Salary: Please state your expectations within your application

Contract: Full Time, 42 hours a week

Location: The Nigel Doughty Academy, Nottingham, NG2 7SR

Department: First Team Operations

Reporting to: Head of Football Operations

Closing Date For Applications: 3rd June 2026

About the Role:

Nottingham Forest Football Club are looking for a driven Football Business Operations Manager to lead the planning, coordination, and optimisation of all Football Business related operations. The role will oversee the sporting business functions between the First Team, Academy and Women’s departments and will have close ties with the wider Club Organisations’ infrastructure ensuring that resources, suppliers, and systems are aligned to deliver best-in-class operational support across all Football Departments.

The Perks of the Job:

Opportunity to access tickets for events at The City Ground.
Employee Assistance Programme.
Access to high street and gym discounts.
Discount within our Club shop.
Free on-site parking.

Key Tasks and Responsibilities:

Strategy & Planning

Oversee and execute a centralised procurement strategy across football operations
Negotiate and manage supplier contracts to ensure best value, compliance, and performance
Drive cost efficiencies across Football Opex Cost Centres
Ensure the planning and implementation of shared resource across First Team, Academy and Women’s teams where possible.
Operational Efficiency & Governance
Drive continuous improvement in operational performance and service delivery.
Establish clear governance frameworks for Footballing procurement and operational processes.
Embed best practice in contract management and compliance
Promote consistent processes, governance, and operational standards across all football departments.
Collaborate regularly with senior stakeholders across all Football Departments to help develop drive a world leading performance environment.
Stay at the forefront of industry developments, bringing innovative solutions into operational processes and delivery.
Identify, evaluate and implement new suppliers to advance performance and operational efficiency in conjunction with department leads.

Financial Oversight & Value Optimisation

Support the monitoring and control of football expenditure against budgets
Evaluate all activities against a “best value” framework
Lead the consolidation of systems and contractual knowledge to mitigate against contractual & financial risk
Standardise processes across departments to ensure consistency and reduce the need for ad hoc payments

Key Focus Areas

Cost efficiency and value creation
Integrated Business Operations across Football Departments
System and process optimisation
Supplier and contract excellence

What are we looking for:

Proven experience in elite sport, football operations, or sporting business environments
Hold a valid CIPS Qualification, working towards Level 4 or above
Strong background in procurement, contract negotiation, and supplier management
Experience working within high-performance or Premier League-level environments
Strong financial acumen
Experience of stakeholder management and delivery on key projects.

Personal Attributes

Highly organised with strong attention to detail
Commercially astute with a focus on value and efficiency
Collaborative and confident communicator
Resilient and adaptable in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment

Forest For Everyone

We aim to create a culture which embraces and celebrates our differences, enables individuals to feel comfortable, maximise their potential and eliminate discrimination.

Nottingham Forest Football Club is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all suitably qualified persons, regardless of age, disability, gender, gender reassignment, marital / civil partnership status, pregnancy / maternity leave, race, religion/belief, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected characteristic.

Nottingham Forest Football Club is a signatory of the FA’s Football Leadership Diversity Code. We are committed to developing policies to promote equal opportunities and diversity within our workforce. To monitor our progress against these commitments, we require all applicants to provide accurate diversity data during the application process.

Disability Confident Committed Employer

We are a Disability Confident Committed employer. We encourage applications from people with disabilities and long-term health conditions. If you need disability-related adjustments to the recruitment process, please indicate this in your application.

If you are likely to meet the definition of being a "disabled person" according to the Equality Act 2010, you may be eligible to apply for an interview via the Disability Confident Scheme - please indicate this in your application form below. The information you share with us about your health or disability will not be used in recruitment selections.

Our Commitment to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

Nottingham Forest Football Club is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all suitably qualified persons, regardless of age, disability, gender, gender reassignment, marital / civil partnership status, pregnancy / maternity leave, race, religion/belief, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected characteristic.

Nottingham Forest are committed to developing policies to promote equal opportunities and diversity within our workforce. To monitor our progress against these commitments, we require all applicants to provide accurate diversity data during the application process.

Our Commitment to Safeguarding

As part of the Club’s commitment to safeguarding, the successful applicant may be required to undergo a Disclosure Barring Service (“DBS”) check or an enhanced DBS check. The results of a DBS check will be considered on an individual basis, and the Club will act in a proportionate manner when deciding whether or not to proceed with the appointment.

An FA Enhanced DBS disclosure is required for all relevant new appointments to the Club. Individuals will be asked to declare any convictions, cautions or reprimands, warnings or bind-overs that may have been incurred. The Club reserves the right to carry out risk assessments where content has been disclosed on a DBS disclosure if it feels that it is relevant to the job requirements. Failure to satisfy the Club and the PL's safeguarding requirements may lead to the job offer being withdrawn or, if they have already started employment, summary termination of the employment.

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Football Business Operations Manager