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- Tasks: Lead innovative data science initiatives to enhance football performance and talent management.
- Company: Join City Football Group, a global leader in football club operations.
- Benefits: Enjoy 26 days annual leave, private healthcare, and lifestyle discounts.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in football by driving data-driven decisions.
- Qualifications: Proven experience in data science and leadership in elite sports environments.
- Other info: Be part of a dynamic team fostering innovation and continuous learning.
The predicted salary is between 72000 - 108000 £ per year.
Join to apply for the Director Of Football Data role at City Football Group
Join to apply for the Director Of Football Data role at City Football Group
Direct message the job poster from City Football Group
Closing Date of Applications – 15/05/2025
Reporting to the Director of Football Intelligence.
Our Story
Established in 2013, City Football Group is the world’s leading private owner and operator of football clubs, with total or partial ownership of twelve clubs across the world. City Football Group also invests in other football related businesses and serves as a global commercial platform for our partners, whilst fulfilling our purpose of empowering better lives through football on a local and global scale, consistent with what “City” football has meant to people for over a century.
Our Winning Team
Our purpose is to empower better lives through football. We are proud of the role City Football Group clubs play in their localities, delivering positive economic, social and environmental impact through our operations and through programmes and activities that bring about meaningful, lasting change.
We are seeking a highly skilled Director of Football Data to drive the strategic direction for data science initiatives across football operations, ensuring alignment with the broader Group Football Operations objectives.
This is the principal role in driving City Football Group towards continually being the industry-leading organisation for the application of innovative data science solutions in the areas of Football Performance & Talent through:
- Developing strategically important data science initiatives that result in the delivery and implementation of actionable insights for the betterment of talent identification, player trading, player development and team performance.
- Strategically guiding fundamental engineering processes that moves CFG towards the most comprehensive and empowering football data set in the world.
- Embedding data-informed systems and processes related to Talent Identification & Talent Evaluation to enable key stakeholders to make more effective & efficient decisions in the transfer market.
- Leading the Football Data team in creating & delivering data-informed systems & processes that enable proactive interventions related to team and player performance across CFG clubs.
- Providing effective leadership in analytics engineering & data science which positively influences the actions of a variety of stakeholders levels
- Leading data science research and modelling, including the introduction of new and innovative approaches to solving existing problems.
- Management of a highly skilled team of data scientists and data engineers through the provision of a positive work environment by coaching and empowering them to drive CFG towards strategic objectives.
This is Your City
As part of our team, you will be entitled to 26 days annual leave plus an additional day off for your birthday, private healthcare and a simply health cash plan, an annual discretionary bonus, plus a huge range of partnership and lifestyle discounts.
Your Impact
Act as a senior voice within key football decision-making forums (e.g., player & coach recruitment, performance reviews, long-term planning), ensuring data-driven insights are consistently integrated into strategic and operational decisions.
Lead the advancement of CFG’s data science & artificial intelligence capabilities through:
- Research & testing of innovative and novel applications of emerging data science methods applied to our strategic performance challenges
- In-house developments in collaboration with stakeholders from Technology & Football
- Smart, strategic collaborations with third parties
Manage and mentor a high-performing data science team, fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, and continuous learning. Ensure the team stays at the forefront of best practices in football analytics.
Strategically guide the continued development of data models and analytics engineering best practice to:
- Curate and evolve a unified dataset that powers CFG’s Digital Twins enabling holistic, effective & efficient analysis of teams, players and non-playing staff.
- Onboard new and novel, structured and unstructured, complex data from third parties that enable’s Group Football Operations to answer previously unanswerable performance questions.
- Deliver transformed, quality controlled & optimized data-sets that enables self-serve analytics across the organisation.
Build trust and understanding of data science across key stakeholders by tailoring communication, visualisation, and interpretation of insights to the football context — championing a culture where data is a critical input in every major footballing decision.
