About The Organisation

The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) is the union for all current and former footballers and scholars in the Premier League, the Women's Super League and English Football Leagues.

We are committed to helping each member understand their purpose both as a professional player and a person. We provide the information, advice and support you need to help maximise the opportunities that come with playing professional football.

We're the only football organisation that solely prioritises players' needs. We offer a variety of educational, financial and wellbeing support services.

Throughout our history, the PFA has been instrumental in supporting the women's game, decreasing mental health stigma across the sport, leading the fight against discriminatory abuse of players and pushing for research into the links between neurodegenerative conditions and playing football. 

We proudly amplify the players' voice to ensure their views are represented to the game's stakeholders and governing bodies.

We also protect and enhance their rights and working conditions by holding stakeholders and governing bodies to account.

Our team is passionate about helping footballers navigate personal or professional challenges, and we use our own experiences to relate to players and help prepare them for the future.

We are here to protect and support players, for football and for life.

Purpose And Scope

Position Type: Full time

Location: The PFA has offices in Manchester and London and we are flexible in terms of where your ‘home’ office will be. This is a hybrid role and so regular attendance in the office (for team meetings, specific projects etc) will be required alongside remote/home working. The role may also require some travel.

Salary:  Competitive remuneration package plus generous benefits

The purpose of this role is to scale the revenues generated by the PFA from commercial partnerships with sponsors, brands, media organisations and other key stakeholders within the football and sports industry.

Organisational Structure

The Chief Commercial Officer will report directly into the PFA’s Chief Executive Officer, Maheta Molango and will sit on the organisation’s senior management team.

Key Responsibilities

• Take full ownership of refining and executing the PFA’s commercial partnership and sponsorship strategy.

• Drive commercial partnerships which allows the PFA to continue to invest in and develop player related services and benefits.

• Lead, manage and mentor the Commercial team, setting measurable targets for each team member and the team overall.

• Collaborate with the Senior Management Team and department heads to identify the commercial requirements, establish revenue targets and make accurate forecast projections.

• Drive meaningful new sponsorship revenue for the PFA and its key events e.g. the annual PFA Awards, PFA Business School.

• Identify opportunities to enhance the value proposition and offerings to key stakeholders within the sport to derive more revenues for the PFA.

• Establish partnerships with sponsorship sales agencies in key markets for professional football.

• Maintain the CRM database to provide a real-time overview of the sales process, ensuring effective tracking and management of leads, prospects and closed deals.

• Foster strong relationships with key commercial partners of the PFA.

• Collaborate with partners to create tailored activation plans that align with their business objectives and engage their target audience effectively.

• Oversee the contract management process, including renewals, for all commercial partners.

• Lead the development of sales collateral to effectively communicate the value proposition to prospective commercial partners.

• Provide regular and comprehensive reporting on all commercial partnerships of the PFA, highlighting the value delivered to the union and its partners.

• Conduct market research to identify trends, opportunities and potential partners within the football and sports industry.

Skills And Requirements

Assessed Key Competencies:

• Commercial Skill Set:

  • Proven commercial track record of delivering partnership revenues

• Innovation:

  • Demonstrable experience of creating innovative strategies that have driven commercial growth 

• Leadership:

  • Inclusive leader with experience of creating a collaborative team culture

• Stakeholder Management:

  • High emotional intelligence and low ego, with the ability to develop positive working relationships externally as well as internally.

• PFA Mission Alignment:

  • Alignment to the PFA’s mission and purpose

Essential

• Demonstrable experience of driving partnership and sponsorship revenues within sports.

• Proven leadership experience in managing and developing a commercial/ sales team.

• Experience of working towards commercial revenue targets.

• Existing contact list of key stakeholders at brands to drive commercial conversations.

• Good presentation skills and ability to pitch opportunities at all levels.

• Ability to create strategic plans and tactical executions to achieve business objectives.

• Good interpersonal and written communication skills and demonstrable experience in working collaboratively with internal and external teams to achieve targets.

• Proactive in seeking opportunities and problem solving.

• Budget management skills.

• Ability to influence and champion change.

• Understanding of key business principles for sports organisations such as commercial, marketing, sales, content and events.

• Culturally sensitive, with a proven commitment towards diversity and inclusion

• Able to cope with pressurised situations and tight timeframes whilst maintaining a professional approach.

• Approachable and low-ego personality.

• High level of integrity and confidentiality.

Desirable

• An interest in and passion for football

• Experience of working in football or other sports, either in-house or at a sports rightsholder or sports agency.

• Experience of engaging with business partners.

• Additional spoken language skills

The PFA is an equal opportunities employer. Our employment policies for recruitment ensure that no job applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of age, disability, gender re-assignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation. 

The closing date for applications is 6pm on Friday 1st December 2023.