Product Owner

The Football Association (The FA) is making significant investments in our foundational digital capabilities to support the development of new propositions, address existing business challenges, and provide a platform for future growth.

This means expanding our digital and technology capabilities as we pursue our ambition to reach more people, grow participation, and better serve existing participants, fans, and attendees.

As we transform our digital products and platforms, we are seeking talented and experienced professionals to help accelerate the delivery of world-class, direct-to-consumer experiences.

We are currently looking for a Product Owner who will be responsible for planning, designing, and developing products and systems that support The FA's core business functions and processes.

The successful candidate will be instrumental in implementing new CRM and MarTech products into The FA's technical landscape, as part of our wider digital transformation. This is a key role, enabling multiple stakeholder groups to modernise their processes and ways of working.

What will you be doing?

• Ensure all implementation partners follow The FA's best practice standards and guidance, as defined by the Product Owner Practice Team.
• Build on existing work to identify and document requirements for multiple systems, furthering understanding both technically and functionally. You will play a crucial role in identifying priorities, gaps in current functionality, and how new functionality can address those gaps.
• Lead discovery and identification of areas for improvement—not just in system functionality, but also across business processes—working in close collaboration with expert product teams.
• Understand and document internal integrations between systems. In conjunction with architecture and QA teams, ensure appropriate documentation is produced and plans are created for successful integrations.
• When required, take on the Product Owner role within Scrum teams and demonstrate best practices in Agile Scrum methodology.
• Lead and coordinate the work of other Business Analysts on large-scale projects.
• Act as a technology or process consultant for internal stakeholders.
• Mentor junior and mid-level Business Analysts/Product Owners.
• Research and evaluate potential software solutions to business challenges, while continuously building knowledge of products and services available within the football industry.
• Carry out additional tasks as required to meet The FA's evolving priorities.
• Comply with all company policies and procedures to ensure the highest standards of health, safety, and well-being are maintained.

What are we looking for?

• Significant experience as a Product Owner or Business Analyst working within Agile teams and using Agile methodologies.
• Expert knowledge of Agile delivery, particularly Scrum.
• ISEB Business Analysis qualification.
• Knowledge of UML and BPMN.
• Experience using Teams, Miro, Confluence, and JIRA.
• Hands-on experience with Marketing and/or CRM systems.
• Experience working with one or more implementation partners.
• Knowledge of vendor selection processes and analysis.
• Strong organisational skills and exceptional attention to detail.
• Ability to clearly communicate the rationale behind technical decisions to non-technical audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a team or centre of excellence, with a focus on continually raising standards across The FA.
• Strong written and verbal presentation skills.

Desirable:

• Ability to apply communication, analytical, and problem-solving skills to maximise the value of system and application investments.
• Experience working in football or other sporting associations/stadiums.
• Knowledge of sports administration systems.
• Experience in systems analysis, such as logical data design and an understanding of database schemas.

If you are passionate about delivering impactful digital products and want to contribute to the future of football in England, we'd love to hear from you.

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,

Currently, we are working within a hybrid working model whereby the expectation is to work from your contractual location for part of the week, and as and when required by the team. The remaining days can be worked remotely. We will continue to monitor this model, and it may be adjusted in future if deemed necessary. The contractual location of this role can be found on the FA Careers page.

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.