Lead the Football Data team to continually develop innovative data science solutions that will be embedded at the heart of our Talent, Performance & Coaching processes:
- Talent Identification – implementing data-informed processes and building data-driven longlists & shortlists whom align to the club brief
- Talent Evaluation – Robust, brief-specific profiling, comparison and recommendation of shortlisted players.
- Recruitment – Optimisation of transfer and contract negotiation.
- Development – Ensuring optimised pathway decisions for players through growth & value projections, suitability analysis and opportunity insights.
What we are looking for
- Experienced senior professional in data science, with a track record of delivering strategic impact in an elite environment.
- Degree in a quantitative field (e.g. computer science, engineering, statistics, mathematics); or equivalent experience in data-intensive leadership roles.
- Proven ability to define and lead large-scale, strategic data initiatives aligned to business or sporting objectives.
- Strong leadership track record, showing the ability to manage, mentor, and inspire a diverse technical team while fostering a culture of innovation and continuous learning.
- Strategic thinker with the ability to balance near-term delivery with long-term capability development.
- High-level experience communicating complex data science outputs in sporting environments – including visualisation, storytelling and tailoring insights to influence technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Expertise in Artificial Intelligence, machine learning, statistical modelling, and data engineering with hands-on experience in modern languages and tools.
- Demonstrated ability to embed data solutions, driving adoption and measurable impact.
- Experienced in managing collaborative R&D across in-house teams and external partners to explore cutting-edge data science methods & approaches.
- Understanding of the football landscape, including player and coach recruitment, performance analysis, and sports science.
- Postgraduate qualification (MSc/PhD) in a quantitative field or significant applied research experience.
- Prior experience leading data science initiatives specifically in professional sport/ football
Seniority level
- Seniority levelDirector
Employment type
- Employment typeFull-time
Job function
- Job functionOther
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Director Of Football Data employer: City Football Group
Contact Detail:
City Football Group Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Director Of Football Data
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to people in the industry, especially those connected to City Football Group. A friendly message on LinkedIn can go a long way in getting your foot in the door.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for interviews by researching CFG’s recent projects and data initiatives. Show them you’re not just another candidate; you’re genuinely interested in their mission and how you can contribute.
✨Tip Number 3
Practice your storytelling skills! Be ready to explain your past experiences in a way that highlights your impact and aligns with CFG’s goals. Make it relatable and engaging.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen. Plus, it shows you’re serious about joining the team at City Football Group.
We think you need these skills to ace Director Of Football Data
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your Application: Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter to highlight your experience in data science, especially in football. We want to see how your skills align with our mission at City Football Group!
Showcase Your Leadership Skills: As a Director of Football Data, you'll be leading a team. So, don’t forget to mention your past leadership experiences and how you've inspired teams to achieve their goals. We love seeing that collaborative spirit!
Be Clear and Concise: When writing your application, keep it straightforward. Use clear language to explain your achievements and how they relate to the role. We appreciate a well-structured application that gets straight to the point!
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way for us to receive your application and ensures you’re considered for this exciting opportunity at City Football Group!
How to prepare for a job interview at City Football Group
✨Know Your Data Inside Out
As a Director of Football Data, you’ll need to demonstrate a deep understanding of data science and its application in football. Brush up on your knowledge of AI, machine learning, and statistical modelling. Be ready to discuss specific examples of how you've used data to drive performance or talent identification in previous roles.
✨Showcase Your Leadership Skills
This role requires strong leadership capabilities. Prepare to share experiences where you've successfully managed and mentored a team. Highlight how you fostered a culture of innovation and collaboration, and be ready to discuss how you would lead the Football Data team at City Football Group.
✨Tailor Your Communication Style
You’ll need to communicate complex data insights to both technical and non-technical stakeholders. Practice explaining your past projects in a way that’s relatable to football operations. Use storytelling techniques to illustrate how your data-driven insights influenced key decisions in a sporting context.
✨Understand the Football Landscape
Familiarise yourself with the current trends and challenges in football, especially regarding player recruitment and performance analysis. Be prepared to discuss how your data initiatives can address these challenges and contribute to the strategic objectives of City Football Group.
