Football Data Operations Manager

At Manchester United, we believe that excellence on the pitch starts with excellence off the pitch. Our team thrives in a high-performance environment, united by a shared passion for success. We aim to elevate the standard of performance through collaboration and continuous growth, creating a space where everyone can contribute their best to our common goals. 
  
We work together at our iconic Manchester United offices, enabling connection and innovation as we look ahead to what we can achieve as a global football club. We are excited to bring in passionate people who share our vision and drive for success. 
 
 
The Role: 

Manchester United is on an exciting journey to become a fully data-driven club, using powerful insights to make better decisions, support our people, and drive success on and off the pitch. To make this happen, we’re building a world-class data and technology function, backed by modern infrastructure, talented teams, and trusted data products that help everyone do their best work. 
We’re now looking for a Football Data Operations Manager to play a key part in this transformation. In this role, you’ll help bring our data projects to life, making sure they run smoothly day-to-day, managing our partners and suppliers, and keeping everyone connected and moving in the same direction. If you’re passionate about using data to support people and drive progress, we’d love to hear from you. 

The Person: 
  
Key Responsibilities 

As a Football Data Operations Manager, you will: 

• Coordinate planning and delivery across the Football Data group, including data engineering, software, science and analysis - ensuring projects are well-scoped, aligned to football priorities, and delivered in a structured, transparent manner.
• Act as the central delivery lead for the group: tracking dependencies, resolving blockers, and ensuring clear execution against timelines.
• Manage key relationships with third-party data and software providers, ensuring support is responsive, roadmaps reflect our needs, and contracts (new and renewal) are fit for purpose.
• Drive alignment of the club's data vendor landscape across Men's, Women's, and Academy football - and extend coordination to other departments such as Commercial, where requirements and functionality allow.
• Work closely with the club's Procurement, Finance and Legal teams to represent the group's technical and commercial requirements.
• Partner with the club's IT function to ensure efficient and scalable use of cloud infrastructure, with a particular focus on Azure resource optimisation and cost-efficiency.
• Introduce lightweight processes, documentation and delivery tooling to ensure clarity, accountability and continuous improvement.

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What We’re Looking For 
 
We’d love you to bring: 

• Proven experience delivering complex technical projects across multi-disciplinary teams, ideally within data or software environments.
• Strong operational and organisational skills, with a track record of ensuring projects run to time and value, even when priorities evolve.
• Excellent stakeholder management – confident operating across technical, legal, procurement and vendor environments.
• Hands-on experience managing third-party technology providers (e.g. cloud, data or SaaS vendors).
• Understanding of cloud computing principles, particularly Microsoft Azure, and an interest in driving operational and financial efficiency on cloud platforms.
• Comfortable managing budgets and commercial planning, including tracking spend, supporting contract negotiations, and identifying opportunities for cost optimisation.

 
Desirable (but not essential) 

• Background in data engineering, software engineering or technical programme management.
• Experience in high-performance sport or similarly fast-paced, outcome-driven environments.
• Familiarity with modern data stacks (e.g. Databricks, Azure Data Factory, Synapse, container orchestration, etc.)

 What We Offer: 

At Manchester United, we recognise that our people are at the heart of our success. That’s why we offer a range of rewards designed to support your professional and personal well-being:

• Annual incentive scheme
• Wellness Support with access to mental health resources, digital health checks, and & nutritionists through Aviva Digicare+ Workplace
• Exclusive Discounts through our United Rewards platform, giving you access to exclusive deals from the club and partners
• Gym Facilities in our onsite locations and opportunities for regular social events and team-building activities
• Enhanced family Leave Benefits and an opportunity to purchase additional holiday days
• Enhanced Career Development with access to professional learning platforms like LinkedIn Learning, and internal training programs
• A Supportive Work Environment that values diversity, equity and inclusion, and individual growth

Our Commitment to You: 
  
At Manchester United, we believe that a diverse and inclusive environment makes us stronger. We are committed to building a team where everyone feels welcomed, valued, and empowered to contribute their unique perspectives. Diversity, equity and inclusion are at the core of our recruitment strategy, and we welcome applicants from all backgrounds.