Talent Development Scheme: Project Manager - Learning & Exchange Freelance

As the organiser of some of the biggest and most iconic sport events in the world, we lead the way in the sport and event industry.

In 2021, FIFA launched the global Talent Development Scheme (TDS) following a 2-year landscape analysis, with the aim of collaborating with its Member Associations (MAs) to enhance the competitiveness of their national teams. The underlying vision is that long-term, sustainable improvement of national team performance can only be achieved by creating the best possible talent development systems. As part of the TDS, the Learning and Exchange workstream delivers workshops designed to strengthen and improve the capability of Member Associations to plan, implement, and sustain high-quality youth national team coaching and development programmes.

FIFA is now seeking to recruit a Project Manager on a freelancer basis to lead the delivery of Youth National Teams (YNT) Coaches’ workshops, in support of the Talent Development Scheme. 

THE POSITION

These are your key tasks:

• Lead the end-to-end project management of the Youth National Teams (YNT) Coaches’ Workshop, ensuring all planning, delivery, and reporting phases run smoothly and on schedule.
• Design and coordinate workshop content, including programme structure, learning outcomes, session flow, and all online/virtual components.
• Support the operational and logistical delivery of the wider YNT programme, ensuring alignment with overall objectives and technical standards.
• Oversee and coordinate online course management processes for all Youth National Team Coaches’ workshop events, ensuring compliance and efficient workflow.
• Act as primary liaison with the Technical Expert Team, coordinating facilitator assignments, workshop inputs, and alignment of key calendar dates.
• Maintain consistent communication with internal and external stakeholders, ensuring expectations are managed and project milestones are clearly tracked.
• Wider work within FIFA Learning & Exchange Programmes, collaborating across learning and exchange offers and supporting the wider workstream

YOUR PROFILE

We work hard at FIFA.
We are dedicated, ambitious and innovative.

And we respect our values. Always.

For all roles, we seek talented people with an entrepreneurial spirit and a global mindset.

The specific competencies we require for this position are:

• Project Planning & Delivery: Demonstrates the ability to plan, organise, and execute complex multi-phase projects. Anticipates risks, manages timelines proactively, and ensures deliverables are completed to a high standard.
• Programme & Content Design: Able to structure learning programmes, define clear learning outcomes, and coordinate high-quality content across in-person, online, and blended formats.
• Stakeholder Coordination: Effectively manages relationships with diverse internal and external stakeholders, including technical experts, facilitators, and operational teams. Ensures alignment, clear communication, and timely decision-making.
• Communication & Presentation Skills: Communicates clearly and confidently across written, verbal, and digital channels. Able to translate complex information into clear messages and facilitate productive discussions.
• Digital Literacy & Online Learning Management: Confident working with online learning platforms, workflow systems, and digital content tools. Ensures smooth set-up, tracking, and administration of online components and coach education resources.
• Team Leadership & People Management: Provides direction, feedback, and support to team members. Delegates effectively, promotes accountability, and contributes to a positive, collaborative team culture.
• Problem Solving & Adaptability: Responds proactively to operational challenges and shifting priorities. Finds practical, timely solutions and adapts plans when necessary, without compromising quality.
• Quality Assurance & Attention to Detail: Ensures that all workshop materials, processes, and interactions meet organisational standards. Reviews outputs carefully and maintains accuracy across documentation and reports.
• Cultural Awareness & Global Mindset: Understands the diverse contexts of participating Member Associations and adapts communication, content, and project timelines accordingly.
• Strategic Alignment: Keeps the purpose of the YNT programme front-of-mind. Ensures that decisions, processes, and content remain aligned with the broader goals of the High-Performance, Coach Education, and Talent Development departments.
• Experience managing projects or programmes, ideally in sport, education, or international environments.
• Proven ability to coordinate workshops or events, including planning, logistics, and content support.
• Experience working with technical experts or coaches and translating input into structured delivery plans.
• Confident managing online learning components and digital workflows.
• Experience supervising team members and ensuring high-quality outputs.
• Strong stakeholder engagement experience, ideally within multicultural or cross-functional teams.
• Bachelor’s degree in Sport Management, Education, Project Management, Business Administration, or a related field (or equivalent professional experience).
• Formal project management training or certification (e.g., PRINCE2, PMP, Agile, or similar) is highly desirable.
• Experience in programme or event coordination within sport, education, or international development environments.
• Strong digital proficiency, including experience with online learning platforms, learning management systems (LMS), and collaborative project tools (e.g., Teams, SharePoint, Asana, Trello).
• Demonstrated experience working in multicultural and international contexts, ideally within sport, high-performance environments, or coach education.
• Excellent written and spoken English; additional languages are an advantage.
• Understanding of youth development pathways, coaching structures, or technical football environments is beneficial but not essential.
• Fluency in written and spoken English required.
• Proficiency in any other FIFA language (French and/or Spanish) is an asset.
• Proficient in Word / PowerPoint / Excel.
• Willingness to travel internationally and work across time zones as required.
• Ability to represent FIFA professionally in diverse and dynamic environments.

About FIFA

We are FIFA, the global governing body for football.

Our vision is to make football truly global, diverse and inclusive, for the benefit of the entire world. The last FIFA World Cup in Qatar in 2022 attracted more than 5 billion viewers and the last FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2023 was the greatest-ever FIFA Women's World Cup that inspired millions of girls and women around the globe. The opportunities for growth are exciting.

We are a modern organisation with over 800 passionate employees who are Living Football every day. Our headquarters are based in Zurich, Switzerland, and we have offices in Miami, Paris and Rabat, plus eleven regional offices from New Zealand to India, South Africa, Panama and Paraguay.