Vacancy description
Key Information
- Division:FA Learning
- Location:National Football Centre, St George's Park
- Vacancy Type:Fixed Term Contract, Full-time
- Closing Date:6 May 2026
Set the bar for greatness...
We have an exciting opportunity for a Programme Manager to join our FA Learning division. The Programme Manager plays a strategic and connective role in shaping and coordinating activity across FA Learning, with a particular focus on digital and data transformation.
Within the digital and data transformation space, the purpose of the role is two-fold: to ensure digital and data change lands effectively across the business through strong business change, organisational readiness and adoption; and to ensure dependencies and connections across the strategy are clear, with digital and data activity effectively enabling wider strategic programmes and priorities.
Working closely with Learn Pod and other delivery partners who lead the technical delivery, the role helps join up activity across FA Learning, ensure programmes and initiatives are aligned to FA Learning Strategy and Business Plans, and support effective embedding across the wider business. The role will also pick up programmes outside of the digital transformation space, so it requires someone who can adapt their approach across different programme contexts and work effectively across a varied portfolio.
The position is advertised as a fixed-term contract until July 2027, and the role is located at St George's Park in Burton-Upon-Trent.
Currently, the team are working within a hybrid working model where the expectation is to work from your contractual location is two days of the week, as well as 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.
What will you be doing?
- Strategic Alignment & Value – shape and steer strategic programmes to ensure they are clearly aligned to FA Learning's purpose and priorities, embedded within core business activity, and focused on delivering measurable value and outcomes, actively supporting prioritisation and sequencing to focus capacity on the initiatives that deliver the greatest strategic impact, including, but not limited to, the digital and data portfolio.
- Programme Leadership & Integrated Delivery – Lead end-to-end programme coordination across multiple projects and initiatives, managing plans, milestones, dependencies, risks and resources to ensure coherence across activity, high-quality delivery, and strong connectivity between strategy, business teams, Learn Pod/delivery partners and operational areas. Apply a flexible and adaptable approach across both digital transformation and other programmes within the portfolio.
- Stakeholder Influence & Connectivity – build and sustain strong, trusted relationships across teams, departments, divisions and external partners, acting as a strategic connector between senior leadership intent, delivery teams and operational areas, driving collaboration, joined‑up thinking and shared ownership across strategic programmes to ensure alignment, connectivity and effective decision‑
- Change Leadership & Adoption – champion engagement, adoption and behaviour change across FA Learning, supporting teams through transformation with clear communication and inclusive change approaches to embed digital and data‑enabled ways of working into everyday practice.
- Business Readiness & Operational Integration – Ensure business readiness for digital and data initiatives by coordinating preparedness activities across people, processes, governance, capability and communication, enabling smooth transition from technical delivery into sustainable operational use across the business.
- Governance, Assurance & Financial Stewardship – Establish and maintain effective programme governance, reporting, risk management and budget oversight, ensuring appropriate decision-making, transparency, control and value for money across programmes.
- Insight‑Informed Performance & Value Realisation – work closely with Strategic Insight Leads to track programme effectiveness against agreed outcomes and measures of success, using evidence to inform decisions, adapt delivery and maximise benefits realisation.
- Capability Building & Continuous Improvement – support the Senior Lead – Programme Management to embed best‑practice programme management across FA Learning, contributing to strategic, business and financial planning cycles, post‑programme evaluation, and continuous improvement of 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:
Knowledge:
- Undergraduate degree or equivalent.
- Project management qualification.
Experience:
- 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.
Technical Skills:
- Experience with project management software, e.g. Smartsheet.
- Extensive experience with Excel.
- Advanced Reporting Writing skills.
- Advanced Microsoft Office.
- Ability to create presentations and present to a wide range of key stakeholders.
Beneficial to have:
Knowledge:
- MBA or relevant postgraduate qualification or equivalent.
- Programme management qualification.
Experience:
- 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.
Technical Skills:
- Smartsheet.
We can confirm that the interview date will either be the 18th or 21st May at St George's Park.
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
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.
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 the Adobe Women’s 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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