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Head of Planning & Operational Readiness
The FA
The Football Association is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man.
Job Posted- 11 Mar 2025
Status- Contract - Fixed Term
- Full Time
Location- England
Closing date- 23 Mar 2025
The Role
This key role will lead an integrated PMO function working closely with UEFA to design a tournament roadmap and programme plan, and report on progress internally, to top management and across the partnership. Design and deliver an operational readiness programme for UK&I 2028 across the partnership
What will you be doing?
- Lead the implementation, management and education of PMO tools to facilitate engagement across the organisation.
- Build effective relationships with internal functions and Government Partners to deliver tournament priorities through an integrated planning approach.
- Identify and manage risks, issues and dependencies across all UK&I 2028 projects.
- Responsible for KPI reporting to ensure organisation is on track to meet strategic objectives.
- Create high-quality outputs using Microsoft Office for senior leadership and stakeholder forums.
- Provide operational planning and project management expertise to internal functions to support priority objectives being achieved.
- Lead the establishment and delivery of a UK&I 2028 readiness program that tests key processes and stakeholders to destruction.
- Design and implement command, control and communication protocol together with UEFA.
- Develop contingency plans for significant tournament-time risks together with UEFA and internal functions.
- Lead the UK&I 2028 Main Operations Centre during the Tournament.
- Responsible for the debrief and knowledge transfer process post-Tournament.
- Recruit and lead a team of circa 10 people and contribute to a culture that allows team members to achieve objectives.
- Execute additional tasks as required to meet changing priorities.
- Comply with all company policies and procedures to ensure the highest standards of health, safety and wellbeing can be maintained.
What are we looking for?
Essential Skills & Experience
- UEFA Events SA ways of working and structure
- Host Association ways of working and structure
- Government Partner ways of working and structure
- Previous major event PMO experience
- Previous major event readiness programme experience
- Proven skill in stakeholder management – both internal and external
- Capable communicator with experience of dealing with sensitive and complex matters
- First-hand project delivery experience e.g. event management etc.
- Advanced Microsoft Office
- Advanced Report Writing skills
- Advanced Presentation skills (creation and delivery)
- Advanced communication skills
Desirable Skills & Experience
- Formal qualification in project management such as Prince II or similar
- Experience in a management consulting environment
- Use of AI
Why apply?
We offer a competitive salary (plus benefits of 25 days holiday, contributory pension, Private Medical Insurance etc), which coupled with the opportunity to be part of one of the biggest sporting events to ever take place across UK & Ireland we think makes for an exciting place to be!
Where is the role based?
Our head office is based at the iconic Wembley Stadium in London, however depending on your role you may be required to travel across the UK and Ireland to our 9 Stadiums and 8 Host Cities, with some roles being based in those locations.
As an event delivery organisation, it's important that we have regular time together in the office and currently employees come together at least 2 days a week at HQ in Wembley, with the number of days in HQ increasing as the project develops with a minimum of 3-4 days needed in 2026-2027 and full time in the year of 2028.
Everyone is welcome
UK & Ireland 2028 Limited actively promotes diversity and inclusion and welcome applications from everyone. We 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 UK & Ireland 2028 Limited's commitment to ensuring a safe environment for everyone, 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.
How to Apply
Please click “Apply Now” to begin your application.