implementation of the Disability Football Strategy.
- Support the committee's annual objectives, proactively contribute to meetings, and align the committee's work with its Terms of Reference.
- Offer insights and recommendations to improve governance, including policies, procedures, and overall effectiveness of the committee's work.
- Foster a cooperative atmosphere for open dialogue and informed decision-making.
- Advocate for the FA and Disability Football at all levels, promoting their policies, objectives, and values.
- Consistently exercise good judgment, rooted in strong moral and ethical principles.
- Support the delivery of agreed-upon actions from meetings.
Person Specification
- Strong knowledge of the football environment, with significant experience in para and disability sport.
- Experience as a committee member, trustee, or in a senior leadership position in any sector. We are also open to appointing first-time committee members with relevant experience and the ambition, talent, and commitment to help us.
- Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with individuals at all levels of the sport, including Board members.
- Driven by a genuine passion for football and a strong belief in its potential as a positive force for good.
Term:
The Independent Advisor will be appointed on an initial term of 3 years and can serve for a maximum of 3 terms of 3 years
Time Commitment & Remuneration:
The DFC meets at least twice per season. Meetings are typically held midweek during working hours, either at Wembley Stadium, St. George's Park, or via Microsoft Teams. Additional meetings may be required to address the committee's broader work with other internal and external stakeholder groups, as well as to attend matches and events as needed.
The DFC appoints 2 of its members to represent Disability Football on The FA Council. The Council meets a minimum of 4 times per season either at Wembley Stadium or St. George's Park or through Microsoft Teams.
An allowance can be claimed for attendance at each meeting of the DFC (currently £105/meeting) along with any travel or subsistence expenses incurred.
ABOUT US
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, and Women’s Adobe FA Cup, and the world-class facilities of Wembley Stadium and St. George’s Park, all with a purpose to inspire positive change through football.
Our game can tackle some of society’s core challenges. It can bring communities together, nationally and locally. It can be a platform for inclusion, ensuring there is a place for all. It can get people active and promote wellbeing often at a time when we need it most. With UEFA EURO 2028 – hosted in the UK and Ireland – on the horizon, we have an incredible opportunity to transform football across the country.
Now is the time to inspire positive change.
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 Wembley Stadium or St. George’s Park 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 PROCESS
We believe that assessment and selection should be robust, fair, and inclusive.
Following receipt of your application and the closing of the application process, you can expect a period of circa two weeks for us to thoroughly screen and shortlist, ahead of any next stage and interview.
Please note, we receive a high volume of applications so this can vary but we ensure that our assessor panel reviews all applications, and no use of automated screening or AI is used.
At an interview, we want to ensure that we see the best of you as an individual and increase our understanding of your skills and experience relevant to the demands of the role. It is very much a two-way process with importance placed on the candidate experience so that regardless of outcome, you feel valued, and treated fairly and hopefully have a positive experience.
No process is ever the same, but we would like to create an environment that is welcoming and ensures the experience is as enjoyable as possible.
We tailor our assessment and selection depending on the nature and demands of the role. The FA Resourcing Team will provide you with as much notice as possible about the process and the format of any interview will always be communicated to you in advance, including what to expect on the day and who you will be seeing.
We often receive a high volume of applications, and for certain roles, we will supplement your application, utilising our on-demand video interviewing platform. On-demand video interviews enable you to answer preset questions, in the comfort of your own home or office setting and at a convenient time for you, giving us greater insight into you as an individual and the skills and experience you might bring to the role and working at The FA.
We also utilise Microsoft Teams for virtual interviews and of course host you at our world class venues, Wembley Stadium and our National Football Centre, St. George’s Park.
GROUP STRATEGY
WE HAVE MOVED FOOTBALL FORWARD.
From 2020 - 2024, we have – in collaboration with our key partners – been able to deliver meaningful change across the game.
From winning our first major tournament in over 50 years to delivering thousands of high-quality pitches to the grassroots game.
BUT WE CAN’T STOP NOW - AND WE WON’T.
This new strategy is about doubling down. Our game can tackle some of society’s core challenges. It can bring communities together, nationally and locally.
It can be a platform for inclusion, ensuring there is a place for all. It can get people active and promote wellbeing often at a time when we need it most.
With UEFA EURO 2028 – hosted in the UK and Ireland – on the horizon, we have an incredible opportunity to transform football across the country.
NOW IS THE TIME TO INSPIRE POSITIVE CHANGE.
Our ultimate purpose is to ‘Inspire positive change through football’ – everything we do ultimately ladders up to this end goal.
The 2024-2028 strategy focuses on tackling four long-term strategic challenges that will fulfil this purpose and drive real change across the game, our ‘Game Changer’ objectives.
Underpinning these Game Changers are then four activities and approaches that will enable us to meet challenges head on, our ‘Drivers’.
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