Chief of Staff - Chelsea FC Women in London

About Chelsea FC Women

At Chelsea FC Women (CFCW), we are more than a football club; we are challenging the status quo and setting a new standard. A standard that leads the way, championing excellence, equality, and empowerment through the beautiful game. As one of the most successful women’s teams globally, we are committed to building the future of this sport on and off the pitch. We are seeking an ambitious, driven, strategic, and people-first Chief of Staff to help shape the next chapter of our journey to be even better.

The Role

As CFCW’s Chief of Staff, you will work closely with the CEO to build and grow the club in smart and innovative ways that takes everyone with them. EQ is as important as IQ as you lead ideas, projects and relationships across the club; working with the leadership and cross-functional teams, keeping us all on track, to time and challenging or supporting where needed with your unique macro and micro view on how to get the job done. You will have a key role in leading on the culture across the Women’s team, becoming the valuable connector to bring hearts and minds together. You will be a trusted advisor, a well-organised orchestrator, and a catalyst for progress ensuring that our vision for women’s football is not only realised but redefined.

Key Responsibilities

• Ensure Chelsea FC Women’s vision and mission remain fit for purpose, working with our leadership team to ensure this ambition is translated into clear priority initiatives and measurable metrics by area.
• Own the multi-year business plan for Chelsea FC Women, working with the leadership team to identify key risks or material changes to our long-term planning.
• Act as a sparring partner to the CEO and leadership team on new projects / initiatives and supporting business cases.
• Own all preparation & materials for Ownership / Board touchpoints, including consolidated reporting from different teams.

Orchestration

• Maintain the core cadence and operating rhythm of leadership team meetings and reporting to keep us on track.
• Ensuring key priorities and next steps are clearly captured and acted upon with clear communication and timelines.
• Lead the orchestration of highly cross-functional, complex projects.

Operational leadership

• Challenge and streamline internal processes, improve communication flows, and ensure effective decision-making across departments.
• Act as the main liaison with broader club departments to ensure optimal ways of working across the club, including Finance (key point of contact for overarching budgeting and P&L review), People teams etc.

AI Champion

• Lead the adoption of AI tools and processes amongst the CFCW team, championing new ways of working and upskilling the broader team.
• Experiment and build fan-facing platforms and internal tools that allow us to engage our fans in new and authentic ways, and enable new capabilities / drive efficiencies internally – working with the Club’s AI Director to test new items quickly and effectively.

Culture & People

• Foster a high-performance, inclusive, and values-driven culture that reflects the unique identity of Chelsea FC Women.
• Support leadership development, team wellbeing, and staff engagement initiatives.

Representation & Advocacy

• Be a visible ambassador for women’s football within the club and externally.
• Champion equity, visibility, and innovation in how women’s football is represented, marketed, and experienced.

What We’re Looking For

Experience & Expertise

• 6+ years' experience across one or a combination of: strategy consulting, investment banking, venture capital, and generalist strategy / operations / project management roles in high-growth, high-performance environments.
• Ideally previous exposure to elite sports / entertainment, and understanding of the media rights / broadcast landscape, and / or prior experience in a Chief of Staff role to C-Suite in a PE-backed environment.
• Proven track record of supporting and interfacing with senior stakeholders in a professional environment, as the backbone to a high-performing team.
• Ability to work in an unstructured, ambiguous environment vs waiting for clearly-framed briefs.

Core Skills

• High-agency problem solver with a strong bias to action.
• Exceptional organisational and communication skills.
• Ability to create high-impact materials for senior stakeholders.

People Approach

• Empathetic leader with a collaborative mindset.
• Adept at stakeholder management and navigating complex organisational structures.
• Deep commitment to equity, inclusion, and the holistic development of athletes and staff.
• Ability to inspire trust, build relationships, and drive cultural alignment.

Vision for Women’s Football

• Passionate advocate for the growth and visibility of the women’s game.
• Understands the unique challenges and opportunities in women’s sport.
• Committed to pushing boundaries and setting new standards for representation, professionalism, and impact.

Why Join Us?

At Chelsea FC Women, you’ll be part of a club that’s rewriting the rules not just of football, but of what’s possible. You’ll work with world-class talent, in a culture that values courage, creativity, and community. And you’ll help shape the future of the game for generations to come.

OUR EXPECTATIONS:

• To embody the club’s BLUE behaviours (Brave, Lead, Unity, Edge) in the approach to work and interaction with others.
• To adhere to the club’s policies and procedures, including Health & Safety, Financial Authorisation, Confidentiality and GDPR.
• To act as an ambassador for diversity, equality, and inclusion, and demonstrate a positive commitment by treating others fairly in line with our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Policy and reporting any acts of discrimination through appropriate channels.
• To create a safe environment and act to protect all young people and vulnerable adults that are either in your care or attending club premises, and report any concerns to the Safeguarding Lead.
• To report any misconduct or suspected misconduct to the HR Department.

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

At Chelsea we recognise that the diversity of our people is one of our greatest strengths and we are taking positive action to ensure our existing colleagues and job applicants can fully be themselves and bring their own unique experiences and perspectives to Chelsea FC. This means giving full and fair consideration to all applicants regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy and maternity. If you need reasonable adjustments made to the recruitment process, please reach out to your recruiter, who will be able to advise and support you.

Chelsea FC is fully committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all children, young people and adults at risk (vulnerable groups). We therefore require all successful applicants to complete a DBS Check prior to starting employment. Depending on the role, successful applicants may also be required to undergo other child protection screening where appropriate.

This Job Description is not intended to be exhaustive; the duties and responsibilities may therefore vary over time according to the changing needs of the Club.