Senior Public Affairs and Policy Manager (1 Year FTC)

A game For All

The FA have an exciting opportunity for a Senior Public Affairs Manager to join the Corporate Affairs team. The successful candidate will lead The FA's public policy work, ensuring that Government, opposition and wider stakeholders have an understanding of the FA's needs.

We are after an individual who has an understanding of the UK Parliamentary system and processes, with experience working within the UK political system.

What will you be doing?

1.) Lead the FA's Public Policy engagement:

• Lead the FA's Public Policy analysis ensuring effective monitoring and engagement with other relevant stakeholders inside and outside of the FA.
• Engage with relevant departments and ensure timely submission of relevant consultations.

2.) Deliver the FA's Government Relations Strategy:

• Support the delivery of the FA's 2024/25 season engagement plan to include:
  • Parliamentary events, visits,
  • Conferences and external events
  • MP and new MP engagement

3.) Build Relationships with Government and Government Departments:

• Have strong working relations with DCMS and No.10.
• Lead the FA's regular engagement with key Government Departments e.g. HO, DfE, DoH.

4.) Build relationships with key sports stakeholders:

• Have strong working relationships with other sports organisations, such as National Governing Bodies, Sport England and the Sport and Recreation Alliance.

5.) Provide analysis on political topics across the FA:

• Ensure the FA has effective political monitoring.
• Work across the FA's departments to ensure that their and the SMT's priorities are reflected in their work.

6.) Others:

• Executes additional tasks as required in order to meet FA Group changing priorities.
• Comply with all company policies and procedures to ensure the highest standards of health, safety and wellbeing 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:

• Understanding of the UK Parliamentary system and processes.
• Understanding of the UK political landscape.
• Experience of working within the UK political system.
• Having a network of contacts within the main political parties and civil servants.
• Ability to draft technical papers such as reports, letters and policy papers.
• Ability to present difficult topics efficiently and engagingly with senior stakeholders.
• Ability to engage with a wider range of stakeholders.
• Thorough understanding of Microsoft Office.

Beneficial to have:

• Understanding of the sports and football sectors from a political perspective.
• Experience in in-house delivery of public affairs in sports or other industries.
• Speech writing.

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 in 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 encouraging you to connect and learn with your colleagues and look after your mental health and wellbeing.
• Free, nutritious lunches, at Wembley Stadium and St. George's Park.
• Free private medical cover.
• A contributory pension scheme.
• An additional Thank You days leave, volunteering days as well as 25 days annual leave.
• A hybrid working model offering greater flexibility.

For more information on what it is like to work at The FA, please visit our FA Careers page, via the button below.

Our Organisation

The Football Association The FA is the not-for-profit governing body of football in England. It is responsible for promoting and developing every level of the game, from grassroots through to the professional game, and generates significant revenue to support investment into English football each year.

The FA oversees England international teams across men's, women's, youth and disability football, as well as running the National League System and FA Competitions including the Emirates FA Cup and Women's Adobe FA Cup, and the world-class facilities of Wembley Stadium and St. George's Park, all with a purpose to Unite the Game and Inspire the Nation.

We currently work 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.

Your contract with The FA will specify a fixed location of Wembley Stadium or St. George's Park unless the role is advertised as a home-based contract. The contractual location of this role can be found at the top of this advert on our FA vacancy page.

The FA, For All, For You

Our equality, diversity and inclusion strategy forms an integral part of our long-term commitment to using our influence across English football to create a game free from discrimination.

A Game For All outlines three key strategic commitments - Lead the Change, Be the Change, and Inspire the Change - which will ensure tackling discrimination remains a core priority for English football for years to come.

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.

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.