Head of Soccer Aid

Circa £67,000 per annum
Fixed term from Monday 20th October 2025 (contract 10 - 12 months, EML cover)
Part home/Part office (London) based

UNICEF ensures more of the world’s children are vaccinated, educated and protected than any other organisation. We have done more to influence laws and policies to help protect children than anyone else. We get things done. And we’re not going to stop until the world is a safe place for all our children.

This is a great opportunity to join the UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK) and the Soccer Aid team as Head of Soccer Aid (EML cover) working on the biggest celebrity football match in the calendar and UNICEF UK’s biggest broadcasted fundraising event. Since its inception in 2006, Soccer Aid for UNICEF has raised more than £121 million, helping to protect every child’s right to play. 2026 marks the 20th anniversary of Soccer Aid for UNICEF and the team has ambitious plans to mark this milestone, which this role will be pivotal in delivering.

Soccer Aid for UNICEF has become a highly anticipated annual televised fundraising campaign, and the Head of Soccer Aid is responsible for the operational delivery of the campaign, managing members of the core team to deliver income generating and brand awareness activations. The postholder brings teams together to ideate, influence and implement opportunities which will have a direct effect on the successful delivery and growth of the campaign.

You will know this is the right move for you because not only will our mission and values be meaningful to you, but you will also be an inspiring leader of teams and you will relish the opportunity to grow and develop the Soccer Aid for UNICEF campaign.

In return, we offer:

• excellent pay and benefits (including flexible working, generous annual leave and pension, big brand discounts and wellbeing tools)
• outstanding training and learning opportunities and the support to flourish in your role
• impressive open plan office space and facilities on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
• an open culture and workplace with colleagues who share our values, enjoy their work and are motivated to do their utmost for children.
• the opportunity to work in a leading children’s organisation making a difference to children around the world

Our application process: We use a system called "Applied" that anonymises your responses and focuses on your actual skills that are relevant to this role. This benefits you by giving you a greater chance of expressing your skills in this objective selection process.

We anticipate most colleagues will work one or two days a week in the office on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, East London and the rest of the time from home. We will happily discuss other flexible options to suit your circumstances.

We particularly welcome applications from black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates, LGBTQ+ candidates, disabled candidates, and from men, because we would like to increase the representation of these groups at this level at UNICEF UK. We want to do this because we know greater diversity will lead to even greater results for children.

UNICEF UK promotes equality, diversity and inclusion in our workplace. We make employment decisions by matching business needs with skills and experience of candidates, irrespective of age, disability (including hidden disabilities), gender, gender identity or gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, or sexual orientation.

We welcome a conversation about your flexible working requirements, personal growth, and promoting a workplace where you can be yourself and achieve success based only on your merit.

The successful candidate will be required to apply for a criminal records check. A criminal record will not necessarily bar you from working with us. This will depend on the nature of the role and the circumstances of your offences.

We only accept online applications as this saves us money, making more funds available for us to help ensure children’s rights. If you require support in completing the online form or an application form in an alternative format, please contact Supporter Care on 0300 330 5580 during office hours.

If you do not hear from us within 14 days of the closing date, please assume your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion. Please note that we only provide feedback to shortlisted candidates.

Registered Charity Nos. 1072612 (England and Wales) SC043677 (Scotland)