Working closely with the Senior People and Partnerships Manager and wider team, you will deliver on Premier League Charitable Fund (PLCF) led elements of the Premier League Fans Fund and deliver key people and partnership team priorities. This includes supporting Club Community Organisations (CCOs), the charitable arms of professional football clubs, to apply for funding and to deliver against approved project plans. You will regularly interact with key partners in relation to the Fund including the Premier League, the CCO network and associated professional football clubs across the Premier League, English Football League (EFL), National League, Women’s Super League and the Women’s Championship; as well as other key partners and stakeholders.

The Premier League Fans Fund will invest a further £5m over the next two seasons into initiatives that will help strengthen the bond between clubs, fans and local communities. The Fund will support a range of fan-focused projects which aim to:

• Strengthen links between clubs and their fans.

• Diversify their fan base by engaging historically underrepresented groups.

• Enhance the matchday experience in partnership with their fans.

• Ensure projects are improving the connection between fans and their community.

Your role will support the PLCF’s focus on inclusivity and fairness across all PLCF strategies and programmes and CCO strategies and delivery, ensuring that people of all backgrounds and abilities can benefit from the Premier League Fans Fund and the work of PLCF more broadly.

You will coordinate relevant aspects of the grants process, from application briefings, through to payment schedules including grant documentation, performance monitoring and gathering of insight and best practice. You will interact with CCOs on a daily basis, ensuring they have the capabilities needed to deliver funded projects to the best possible standards, whilst understanding the specific needs in local communities and those of CCO/delivery partners. You will play an active role in Fund ideation, training and development needs, partner engagement to enhance the fund, and regularly seek ways to enhance our approach to improve both reach and impact.

The right candidate will have strong project and/or programme management skills and a demonstrable commitment to the role football can play in communities.

Who we are

Established in 2010, the PLCF is one of the biggest sports charities in the world, with an annual budget of around £35m. The independent charity supports CCOs in delivering high quality projects and evidences its success to key stakeholders.

Aligned with the Premier League Wider Football and Communities Strategy, the PLCF aims to create positive and lasting sporting, social, educational and health outcomes for wide range of beneficiaries, especially children and young people. The PLCF team supports and inspires impactful work via 92+ CCOs, including those in the Premier League, EFL and National League. In turn, their work directly benefits more than 500,000 individuals at thousands of community venues and schools each year.

The Premier League Charitable Fund is an equal opportunities employer and strives to create an inclusive culture where talent can flourish. We believe in the potential of everyone and open our doors to those who share those values. All appointments will be made based on merit; however, we particularly encourage applications from women, people from minority ethnic communities, LGBTQ+ people and disabled people.

Our hybrid-working model also allows you some variety on your place of work, offering you the chance to work from home on some days each week. You will attend the office or site visits in line with our company policy. All staff liaise closely with their line manager to manage their time appropriately and according to their work and team requirements.

