FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION: Head of Women's Technical Strategy and Operations in Burton upon Trent

The Football Association is seeking an exceptional leader to join us as Head of Women's Technical Strategy and Operations, based at the iconic National Football Centre, St George's Park. This pivotal role will lead the strategic direction and operational leadership of the Women's Technical Division, with accountability to shape, govern and oversee divisional strategy and its delivery. Working in close partnership with the Women's Technical Director, you will drive strategic priorities, establish the governance framework and lead the operating model that underpins delivery, and provide oversight of football operations, major tournament planning, policy and financial planning. You will ensure that people, programmes and resources are aligned to deliver objectives and successful outcomes across the England Women's technical division.

Application Requirements Include a cover letter with your application, clearly outlining your motivations for the role and how you meet the criteria. This role is contractually based at St. George's Park. We work within a hybrid working policy and it is expected that team members work on site for part of the week, and the remaining days can be worked remotely. Interviews are currently scheduled to be held at the National Football Centre, St. George's Park on Tuesday 14th July.

What will you be doing?

• Divisional Strategy & Governance: Lead the development, management and ongoing evolution of the Women's Technical divisional strategy, setting clear strategic objectives, outcomes and performance measures aligned to FA priorities and the wider women's game. Establish and own governance frameworks, programme management processes and oversight mechanisms to ensure delivery is prioritised, sequenced and assured. Provide regular strategic updates to the Women's Technical Director, highlighting progress, risks, dependencies and opportunities. Chair the Division's Research and Innovation Committee.
• Operational Leadership & Oversight: Lead the development and continuous improvement of Women's Technical operating model, ensuring clear accountabilities, effective processes and consistent ways of working across teams and programmes. Provide senior oversight of team operations across all England women's national teams, ensuring all aspects are delivered to a consistently high standard with appropriate support, escalation and problem‑solving when required. Oversee the delivery of cross‑divisional and cross‑departmental programmes, identifying operational risks and dependencies, ensuring operational readiness for tournaments and major initiatives.
• Tournament Strategy & Major Programmes: Lead the cross‑divisional tournament strategy and governance for all Women's European Championships and FIFA Women's World Cups. Lead cross‑department tournament project groups for Women's U17 and U19 European Championships and FIFA U17 and U20 World Cups. Where required, provide senior leadership input to tournament planning, readiness and strategic alignment, including attendance at key recce activity.
• Policy, Identity & Change Leadership: Develop and deliver strategic priorities across Women's Technical by leading high‑impact initiatives aligned to divisional objectives and fostering effective collaboration. Support and challenge senior leaders and SLT members to deliver against strategic priorities, providing project management oversight where required. Lead the development of football policy across the Women's Technical Division, including player eligibility, contracts, loans and GBE‑related policy areas. Own and assure the Women's Technical Division identity, brand and ways of working, ensuring consistency across teams and programmes. Create executive‑level presentations for the Women's Technical Director and SLT to support effective decision‑making.
• Financial & Resource Accountability: Hold overall accountability for business planning, strategic financial planning and resource allocation across the Women's Technical Division, ensuring budgets align with strategic priorities and outcomes. Oversee the Women's Technical Strategy & Operations Project Manager's delivery of effective budget management and financial controls.
• Leadership & Representation: Represent the Women's Technical Division within cross‑divisional leadership forums and working groups. Champion inclusive leadership and positive culture across elite women's football environments. Execute 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: Proven track record of success in a strategic planning, business development, or corporate strategy roles. Excellent project management and execution capabilities, with a focus on delivering results. Experience leading football or team operations within an elite sport environment. Understanding of tournament operational planning and delivery in a high performance environment. Experience in working with a range of football stakeholders. Experience of complex and sensitive stakeholder management. Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to influence and inspire stakeholders. Leadership experience, including the ability to motivate high performing teams.
• Beneficial to have: MBA or relevant post graduate qualification. Passion for elite sport and or football. Experience of working in an elite sports environment. Project management qualification, such as PRINCE2, AgilePM, APM or equivalent.

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. Currently, we are working 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. The contractual location of this role can be found on the 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.