Vacancy description
Key Information
- Division:CEO and Chair's Office
- Location:Home based
- Closing Date:28 March 2025
Independent Chair of The Football Association's National Leagues Pyramid Board
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 the National Leagues Pyramid 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, Isuzu FA Trophy and Isuzu FA Vase as well as the world-class facilities of Wembley Stadium and St. George's Park, all with a purpose to inspire positive change through football.
The National Leagues Pyramid Board
The National Leagues Pyramid Board is The FA's senior committee which develops and manages Steps 1 to 6 of the men's National Leagues Pyramid and Tiers 3 to 6 of the women's National Leagues Pyramid. This is the level of the game that sits between professional (Premier League, English Football League, Women's Super League and Women's Championship) and grassroots football.
The National Leagues Pyramid Board currently comprises individuals selected from both The FA Council who represent the different leagues at this level of the game and independent Members. The current Chair completes his term at the end of the season and the Board wish to appoint an Independent Chair to start the new season.
The National Leagues Pyramid Board Remit
The National Leagues Pyramid Board approve the strategy for the Men's and Women's game at this level of football. The Board will hold the Executive to account on the delivery of the strategy which covers matters such as (but not limited to): Players, Youth Development, Workforce, Coaches, Refereeing, Equality Diversity and Inclusion, Safeguarding, Marketing, Commercial, Facilities, Club and League Development and Behaviours.
The Board will agree the budgets to deliver the business plans and ensure that the Committees reporting to the Board are well governed and remain within their delegated Powers and Duties, providing effective management of the operational aspects of the National Leagues Pyramid. (NLP)
The Role
In transitioning to an independent Chair we seek to bring greater objectivity to board discussions and judgements on matters such as strategy, performance, ways to manage and connect with the different stakeholders and always ensuring good governance.
The Independent Chair will:
- Demonstrate the values of The FA, leading the NLP Board with a collaborative style that ensures cohesion.
- Ensure that the NLP Board acts with integrity and takes all the different stakeholder interests into account as it makes decisions. This includes managing the trade-offs that will naturally arise from these stakeholders to ensure that decisions are taken in the best and long-term collective interests of football at this level.
- Be curious and provide challenge and support to other NLP Board members and the Executive team, ultimately holding them to account for the successful delivery of the plan
The Person will:
- Have prior Chair or Leadership experience, ideally in leading boards where stakeholders are the majority interest.
- Bring a strong strategic, commercial and wider environmental awareness to the Board.
- Can evidence empathy with the National Leagues Pyramid and an understanding of the challenges of working with or playing in the NLP, to the extent that their connection enables them to understand the landscape and the stakeholders.
- Consistently exercise good judgement, integrity and a proven team player
- Be motivated by a genuine love of the game, especially in the National Leagues Pyramid.
Time Commitment:
Commit to up to 25 days per annum to attend NLP Board, other FA meetings and to attend fixtures and events.
Term
The Independent Chair will be able to serve a maximum of 3 terms of 3 years.
Remuneration
An allowance can be claimed for attendance at each meeting of the National Leagues Pyramid Board (currently £300/meeting) along with any travel or subsistence expenses incurred.
How to Apply
Please apply with a CV and covering letter via the contact details below, detailing the qualities and attributes you would bring to Chair the National Leagues Pyramid Board.
We have partnered with Elevate to support us throughout the recruitment process, please send your details to chairnlp@oneelevate.com
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.
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’.
EDI STRATEGY
Our equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) 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 FREE FROM DISCRIMINATION
Our 2024 – 2028 strategy outlines three fundamental pillars for delivering a game free from discrimination – Boosting Representation, Driving Inclusion and Tackling Discrimination.
These pillars ensure that our work uniting communities, improving lives, and inspiring positive change on and off the pitch will remain a core priority for English football for years to come.
We are a diverse workplace, aspiring to represent football across the country. The FA 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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