Key Responsibilities

Work with the Senior People and Partnerships Manager to effectively deliver and manage national partnerships that align with the Premier League Fans Fund portfolio, with lead responsibility for the Premier League Fans Fund.
Create high-level and detailed project design, manage relationships with relevant staff from CCOs throughout the life cycle of their project grants, from application stage to finish.
Regularly liaise and consult with CCO staff where appropriate, to ensure that PLCF services are appropriate to their needs and as efficient as possible.
Work with colleagues and providers to develop a programme of support for project leads across the CCO network and partners. This includes the coordination of a continuous professional development strategy for the Premier League Fans Fund using data and insight to facilitate networking opportunities, training / conference events.
Ensure that day-to-day Premier League Fans Fund project delivery is effective, of sufficient quality and deemed value for money in accordance with funding standards and any other contractual obligations as set out by the PLCF Board and/or the Premier League as funding partner.
Support all aspects of the grant giving process associated with the Premier League Fans Fund, working closely with colleagues in the Grants and Impact team at PLCF.
Take responsibility for CCOs effective use of the selected monitoring systems. Produce regular reports on the range of projects delivered, to demonstrate impact aligned with the PLCF theory of change, working with the selected contractor(s) as required.
Work with colleagues to develop a quality assurance programme for the Premier League Fans Fund, including liaising with any consultants. Undertake visits to individual CCOs as part of ongoing quality assurance to gain insight at the point of delivery and identify good practice, consolidating findings within reports back to the PLCF, Premier League Communities and Supporters Teams and other relevant partners.
Use all performance monitoring data, stakeholder feedback and evaluation processes to help inform future funding decisions, to strategically develop the Fund, and to recommend actions ranging from recognition of those delivering best practice models, through to the identification of projects requiring improvements and support requirements.
Develop and maintain effective relationships with funders and partners, including the PLCF, Premier League, CCOs and partners who focus on fan engagement and associated funding themes. Model a collaborative approach to ensure that the PLCF offer complements/integrates with other programmes and campaigns.
Support the implementation of PLCF’s equality, diversity and inclusion strategy including input into the PLCF action plan, drawing on colleagues to support as required.
Review, create and update relevant policies and procedures aiming to ensure that beneficiaries of the Fund feel safe and welcome, regardless of age, disability, gender identity, sex, race, religion and belief or sexual orientation.
Work in collaboration with colleagues in impact, communications and digital to provide relevant support to the network in order to identify best practice/case studies for PR purposes and events; and demonstrate the overall impact of the Fund.
Ensure PLCF is well linked to other initiatives and organisations working in the same fields through participating in a range of relevant external fora and networks.
Review and remain up to date on market research, policies and any other insights to inform Fund design and/or enhancements
Share in PLCF’s values and participate as a full member of the PLCF team, and where appropriate, carry out other duties as may reasonably be required, including deputising as appropriate, and giving support to other members of the team at busy times.

Requirements for the role

Strong project management, planning and organisational skills, including the ability to manage a complex network of stakeholders
Ability to communicate well to a range of audiences, and using different mediums, with oral and written skills to an excellent standard
Ability to work under pressure, make sound judgement calls and manage competing priorities
Ability to work collaboratively as part of a team and with partners
Ability to problem solve effectively, demonstrate resilience when faced with setbacks and apply a growth mindset when faced with challenges
Motivated and committed to making a difference to local communities through your work.
Determined to help drive progress in relation to youth engagement, youth work, community safety, and equality, diversity and inclusion
Experience of working in the voluntary, community, education and/or sports sector
An understanding of and commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and how they relate to the role
An understanding of fan engagement, policy, initiatives and legislation relevant to the Fund and associated projects
An understanding of how to measure impact, both qualitatively and quantitatively
Excellent negotiation, interpersonal and relationship management skills
A commitment to safeguarding, and a satisfactory enhanced DBS check will need to be completed
High level of computer proficiency, particularly with MS Office packages
Willingness to travel within England and Wales as and when appropriate

Our commitment to safeguarding includes implementing robust safer recruitment procedures to assess the suitability of individuals applying for roles that involve work with children and adults who are or may be at risk of harm. We will remove barriers that prospective candidates might face at any stage of our recruitment process. If you have a disability and would like the advert in an alternative format, or would like to talk about how we can adjust the interview process to best support you, please contact [email protected]

About The Premier League

The Premier League is home to some of the most competitive and compelling football in the world. The League and our clubs use the power and popularity of the competition to inspire fans, communities and partners in the UK and across the world. The Premier League brings people together from all backgrounds. It is a competition for everyone, everywhere and is available to watch in nearly 800m homes in 188 countries.

We have a wide variety of responsibilities. These include organising the competition and its Rule Book as well as managing the centralised broadcast and commercial rights. The work we do in conjunction with the clubs also goes far beyond the 90 minutes. We support and provide a framework for youth development, we protect the organisation’s intellectual property, support the wider game and community programmes, undertake international development work and liaise with governing bodies and other leagues.

Fans Fund Executive - PLCF