Finance Director The Football Association

Kick It Out; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Event day tickets

Free lunches at Wembley/St George's

Private medical cover

Contributory pension scheme

25 days annual leave

Hybrid working model

Job summary

The FA is seeking an outstanding Finance Director to join its senior leadership team and lead the finance function across a complex organisation with diverse revenue streams and significant investments in the future of the game.

You will partner with the Deputy CEO, Executive Team and Board to provide strategic financial stewardship, drive planning and performance, and build a high-performing finance function with strong governance and risk management.

Qualifications

• Substantial finance leadership in a large, multi-stakeholder environment with credibility across planning, governance, treasury and risk.
• Track record of partnering with senior executives to influence strategic and commercial decisions, driving transformation or significant business improvement.
• Strong commercial and analytical capability, balancing long-term ambition with operational delivery and sound financial judgement.
• Outstanding communication skills and the ability to build trust with a diverse range of stakeholders.
• Experience developing high-performing teams and building positive, inclusive cultures.

Responsibilities

• Lead strategically: act as a trusted adviser to the Deputy CEO, Executive Team and Board, informing and constructively challenging key decisions and supporting major investments with sound commercial judgement.
• Drive planning and performance: lead planning, forecasting and long-term financial strategy, strengthening reporting so leaders can make confident, data-led decisions.
• Safeguard governance and operations: ensure robust control, governance and reporting; oversee treasury, tax and risk; and modernise systems, processes and ways of working.
• Champion people and culture: lead, develop and inspire a high-performing finance team, build a strong leadership pipeline and shape a collaborative, inclusive approach to financial leadership.

Skills

Finance leadership

Strategic influence

Stakeholder management

People leadership

Financial planning

Job description

About The FA

Football has the power to inspire, unite and create lasting impact. The FA develops and governs the game in England from grassroots football to the national teams, Wembley Stadium and St. George's Park and reinvests its significant revenues to help the game grow at every level. As it continues to evolve as a modern, ambitious organisation, it is seeking an outstanding Finance Director to join its senior leadership team.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Reporting to the Deputy CEO and working closely with the Executive Team and Board, you will lead The FA's finance function in a complex organisation with diverse revenue streams, significant commercial partnerships and substantial investment in the future of the game.

This is a role for someone who looks beyond the numbers: turning complex financial information into clear, practical insight, building trusted relationships and ensuring strong financial stewardship and commercial ambition underpin everything The FA does. You will:

• Lead strategically: act as a trusted adviser to the Deputy CEO, Executive Team and Board, informing and constructively challenging key decisions and supporting major investments with sound commercial judgement.
• Drive planning and performance: lead planning, forecasting and long-term financial strategy, strengthening reporting so leaders can make confident, data-led decisions.
• Safeguard governance and operations: ensure robust control, governance and reporting; oversee treasury, tax and risk; and modernise systems, processes and ways of working.
• Champion people and culture: lead, develop and inspire a high-performing finance team, build a strong leadership pipeline and shape a collaborative, inclusive approach to financial leadership.

ABOUT YOU

You are a commercially astute finance leader who combines technical excellence with strategic insight and influential, people-focused leadership. You may currently be a Finance Director, Director of Finance, Deputy Finance Director or divisional finance leader in a large, complex organisation or an accomplished Head of Finance ready for a broader leadership remit. You will bring:

• Substantial finance leadership in a large, multi-stakeholder environment, with credibility across planning, control, governance, treasury and risk.
• A track record of partnering with senior executives to influence strategic and commercial decisions, driving transformation or significant business improvement.
• Strong commercial and analytical capability, balancing long-term ambition with operational delivery and sound financial judgement.
• Outstanding communication skills and the ability to build trust with a diverse range of stakeholders.
• Experience developing high-performing teams and building positive, inclusive cultures.

Above all, you are emotionally intelligent, curious and resilient comfortable with complexity, values-led and genuinely connected to The FA's mission and football's wider social impact.

WHY THE FA?

Few finance leadership roles offer this scale, influence and sense of purpose. This is a chance to shape decisions that extend far beyond the balance sheet, influence the future of English football and help steward an organisation that reinvests millions into the game every year.

A leadership role where commercial impact and meaningful purpose go hand in hand.

Football is for everyone and so is this opportunity. The FA is committed to building diverse teams and welcomes people of all backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. We value the difference you bring, and we know exceptional candidates may not meet every requirement listed. If you believe you could make a significant contribution, we would love to hear from you.

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.
• 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.

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.

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.