Senior Legal Counsel - Football Regulation & Litigation

The Football Association; Wembley; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a Senior Legal Counsel to provide proactive legal support across a range of contentious and regulatory issues. This role involves delivering robust legal advice, protecting the organization from litigation risks, and advising on FIFA/UEFA matters. With unique office spaces under the iconic Wembley Stadium, this position offers a competitive salary and exciting benefits, including access to event day tickets and free nutritious lunches. Join a diverse workplace committed to inclusion and personal growth, where your contributions will make a significant impact on the football community.

Benefits

Access to event day tickets at Wembley Stadium

Free nutritious lunches

Free private medical cover

Contributory pension scheme

Additional leave days

Hybrid working model

Qualifications

• 5+ years as a qualified solicitor in a major law firm or in-house.
• Ability to provide clear and concise legal advice.

Responsibilities

• Deliver robust legal advice to The FA Group.
• Protect the organization from litigation and reputational risk.
• Support on football regulatory matters.

Skills

Contentious legal knowledge

Written legal advice

Oral legal advice

Organizational skills

Customer service skills

Planning and prioritization

Ability to work under pressure

Education

Qualified solicitor

Job description

Impact, on and off the pitch

The FA is looking for a Senior Legal Counsel to provide proactive legal support to The FA Group across a full range of contentious, regulatory and risk issues.

Please provide a cover letter clearly outlining your interest in and suitability for the role.

What will you be doing?

• Delivering robust legal advice in an efficient and effective manner to The FA Group.
• Protecting the organisation from litigation and reputational risk.
• Providing legal support on football regulatory matters.
• Providing legal and disciplinary support to the England national teams.
• Advising on FIFA/UEFA regulatory matters.
• Providing advice on player status issues, transfers and agents.
• Handling contentious intellectual property issues.
• Dealing with insurance issues affecting The FA Group.
• Providing support to the safeguarding team on legal issues.
• Providing focused instructions to external law firms when authorised to do so.
• 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:

• 5+ years experience working as a qualified solicitor at a major law firm or in-house.
• Must be able to demonstrate a breadth of relevant contentious legal knowledge gathered in a major law firm and/or corporate.
• Ability to demonstrate clear and concise written and oral legal advice.
• Ability to demonstrate the application of robust legal advice in a practical manner.
• Excellent organisation skills.
• Demonstrable ability to work and deliver under pressure.
• Excellent customer service skills with ability to adapt and tailor approach dependent on needs.
• Excellent planning, prioritisation and time management skills.

Beneficial to have:

• Previous experience of sports law.
• Experience of dealing with arbitration.
• Previous in-house experience.
• Previous experience of instructing external law firms.

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.

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.