JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Title: Head of Soccer Aid Reporting to: Director of Soccer Aid Team: Soccer Aid Location: 1 Westfield Avenue, Stratford, , E20 1HZ Hours: 35 hours per week, Monday to Friday. Occasional evening and weekend working will be required around the key campaign delivery periods. Job Level: Level 2 Salary: Circa £60,000 per annum Duration: Permanent Disclosure Level: Basic

About the team

The core Soccer Aid Team is a small but mighty project team which includes key specialisms such as Fundraising, Content Creation and Corporate Partnerships. The multi-functional team works with departments right across Unicef UK, engaging colleagues with maximising the opportunities through Soccer Aid, a fully integrated campaign, the largest televised campaign for the charity and the world’s biggest celebrity charity football match. This includes teams such as Communications and Creative Content, Philanthropy, Special Events, Foundations, International Programmes, Advocacy, Finance, and more.

The team also works closely with multiple external partners and stakeholders to further maximise the fundraising opportunities, to build the reach of the campaign and to increase attribution to Unicef.

The Teams vision is to ‘use the power of sport and entertainment to help children everywhere grow up happy, healthy and able to play’. The team is hard working, determined and solution driven. Working flexibly to make the most of opportunities that may arise (and can sometimes be unpredictable!), the team are supportive, friendly and have great pride in the continued growth and success of Soccer Aid. The team has ambitious plans for the future of Soccer Aid for Unicef and is looking for a Head of Department who will be fundamental in leading and motivating the team to drive forward this future success.

Purpose of Post

The brainwave of Unicef UK ambassador and Triple S, Soccer Aid for Unicef brings together two teams of celebrities and football legends from England and the World XI for the biggest charity celebrity football match in the calendar, broadcast live on ITV. The event started in 2006 taking place every two years. Since 2018 Soccer Aid has taken place every year. Since its inception, Soccer Aid has raised more than £47million for Unicef UK and provided much needed support for children, unlocking their right to play.

Unicef UK has partnered with Triple S Sports and Entertainment Group to create Soccer Aid Productions Ltd (SAP Ltd) to deliver the commercial elements of the campaign.

The Head of Soccer Aid works across Unicef UK and Soccer Aid Productions and is responsible for the operational delivery across all campaign stakeholders, which is critical to Soccer Aid’s future success. This role covers both the in-year activity and preparation for following years. This is a high-profile position; you will be exposed to senior stakeholders across all key partners for Soccer Aid. The level of success that the project achieves will have a direct effect on the levels on the income raised to support Unicef UK’s work.

Responsibilities

Leadership and Relationship Management • Establish strong, engaged working relationships with key contacts across Unicef UK and with our external partners, ensuring clear communication is in place. • Provide excellent influencing, negotiation, conflict management and resolution across all workstreams and partners, no matter what seniority level. • Build strong relationships with key contacts at ITV to ensure that all Programme activity is aligned and partnership opportunities are maximised. • Support Director of Soccer Aid in providing leadership to the Soccer Aid team including the direct line management of key roles within the team including but not limited to; Corporate stewardship and activation, Project Management and Content creation and cause messaging. • Championing Soccer Aid across Unicef as a key opportunity to maximise wider income and engagement, including presentations to internal and external audiences. • Facilitate meetings, lead on workshops as required (e.g. requirements gathering workshop, prioritisation, planning sessions, risks / issues workshops, and mediation of issues) and present results.

Operational Delivery

• Work with stakeholders across all key partners (ITV / Endemol / Unicef UK / Soccer Aid Productions) to build development opportunities, broadening the campaign offering and delivering new income. • Work closely with the Director of Soccer Aid in building the Soccer Aid future campaign strategy, leading on and championing key project development areas. • Lead the Project Management function to oversee the holistic roadmap and detailed programme plans for delivery of Soccer Aid each year. • Monitor progress & proactively oversee project plans to ensure that delivery against key milestones are on track. • Identify risks, issues and dependencies and ensure that these are managed and tracked throughout the process, escalating concerns to the Soccer Aid Director and key forums (e.g. Steering Group, Soccer Aid Productions Board) as appropriate. • Oversee risk and issue logs and ensure appropriate mitigating actions are in place. • Establish appropriate governance to ensure that activities across all elements of Soccer Aid (within Unicef UK, ITV, Endemol, Soccer Aid Productions) are managed in line with the overall strategy and that progress, updates, decisions and escalations are managed appropriately. • Working closely with the Senior Project Manager, lead an appropriate reporting structure to ensure that progress is tracked and reported to wider stakeholders as required and in line with the relevant partner stewardship strategy. • Establish a communications plan to ensure that campaign progress and activity is communicated appropriately and effectively to all key stakeholders and suppliers. • Lead on the income and expenditure tracker for the campaign working closely with the Finance Business Partner, showing all revenue streams and providing this at an appropriate frequency (initially monthly moving to weekly and then daily during the key weeks of the campaign). • Lead on the build of the Soccer Aid budgets, challenging where necessary. • Lead on, review, monitor and approve relevant scope of work for delivery partners in line with key campaign objectives and strategy e.g. content creation. • Ensure that any product and business development trials across the campaign are integrated into the respective programme plan and that sound business cases are developed to enable accurate prioritisation. Review and assess implementation options and advise stakeholders.

Reporting and Evaluation: • Produce appropriate quarterly/monthly reports and updates and ensure that success can be measured against agreed KPIs and targets within Unicef UK, our global organisation and partners. • In conjunction with the Project Team, identify areas within work streams that need reviewing/ improving and ensure these are addressed and the outputs communicated.

PERSON SPECIFICATION This section details the skills, behaviours and experience required for the role. All criteria in the Person Specification are essential.

Effective behaviours

Positive relationships • Builds happy, collaborative and effective relationships with stakeholders internally and externally, that ensures high levels of engagement, flexibility and loyalty.

Negotiation and Influence • Successfully influences others, including senior stakeholders, demonstrates and stands up to rigorous analysis and challenge. • Considers partners’ needs and pressures, balancing their expectations with doing what’s right for children.

Resilience • Thrives in a rapidly changing working environment. • Prioritises and sustains focus on work that will have the greatest impact on agreed aims.

Good Management • Provides strategic direction, sets clear objectives, clarifies expectations and agrees the parameters for each person’s authority and accountability.

Communication and Effective Facilitation • Delivers impactful and engaging written and oral communication methods to engage an audience and win understanding and support. • Guides and directs multiple, challenging stakeholders to reach consensus and deliver the required outcome within the time allocated.

Achieving Change • Works on own initiative, assesses priorities and is proactive in making/recommending improvements. • Challenges accepted ways of working where needed.

Relevant Experience

• Formal experience of best practice project management principles (preferably in a programme environment) or equivalent by proven on the job experience. • Strong financial management, planning and monitoring skills – knowledge of financial controls such as accruing and budget management. • A keen understanding of technical issues and constraints and able to work and communicate with both technical and non-technical people.

Specific Skills

• Strong understanding of the principles behind strategic marketing and communication planning. • Strong understanding of how to maximise corporate partnership opportunities. • Specific knowledge of mass public-facing fundraising appeals or campaigns; both the broadcast & charity sectors and the opportunities and challenges they present.