Senior Marketing Manager

Organisation: The Football Association
Salary: Competitive
Location: Farringdon, London
Contract type: Permanent (Full time)
Closing date: 4 June 2026
Job Description: Welcome to a new era for women's professional football in England. With the creation of WSL Football, an independent company solely dedicated to the women's professional game, we can transform women's football in this country. And by transforming football, we transform society.

WSL Football will accelerate the sustainable growth of the women's game. Our leagues (Barclays WSL and Barclays WSL2) are already the pinnacle of domestic women's club football. We have the best footballers on the planet; 94 players from the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 and 84 players from the UEFA Women's EURO 2025 played in the Barclays WSL, which is more than any other league in the world. These players are a new breed of female athlete superstar playing for some of the most recognisable football club brands in the world. From Ella Toone to Alessia Russo, Lauren James to Khadija Shaw, they are shaping culture, amassing huge social media followings and selling out stadia across the country.

Looking ahead, the next phase of growth is underpinned by our internal positioning statement ‘New Wave Football', bringing new energy, new ideas and new ways of engaging fans. We are building a team of brilliant people who are passionate about bringing this new wave to life.

This is a significant leadership role in the marketing team. The Senior Marketing Manager will lead a strong cross-agency team to deliver our highest profile marketing campaigns supported with growing paid media investment to expand and engage our fanbase. We are looking for a proven creative leader able to originate, champion and deliver stand-out, culturally relevant marketing campaigns. This person will have true creative autonomy. We are looking for someone who can bring fresh perspectives, challenging us to take creative risks and help us achieve our ambition of operating at the intersection of sport, entertainment and culture. The role will interface significantly with clubs, too. It will oversee an evolving programme of centralised marketing services we offer to our 26 clubs, spanning ticketing, match day experience, revenue growth and more. There is also an element of event marketing within the role, with a growing number of flagship events being delivered by WSL Football, plus the role will involve being the lead brand guardian, ensuring world-class execution and implementation across all touchpoints. This role is truly a brilliant opportunity for a creative leader who will have the freedom to deliver the best work of their career, whilst helping to write the next chapter in the growth story of women's football.

What will you be doing?

Delivery of the season-long campaign and paid media plan:

Be the true champion of our brand positioning (New Wave Football) and creative platform internally, ensuring all work is bringing these to life.
Lead the delivery of the campaign plan from brief to execution across the season, including developing industry-leading, distinctive and culturally relevant campaigns for the three marquee moments of season launch (September), back to football (January) and end of season (May).
Manage a cross-functional team internally to deliver these campaigns. Internal team to include Content, Comms, Partnerships and Broadcast. Our partners and broadcasters hold huge scale between them; leveraging them to help achieve our ambitions is key.
Lead the relationship with all creative agencies to deliver our campaigns. Seamlessly coordinate between agencies and internal teams to create a cohesive plan for each marquee moment.
Lead the delivery of the paid media plan for the season, including the three marquee moments and strategy for other parts of the marketing plan (elevated fixtures, always on, etc.). Lead all aspects of the relationship with our paid media agency.
Obsess over the effectiveness and ROI of our growing investment in paid media, taking a holistic view across the season.
Oversee the delivery of the Ocean Outdoor partnership, working with the Marketing Coordinator.

Centralised services model delivery:

Work with the Marketing Manager to develop and implement a world-leading centralised programme of marketing support for our 26 clubs to help accelerate their growth trajectories.
Ensure strong implementation of this programme across attendance growth and retention, revenue growth and fan experience. This will include the evolution of existing programmes and the introduction of new programmes, working with our existing agency partner in this area.
Oversee the delivery of an elevated games programme with clubs – setting the brief and guardrails for the Marketing Manager and Marketing Coordinator to deliver against.

Brand Guardian:

Be the brand guardian for WSL Football – including leading the relationship with our brand tracking agency and ensuring adherence to our brand toolkit. Lead on any new design projects/evolution work needed for our brand toolkit with the support of the Marketing Coordinator.
Become the key marketing point of contact for selected commercial and broadcast partners.

Events Marketing:

Oversee the marketing activation around our flagship events, including the Subway Women's League Cup and Play-Off presented by Mercedes-Benz. Work with the Marketing Coordinator to deliver this activation.

Budget Management:

Oversee, track and report on the entire Marketing budget.

Line Management:

This role will manage two direct reports: 1 x Marketing Manager and 1 x Marketing Coordinator.

Other:

Executes additional tasks as required to meet Women's Super League Football's changing priorities.
Comply with all company policies and procedures to ensure the highest standards of health, safety, and well-being can be maintained.
As part of Women's Super League Football'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.

What are we looking for?

Essential for the role:

A proven creative leader with a strong point of view, able to originate, champion and deliver stand-out, culturally resonant marketing campaigns that cut through and shape conversation.
Experience bringing a brand positioning and creative platform to life, consistently and distinctively, across an integrated marketing mix.
Natural flair for turning insight and audience understanding into brave, creative ideas.
Deep expertise in paid media strategy and activation, with the ability to balance creativity and effectiveness.
Exceptional brief writing skills, able to set inspiring creative direction and clear guardrails, unlocking the very best thinking from agencies and internal teams.
Comfortable leading at pace in complex environments, with experience orchestrating multiple agencies and cross-functional teams to land high-quality work under pressure.
Strong collaborator with the ability to influence senior stakeholders and bring clubs, partners and broadcasters on the journey.
Ability to create memorable fan and event experiences that feel inclusive and emotionally engaging.
Confident acting as a brand guardian, protecting consistency while knowing when and how to evolve the brand.
Experience managing significant budgets to track and report clearly.
An inspiring people leader, invested in developing talent and building a high-performance team.
Digitally-literate. Highly proficient in Microsoft Office with added knowledge of and curiosity in relevant AI platforms.
Flexible and adaptable, comfortable in the rhythm and unpredictability of elite sport, live events and big cultural moments.

Beneficial to have:

Experience in women's sport, football or challenger sports properties.
Track record of working at the intersection of sport, culture and entertainment, with a strong instinct for what will resonate next.
Experience shaping or delivering centralised services that enable others (e.g. clubs or partners) to execute brilliantly and consistently.
Exposure to event-led marketing, using live occasions as platforms for brand and fan growth.
Experience in creatively leveraging the marketing platforms and plans of partners and broadcasters to achieve collective ambitions.

Living the values through our behaviours:

FOR THE LOVE OF THE WOMEN'S GAME - Every decision we make drives the growth, quality, and impact of women's football for future generations.
GREATNESS NEVER SETTLES - We have the relentless drive to keep the women's game growing and reaching for more. We dare to push boundaries, innovate boldly and continuously rewrite the playbook.
FIND A WAY TO WIN, TOGETHER - We move as one – lifting each other and having each other's backs. Together, we unite players, clubs, fans, and communities to achieve greatness.
CHAMPION THE FEMALE ATHLETE, ON AND OFF THE PITCH - We celebrate and support female athletes, empowering them to shine in their football careers and beyond.
PUT FANS IN THE FRONT ROW - Fans are the VIPs at the heart of our game. We must thrill, inspire, and connect with them to build lifelong loyalty.

Please note that Women's Super League Football office is based in Farringdon in Central London. The team 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.

To find out more details about the organisation, please click here to be directed to Women's Super League Football website.

Women's Super League Football welcomes applications from everyone. If you have any particular requirements in respect of the recruitment or interview process, please mention this during your application.

As part of Women's Super League Football'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.
How to apply: https://careers.thefa.com/jobs/vacancy/senior-marketing-manager-1096-farringdon-central-london/3080/description/