Job Description

Details

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Reference number

438233

Salary

81,000 - 130,000
GBP

Job grade

SCS Pay Band 1

Contract type

Permanent

Type of role

Policy

Working pattern

Full-time

Number of jobs available

1

Contents

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Location About the job Benefits Things you need to know Apply and further information

Location

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Manchester, North West England, M2 3AW

About the job

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Job summary

The Independent Football Regulator

The Independent Football Regulator (IFR) has been established to protect and promote the sustainability of English football, for the benefit of fans and the local communities football clubs serve.


The IFR will help improve financial sustainability of clubs, ensure resilience across the leagues, and safeguard the heritage of English football. It will operate a licensing regime; set corporate governance standards and monitor, protect, and promote financial resilience. It will also enforce compliance with requirements on financial regulation, club ownership and directors, fan engagement, and heritage protection.


The IFR will also have powers to prohibit clubs from joining competitions that are not fair or meritocratic, or that threaten the heritage or sustainability of English football.

Job description

Responsibilities Include:

Provide strategic leadership and oversight of the Investigations & Enforcement function, ensuring effective delivery of proportionate, fair, and evidence-based regulatory action. Lead on complex and high-profile investigations into potential breaches of regulatory requirements, ensuring robust case management and clear outcomes. Oversee enforcement activity, including sanctions, settlements, and referrals, ensuring decisions are legally sound and procedurally fair. Develop and maintain investigation and enforcement policies, processes, and frameworks, embedding best practice and continuous improvement. Work in conjunction with the supervision function to ensure a consistent and robust approach delivering proportionate regulatory outcomes Provide authoritative advice and recommendations to senior leaders, Ministers, and stakeholders on sensitive and complex enforcement issues. Represent the Regulator externally, including with football clubs, leagues, supporter groups, government departments, and international partners, maintaining credibility and independence. Lead, motivate, and develop a diverse and high-performing team, fostering an inclusive and collaborative culture. Contribute to the senior leadership of the Football Regulator, playing a key role in corporate strategy, governance, and organisational development.

Person specification

Essential Requirements

Proven track record of leading enforcement activity within a regulatory, legal, or compliance environment, delivering fair, proportionate, and robust outcomes. Strong understanding of legal and regulatory frameworks, with the ability to make evidence-based, defensible decisions in sensitive and high-profile contexts. Excellent stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence, negotiate, and build credibility with senior leaders, Ministers, external partners, and regulated entities. Outstanding communication and judgment, with the ability to present complex issues clearly and provide authoritative advice under scrutiny. Significant experience of strategic leadership, including setting direction, building capability, and driving delivery across a large and diverse team.

Desirable Skills

Knowledge of the football sector, its governance, ownership, and integrity risks. Experience of designing or embedding regulatory frameworks, including enforcement and compliance strategies.

Benefits

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If successful you will join a

Non Departmental Public Body

and will be employed as a

Public Servant.

If you are an existing Civil Servant or a DCMS employee you will no longer have access to Civil Service benefits including the Civil Service pension.

The terms and conditions of employment include:

Pension 12%

An employee contribution of 5%, with an employer contribution of 7%.

Flexible Benefit 8%

Employees can choose to invest 8% of their base salary into their pension, or take as cash (post tax)

Reward

we will have a performance based reward programme.

31.5

days annual leave

Flexible

and hybrid working,

40%

in office attendance Occupational sick pay

9

months paid Maternity Leave + generous paternity and adoption leave. A bespoke L&D programme to help you achieve your personal CPD, including paid membership fees Cycle-to-work scheme and much more!

Things you need to know

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Selection process details

To apply for this vacancy, you will need to submit the following documents:


A

CV

setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you provide employment history that relates to the essential and desirable criteria, and that any gaps in employment history within the last 2 years are explained. The CV should not exceed more than 2 x A4 pages and you should insert your CV into the "Job History" section on Civil Service Jobs on the Civil Service Jobs application form. A

Statement of Suitability

(max

750

words) explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role in reference to the essential requirements highlighted. You may also choose to reference the desirable skills listed however these will not be considered in the assessment of your application except in circumstances where there are a high number and calibre of candidates.
For the

shortlist

, we will select applicants demonstrating the best fit for the role by considering the evidence provided in your application.


In the event of a large number of applicants, an initial sift will be conducted on the

statement of suitability.

Those who are successful in the initial sift will then be scored on all elements of the application.

The Interview

The interview process will assess

experience

through competency questions and a presentation. Full details of this, including the topic, length of time, and whether or not you will need to use visual aids, will be sent to you prior to your interview.

Prior to the interview you will be sent the competency questions in advance.

Your interview will take place in person at our Manchester office.

Further Information

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.


The IFR has a location neutral pay scale. For more information on this, please see the 'Candidate Information Pack' attached.



Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist check .



See our vetting charter .
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:


UK nationals nationals of the Republic of Ireland nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020 Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements

Working for the Civil Service

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission.
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy .

Apply and further information

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This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.
The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

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Job contact :

Name : Joe Alford Email : careers@footballregulator.org.uk
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Recruitment team

* Email : careers@footballregulator.org.uk