Community Lead: Operations and Impact

Arsenal; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A premier football club is seeking a passionate Community Lead to oversee operational systems and enhance social impact measurement. The role involves managing compliance, financial processes, and leading the community team. Ideal candidates should have experience in monitoring and evaluation within sports, data analysis skills, and a collaborative spirit. This position offers a hybrid working model and comprehensive benefits.

Benefits

Reward and recognition scheme

Generous holiday allowance

Flexible hybrid working model

Health and wellbeing benefits

Qualifications

• Proven track record in M&E systems within sport or community settings.
• Ability to transform complex data into clear insights.
• Experience producing detailed impact reports.

Responsibilities

• Manage operational systems ensuring compliance with requirements.
• Maintain and update contracts and documentation.
• Partner with finance for robust financial systems.

Skills

M&E specialist

Data literacy

Impact reporting

Compliance knowledge

Financial processes

Leadership

Sports sector experience

Collaboration

Tools

Upshot

Salesforce

Job description

The Role

We are looking for a passionate Community Lead to play a key role in driving a culture of continuous operational improvement and social impact measurement, aligned with the values, vision, and priorities of our club.

In this role, you will lead the development and delivery of operational and impact strategies for Arsenal in the Community. This includes reviewing and enhancing systems and processes, while ensuring compliance and efficiency across finance, legal, health and safety, and safeguarding functions.

Who we are

We are one of the most famous clubs in world football, with a rich heritage and history of success. We are passionate about our local community and, behind the scenes, we have a wide variety of opportunities and career paths for all. We have a very defined purpose: to act for a winning team, culture and community. We achieve this by ensuring we are courageous in the pursuit of progress, we champion our community and each other, and that we do the right thing (even when no one is looking).

Your day-to-day

• Oversee operational systems - you will manage and develop all processes and data systems, ensuring compliance with Premier League, funders, local authorities, and internal club requirements
• Manage documentation and contracts - you\'ll maintain and update SLAs, contracts, and MOUs in collaboration with the club’s legal and governance teams
• Drive financial processes - you will partner with the finance department to embed robust financial systems supporting sustainability, forecasting, and reporting
• Lead monitoring and evaluation - you will develop and implement Arsenal in the Community’s outcome frameworks and measurement tools to ensure accurate and timely data capture
• Communicate impact effectively - you\'ll create and share regular impact reports, using data storytelling to engage internal and external stakeholders across multiple channels
• Lead and develop the team - you will line manage operational and monitoring and evaluation staff, fostering growth, collaboration, and high standards across the community team
• Support strategic growth - you\'ll contribute to long-term strategy development and support funding and partnership opportunities with insightful reporting and stakeholder liaison
• Ensure compliance and audit readiness - you will support audits, evaluations, and compliance checks to uphold high-quality operational standards

What we are looking for

• Experienced M&E specialist - you have a proven track record in developing, implementing, and managing monitoring and evaluation systems within sport, education, or community settings
• Data-savvy analyst - you possess data literacy skills and can transform complex data into clear, compelling insights
• Impact reporting expert - you are skilled at producing detailed impact reports and strategic documents for both internal and public audiences
• Compliance focused - you have a solid understanding of safeguarding, GDPR, and operational compliance within community environments
• Financial and legal mindset - you bring experience managing financial and legal processes in not-for-profit, charity, or social enterprise sectors
• Proven leader - you have a history of leadership and people management, inspiring and developing teams
• Sports sector knowledge - you have experience working in football or professional sports and familiarity with reporting platforms like Upshot, Views, or Salesforce
• Passionate collaborator - you are a proactive, organised, confident communicator, and a dedicated team player who thrives in cross-functional collaboration

Why choose us

At Arsenal, we want everyone to feel a sense of trust and belonging, so we are proud of both our club values and also what we offer to our employees. As one of our Gunners, you will receive:

• An exciting reward and recognition scheme
• Generous holiday allowance which increases with your length of service
• Great internal learning and development programmes
• A flexible hybrid working model
• Priority access to apply for match tickets
• A competitive health and wellbeing benefits package
• A leading Employee Assistance Programme
• Great discounts with some of our Partners

Arsenal for Everyone

Arsenal for Everyone is our commitment to promoting and embracing equality, diversity and inclusion, so that everyone connected to the club feels like they belong to the same Arsenal family. We believe that diversity of background, skills and experience drives our success on and off the pitch.

Disability Confident Leader

We are a Disability Confident Leader. We actively welcome and encourage applications from people with disabilities and long-term health conditions. If you need disability-related adjustments to the recruitment process, please indicate this in your application.

If you are likely to meet the definition of being a ‘disabled person’ according to the Equality Act 2010, you may be eligible to apply for an interview via the Disability Confident Scheme - please indicate this in your application form below. The information you share with us about your health or disability will not be used in recruitment decisions.

Our Commitment to Safeguarding

We are committed to ensuring that our environments for children, young people and adults at risk remain safe and inclusive. We therefore require successful candidates to complete a DBS check and other essential background checks prior to starting their employment. Depending on the responsibilities of the role, a DBS will be either a basic, standard, or enhanced check.

Application Closing Date

Application closing date: Thursday 16 October 2025. Please note we reserve the right to close the position early if application volumes are particularly high. We encourage you to get your application in sooner rather than later.