Senior Public Affairs Manager in London

As a key member of The FA's public affairs team, you will help to build and deliver the organisation's public affairs strategy.

You will seek to shape Government policy which impacts The FA, and work with colleagues across the organisation on positioning.

You will build and maintain strong working relationships with MPs, Peers, mayoral authorities and other important political stakeholders.

You will also monitor political developments impacting The FA and ensure that senior colleagues across the organisation are kept up‑to‑date.

What will you be doing?

Delivering The FA's Public Affairs Strategy

• Work with the Public Affairs Lead to devise and deliver an ambitious public affairs strategy for The FA
• Manage the relationship with The FA's public affairs agency on a day-to-day basis, setting direction and working closely on activities.
• Lead the FA's interaction with MPs and Peers.
• Keep political stakeholders up‑to‑date with The FA's work and key announcements.
• Ensure that MPs are kept abreast of the work that The FA delivers in their constituencies - for instance, the details of their Local Football Facility Plan and whether any new grassroots facilities or pitches are being delivered in their constituency.

Also the work of their local Girls' Football School Partnership and girls' football programmes in their local schools.

Policy Development

• Work with the Public Affairs Lead and other colleagues across The FA on detailed public policy and football policy issues - investment in grassroots football facilities across the country; equal access to football in schools for girls; tackling online abuse in football; and ensuring that PE and school sport are fit for the future.
• Work internally and with our agency to draft consultation responses and other position papers.
• Engage with the Government, parliamentarians and other political stakeholders to help shape the direction of policy that might positively impact the and health of English football and wider society.

Local Authority Engagement

• Work with the Wembley Stadium communications team and corporate social responsibility team to devise and deliver The FA's public affairs strategy for the London Borough of Brent.
• Keep local stakeholders up‑to‑date with The FA's work and key announcements.
• Ensure that local councillors and other stakeholders are kept abreast of the work that The FA delivers in Brent.

Political Monitoring and Intelligence

• Alongside the public affairs agency, keep a close eye on political and policy developments and how they impact The FA.

This will include monitoring parliamentary debates and the speeches, interviews and social media posts of key political figures.

• Keep colleagues at The FA up‑to‑date with these developments with concise and informative briefings.

Visits and Events

• Deliver exciting and informative visits for Ministers, Shadow Ministers and parliamentarians in order to showcase The FA's work - for instance, grassroots football facilities or school initiatives.

Collaborate with colleagues in the communications team to promote key achievements.

• Deliver events for political stakeholders -policy roundtables, receptions in Parliament, match screenings during international tournaments and trophy photo opportunities.
• Lead The FA's work during party conference season, including The FA's annual MPs v Lobby Football Match.

Research, Briefings and Correspondence

• Alongside the public affairs agency and with The FA's Public Affairs Apprentice, carry out detailed research on specific policy issues.
• Use your excellent written skills to draft briefing papers for senior colleagues at The FA.
• Support the PA apprentice to draft high-quality correspondence to Ministers, MPs and other stakeholders.

Ad Hoc Responsibilities

• Support the Corporate Affairs function, delivering specific strategic projects for the organisation.
• Executing additional tasks as required in order to meet The FA Group's changing priorities.

What are we looking for?

• Prior experience of working in public affairs, Parliament, the civil service or for a political party is essential.
• Excellent understanding of the political landscape in this country, how Government works, and how to shape political thinking and decisions.
• Prior experience of stakeholder management and relationship building in the political sphere.

You will be confident and assertive and have a strong network of contacts which you can bring to the role.

• Strong experience in policy analysis and policy development - and proven experience in shaping Government policy.
• Excellent written skills are essential, as you will be responsible for drafting responses to Government and Select Committee consultations; briefing papers for senior colleagues at The FA; as well as correspondence with Ministers and others.

You will need to be able to write high‑quality, concise and informative papers, and we will be testing for this as part of the recruitment process.

• First-rate organisation skills and attention‑to‑detail, as you will be responsible for planning and executing various visits and events.
• While experience in football is not essential, an interest and understanding is desirable, particularly how grassroots football can inspire positive change in society.

What's in it for you?

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.
• Private medical cover funded by The FA.
• 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; we work 2 days per week in the office.

For more information on what it is like to work at The FA, please visit our FA Careers page,

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.

Please note that, as part of the final interview process, we will be carrying out a social media check, as this is a position of possible exposure at The FA.

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