European Football Clubs

About European Football Clubs

We are EFC. The single unified voice of more than 800 European football clubs — men’s and women’s, of all shapes and sizes — from 55 countries and territories across Europe. Our goal is to promote and protect the interests of our members and ensure the stability and growth of European club football.

EFC’s core purpose is to place clubs at ‘The Heart of Football’. Through long-term strategic partnerships with UEFA and FIFA, we champion the interests of clubs on the regional and global stages. We promote sporting integrity and the development of men’s and women’s club competitions, deliver world-class events that bring clubs and industry leaders together and provide benefits that support the growth of all our members, on and off the pitch.

We also champion football as a force for good, with our EFC Foundation driving charitable programmes to support the communities our clubs represent.

EFC is continually looking for the best talent to join our administration to ensure we enhance the value of our activities and services for Member Clubs. EFC has a rapidly growing team of over 50 people and is on a mission of organisational development, targeting a digitally led, performance-driven culture, delivering high impact outcomes for our colleagues, our members and ultimately for club football as a whole.

Equity, diversity and inclusion are part of EFC’s core values. We are committed to building and sustaining an inclusive and equitable working and learning environment for all staff and members.

Role Overview

The Head of PR & Communications will play a key leadership role in EFC’s external communications, including driving forward proactive public relations, media relations and overseeing editorial content, including the organisation’s website, social media and corporate reports. This role will work closely with the Chief Communications and Marketing Officer (CCMO), deputising when required, to deliver on a new strategy to proactively shape EFC’s public image, increasing awareness of the organisation’s extensive work to support its Member Clubs and promoting its increasingly influential role in the European and global football landscapes.

Responsibilities

The responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Strategic Communications

• Working closely with the CCMO, develop and implement a comprehensive external communications strategy aligned with business goals.
• Drive corporate storytelling, messaging frameworks and reputation-building initiatives.
• Deliver extensive senior executive advisory planning to ensure Board members and senior executives are prepared for governance meetings, media opportunities and speeches.
• Lead multiple communications and digital agency relationships.
• Lead the creation, delivery and ongoing review of a communications planning “grid” which prioritises a proactive approach to promoting EFC and its members.
• Oversee crisis communications planning, response and issues management.

Media Relations

• Devise and drive forward a multi-market media relations strategy to ensure EFC regularly engages with influential football and sports business media across Europe.
• Cultivate and maintain pre-existing strong relationships with football and sport business journalists, editors and stakeholders to continuously enhance EFC’s reputation.
• Deliver best-in-class “press office function”, ensuring proactive preparation of briefing materials on key topics and ensuring all media inquiries are promptly responded to.
• Secure high-impact media coverage across print, digital, broadcast, and trade outlets.

External Communications

• Lead the creation and delivery of press releases, announcements, speeches, corporate statements and thought leadership content.
• Oversee creation and activation of strategic PR campaigns, events and partnerships.
• Oversee the ongoing delivery of high-quality content for EFC digital channels, including driving audience growth on social media and continuously enhancing the company website.
• Develop strategies to position EFC digital platforms as industry leading reputational and leadership channels.
• Anticipate reputational risk originating from digital channels and lead proactive mitigation and response.
• Devise and deliver a new organisation-wide editorial strategy for the drafting and publication of corporate reports which position EFC as an industry expert.

Brand & Reputation Management

• Monitor public perception, media sentiment and industry trends to identify risks and opportunities.
• Ensure consistency of tone, message and positioning across all channels.
• Play a leadership role in the ongoing planning and delivery of major events. This includes driving forward an end-to-end event communications process.
• Strengthen corporate reputation through proactive storytelling and strategic initiatives.

Team Leadership

• Build, mentor and lead a multidisciplinary PR & Communications team encompassing a new editorial function.
• Establish communications department operating function and processes to ensure high quality and effective support for the wider business.
• Appoint, manage

Required Experience

• 15+ years of proven track record in a strategic PR/communications leadership role in global sport with extensive experience in reputation management, global events and corporate PR. This ideally includes significant football industry experience.
• Pre-existing strong working relationships with high-level football and sports business media journalists and outlets (the ideal candidate will have significant experience of engaging with influential football journalists and editors).
• Ability to autonomously lead key communications projects from end-to-end, often engaging and working with a range of internal and external stakeholders.
• Significant experience in digital communications and publications, including leading teams across departments to ensure the timely and accurate delivery of editorial content (e.g. website, digital platforms and multiple corporate reports) aligned to strategic objectives.
• Strong crisis communications and issues-management experience.
• Proven experience in brand strategy and integrated marketing communications.
• Ability to build senior-level relationships (internal and external stakeholders) and influence executive decision-making.
• Strategic mindset with hands-on execution capabilities.
• Experience in fast-paced, high-growth, or high-visibility roles and organisations.

Person Specification

• A positive, proactive and ambitious individual.
• Excellent prioritisation and time management skills with an ability to successfully operate with autonomy, judgment and decisiveness.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent people skills – both in terms of managing a team and connecting with colleagues across several different business units.
• A strategic and creative thinker, with excellent problem-solving skills.
• A team player, who leads by example.
• Always demonstrate integrity, ethics and dependability.
• Ability to remain calm whilst working under pressure.
• Verbal and written fluency in English is essential. An additional European language is a significant plus.

Diversity

Football has the unique power to bring people from diverse backgrounds together. It breaks down barriers and creates a shared sense of identity and belonging.

At EFC, we are committed to playing our part in making the game – and the world around it – more inclusive, and this starts with our own organisation.

We are working to build a culture where everyone feels welcome, valued and respected – free from discrimination, bias or prejudice. We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds.