The Football Association

Independent Non-Executive Director and Chair of Audit and Risk Committee (ARC)

The Football Association [The FA] is the not-for-profit governing body of football in England, with a purpose to Unite the Game and Inspire the Nation. We are responsible for promoting and developing every level of the game, from grassroots through to the professional game, and we generate revenue to support investment into English football.

The FA oversees all England international teams including men's, women's, youth and disability football, FA Competitions including the Emirates FA Cup and Youth Cup and the Women's Adobe FA Cup. We also have oversight of men's and women's leagues below the professional level.

The world-class facilities of Wembley Stadium and St. George's Park, are also part of our remit.

The FA Board comprises ten members, being an independent chair, four independent non-executive directors (inc. the ARC Chair), two stakeholder representatives from each of the Professional Game (being the Premier League and EFL) and the National Game (the collective term used for all football below the professional level) and the FA CEO.

The FA CFO attends all Board meetings but is not a member of the Board.

In advance of our current Chair of ARC reaching the end of his full term in October 2025 we are starting the search for his successor.

The Role

The primary role of the Independent Non-Executive Director is to bring objectivity to board discussions and an independent point of view and judgement on matters such as strategy, performance, ways to manage and connect with the different stakeholders and ensuring good governance. In addition, we are looking for someone who has the skills and experience to Chair our ARC.

The Chair of the ARC will:

Be responsible for ensuring that high quality financial judgements, accounting and reporting are in place and that the risk management framework is fit for purpose.
Ensure the Committee understands the critical risks to the business both strategically and operationally and that the Committee is effective in testing the robustness of plans to effectively manage and mitigate these.
Manage the relationships with both external and internal auditors, including oversight of their appointment, work programmes and remuneration.
Assessment of the quality of the internal finance function.

The Person will :

An ACA /CIMA qualified (or equivalent) and will likely have served previously as a Chair of Audit in organisations of similar scale and complexity.
Have a business background and will bring a strong strategic, commercial and wider environmental awareness to the ARC and the Board.
Build trust and respect across a wide range of stakeholders through building strong relationships.
Consistently exercise good judgement, rooted in strong moral and ethical principles.
Be a proven team player, resilient and diligent in approach and willing and able to constructively challenge the status quo.
Be motivated by a genuine love of the game and a belief in the power of football as a force for good.

Term:

Independent Non-Executive Directors are given an initial term of three years and can serve for a maximum of 3 terms of 3 years.

Time Commitment:

Commit to up to 25 days per annum to attend FA Board and FA ARC meetings and to attend fixtures and events.

Definition of Independence:

A person who is generally considered to be free from any close connection to The FA and a close connection shall be deemed to include, without limitation, the following:

i) the person is, or has been within the last four years, actively involved in our affairs

ii) the person holds, or has held within the last three years, a position or role with any Football Stakeholder

iii) the person has, or has had within the last three years, a Material Business Relationship with The FA

iv) the person has close family ties with any directors, senior employees or committee members.