Legal Counsel - Commercial

The Football Association; Wembley; Hybrid; GBP 125,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent sports association in Wembley seeks a Legal Counsel to provide legal guidance on various commercial matters, influencing key decisions and managing contracts. The ideal candidate will have significant commercial legal experience, strong negotiation skills, and the ability to work under pressure. A competitive salary is offered along with benefits such as free medical cover and flexible working arrangements.

Benefits

Free nutritious lunches

Access to event day tickets

Private medical cover

Contributory pension scheme

Additional leave days

Hybrid working model

Qualifications

• Must demonstrate a breadth of commercial legal knowledge from a major law firm or corporate.
• Demonstrate clear and concise legal advice including drafting and negotiating contracts.

Responsibilities

• Deliver legal advice on commercial agreements and issues.
• Support legal innovation projects and implement legal tech.
• Ensure compliance with company policies and health standards.

Skills

Commercial legal knowledge

Ability to draft and negotiate contracts

Strong academic background

Professional approach under pressure

Education

Qualified solicitor with at least 4 years' PQE

Job description

Join The FA as our next Legal Counsel and play a pivotal role in shaping the future of football. We're looking for a proactive legal expert to provide strategic guidance and hands‑on support across a wide range of commercial matters within The FA. This is your opportunity to influence key decisions, tackle complex challenges, and make a real impact in one of the most exciting industries in the world.

Please include a cover letter with your application, which must include the following:

• Why you would like to work for The FA
• An example of when your input has enabled the commercial objectives of a business/project to be achieved.

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What will you be doing?

• Deliver practical legal advice across all The FA's commercial activities, including:
  • Significant revenue‑generating commercial agreements, for example sponsorship, partnership and licensing agreements;Broadcasting, content and media agreements;
  • Venue hire and event staging agreements (including agreements with promoters for the use of Wembley Stadium);
  • Agreements which support The FA's digital transformation project;
  • A broad range of high‑value and strategic procurement contracts (supply/service agreements), software licenses, SaaS agreements, data processing agreements and data licenses;
  • Funding agreements;
  • Competition terms and conditions.
• The commercial team also provides advice and support on the FA's intellectual property portfolio and brand protection issues.
• You will work closely with the Head of Commercial & Data Protection, The FA's General Counsel and the rest of the Legal & Governance Division.
• When required, you will engage with external law firms.
• Support the department's innovation project, which includes developing legal processes and implementing legal tech.
• 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:

• Strong academic background and robust legal training.
• At least 4 years' PQE working as a qualified solicitor. However, candidates with relevant skill sets and qualifications will be considered regardless of PQE.
• Must be able to demonstrate a breadth of commercial legal knowledge gathered in a major law firm and/or corporate organisation.
• Ability to demonstrate clear, concise and practical written and oral legal advice, which includes drafting, negotiating and interpreting a range of contracts and ancillary documents (e.g. tenders).
• Able to cope with pressurised situations and tight timeframes whilst maintaining a professional approach.

Beneficial to have:

• Previous in‑house experience (for example, a secondment).
• Previous experience working in a sports context.
• Experience in drafting and negotiating sponsorship agreements.
• Experience in drafting and negotiating broadcasting/media rights agreements.
• Experience in intellectual property law.

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 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' days leave, volunteering days as well as 25 days 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, https://www.thefa.com/about-football-association/careers

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.