Job description:

About the Job

 

Kick It Out, football’s leading equality and inclusion organisation, is seeking a Head of Programmes to oversee the design, delivery, and continuous improvement of our education, talent development, and community programmes. This role is ideal for someone with deep experience working within football environments, particularly with clubs and County FAs, and who understands the realities and challenges across the game from grassroots to elite levels.

 

As Head of Programmes, you will manage our full programme portfolio, ensuring high-quality delivery, meaningful impact, and strong alignment with our mission to make football a more inclusive, equitable space. You’ll lead a team focused on delivering innovative, accessible, and engaging initiatives in collaboration with clubs, community partners, and key stakeholders across the industry.

 

You’ll play a central role in strengthening relationships across the football ecosystem, ensuring our programmes reflect industry needs and reach the participants and environments where they can make the greatest difference.

 

Responsibilities

 

Programme Development

- Design, refine, and oversee a portfolio of programmes that support Kick It Out’s priorities in education, talent development, and community engagement.

- Work closely with the Education Lead to enhance and co-deliver existing education programmes across clubs and football organisations.

- Establish clear targets and KPIs, monitoring performance to support continuous improvement and impact measurement.

- Identify opportunities for growth and sustainability through partnerships, collaborations, and relevant income streams.

- Use insights from clubs, players, coaches, supporters, and football environments to shape programme content and development.

Programme Delivery

- Lead the delivery of programmes across clubs, County FAs, academies, community organisations, and other football partners.

- Maintain high standards of quality, accessibility, and learner experience across all delivery formats, including in-person sessions, workshops, and events.

- Ensure programmes uphold best practice in equality, diversity, and inclusion and reflect the lived realities of underrepresented groups across the game.

- Monitor budgets, delivery timelines, and funding requirements to ensure programmes remain sustainable and compliant.

- Identify risks or delivery challenges and implement practical solutions across multiple programme streams.

Partnerships & Stakeholder Engagement

- Build and maintain strong working relationships with clubs, County FAs, leagues, sponsors, community partners, and football stakeholders.

- Represent Kick It Out across the football industry, championing our programmes and seeking opportunities to expand reach and impact.

- Collaborate with external partners to co-create relevant, engaging programme content that meets the needs of diverse football audiences.

Leadership & Collaboration

- Lead and support the Programmes team, fostering an inclusive, collaborative, and high-performing culture.

- Work across Kick It Out to integrate programme delivery into wider organisational activity.

- Manage budgets, work plans, and resource allocation for the Programmes function.

- Contribute to wider organisational planning and reporting where relevant to programme insight and impact.

What we’re looking for

- A strong commitment to equality, inclusion, and Kick It Out’s mission.

- Significant experience in programme delivery, management, and evaluation, including oversight of multiple programmes or projects.

- Demonstrated experience working directly with football clubs, County FAs, leagues, or football community settings.

- Strong understanding of EDI principles within football environments and/or sports development pathways.

- Excellent stakeholder management skills and confidence representing an organisation externally.

- Strong leadership experience, including managing teams and driving high performance across programmes and projects.

- Strong organisational and project management skills.

- Exceptional communication and presentation abilities.

- Experience in at least two of the following: digital learning, community outreach, talent or player pathways.

- A good understanding of football and/or sports development environments from grassroots to elite levels.

Benefits 

- Fully Remote Working: Enjoy the flexibility of working remotely. While we don’t have a physical office, we organise in-person “away days” for team-building and collaboration.

- Annual Leave: Enjoy 25 days of annual leave alongside bank holidays.  

- Additional Leave: Enjoy 2 extra days off during the Christmas season and a day off for your Birthday. Your leave allowance also increases with years of service.  

- Group Income Protection: Financial security in case of illness or disability.  

- Group Life Insurance: Peace of mind with life insurance coverage for you and your loved ones. 

- Medical and Wellbeing Benefits: Comprehensive support from day one, including a nutrition and fitness program, digital GP service, and mental health services.  

- Private Health Insurance: Optional access to our private healthcare plan.  

- Pension Contribution: A 5% pension contribution to help secure your financial future.

- Inclusive Parental Leave: Supportive parental leave policies to help you balance work and family life. 

- All of our roles are fully remote but require travel for monthly away days, relevant events, and meetings, mainly in London but sometimes elsewhere in the UK. Occasional evening and weekend work may be required.

 

Equal Opportunities Statement 
 
Kick It Out is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community. Our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion extends to every aspect of our work, from our hiring practices to our everyday interactions and wider mission. If you're hesitant to apply because you don’t meet every single job requirement, please know that we encourage all qualified candidates to apply. We value diverse experiences and skills, and we believe that potential can often outweigh specific requirements.  If you require additional support, reasonable adjustments or have any questions about the recruitment process, please reach out to our People Team on [email protected] . 

 

We wish you the best of luck in the application process and look forward to the possibility of welcoming you to our team.  

 
Application Deadline: 6th January. 

Please note: All applications will be reviewed after the closing date and will be contacted following shortlisting.