WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR:
We’re looking for a brilliant Director to join our fast-growing sports communications agency in our Shoreditch office. The dream candidate will be an inspirational and collaborative leader with outstanding communication skills, creativity, high standards and a drive to build a thriving division of world class sports communications clients. We’d love to identify an individual who has a passion for sport in all forms, is a high-class PR & comms operator, and who is ambitious to build a dream agency with us.
This person would form part of our expanded MatchFit Management Team, working collaboratively with two other Divisional Directors (one based in Shoreditch, he other in Manchester) and reporting into the two Co-Founders. They will be empowered to take on an existing roster of brilliant clients and people, and work with us to grow the agency (and in particular the Shoreditch London office).
They would be joining MatchFit at an incredibly exciting time of growth 5 years into our agency journey, with several soon-to-be-announced new business wins, a new office, a brilliant team and the chance to play a highly
WHO WE ARE:
The sports agenda, and the industry around it, is noisier than ever before. At MatchFit, we are the communications agency who speak the language of sport, helping our clients cut through that noise. We know how the professional and grassroots sport world works on the field of play, and our people natively understand the fan and consumer experience off it. This means that whether reaching a fan, player, consumer or business audience, we are trusted by world class clients across the full spectrum of sport.
These include governing bodies responsible for the grassroots and participation such as The FA and The LTA, as well as with major rights holders including Manchester City and LALIGA who strive to deepen fan engagement. We also help global brands including Topps, EA SPORTS and TravisMathew reach new consumer audiences. How does this play out? Taking earned-first thinking and applying it through industry leading creative, media relations, influencer and content creator campaigns, social content, press office, events and crisis comms.
Recent Awards& Shortlists:
❑ Sport Industry Awards 2025: Specialist Agency of the Year
❑ UK Sponsorship Awards 2025: Agency of the Year (Winner: Challenger)
❑ Sports Business Awards 2024: Agency of the Year and Women’s Sport Business
❑ Football Business Awards 2025: Agency of the Year and Women’s FootballBusiness
❑ PRWeek Awards 2024: 2 campaign nominations with The FA
❑ The Drum Awards 2024: 4 nominations, inc. Gold for Topps in the Sports PR category
ROLE OVERVIEW:
74% revenue growth. A 100% new business record. Permanent headcount increased by 70%. A second office opened in Manchester. A client list featuring the world’s best sporting brands. The last twelve months was the rocket year we accelerated our vision to be the best sports communications agency in the UK.
Now is the right time for us to scale the agency, to create even better opportunities and capabilities for our fantastic people and brilliant clients. Spring 2025 saw the largest step forward yet forMatchFit, with the establishment of our new office in Manchester, following the recruitment of Cherrelle Jefferson as Director of MatchFit in the North. This move came hand in hand with the promotion of Rob Leary to Director of MatchFit in the South’s Shoreditch office.
This exciting new role is to see the arrival of a second Director based in the Shoreditch main office, working closely with Rob Leary and (alongside Cherrelle Jefferson) reporting into MatchFit co-founders Donald Parish and Will Mitchell. The ideal Director will have excellent rights holder and brand experience within sports communications and / or consumer comms specifically, be able to form outstanding and high-level client relationships, care about building a thriving team culture, and be comfortable with driving commercial growth across organic opportunities and new business.
You will inherit a startup roster of fantastic clients, and talented team as you look to grow our Shoreditch office collaboratively with the wider Management Team and Co-Founders, agreeing targets for revenue growth. We feel this is a dream opportunity to shape a highly prominent leadership role as we seek to grow a world-class agency. Whilst ultimately reporting into the Co-Founders, the Directors will play a highly prominent role in shaping the day-to-day business.
- People
In collaboration with the other Directors (particularly in partnership with Rob Leary in Shoreditch) you will have the autonomy to build and resource the division, in addition to taking on direct line management and development responsibilities for the future SLT (comprised of Senior Account Directors) as it continues to expand..
You will play a key role in mentoring the SLT on their own journey as part of the wider Management Team, as they progress into a future Associate Director in their next step.
You will have the opportunity to play a prominent role in wider MatchFit team culture as part of the Management, working in tandem with our brilliant Head of People, Lisa Rodgers.
- Leading Award-Winning Client Campaign Work
You will play a critical role in empowering your team to create world-class and award-winning client campaigns, and leveraging high-level client contacts. You will be empowered to inspire, coach and direct your supporting junior team to ensure brilliant delivery in line with your personal standard, and the values of MatchFit.
You will be a fantastic PR practitioner who embodies the values of ‘earned-first’ storytelling, and everything a contemporary agency offers from media relations, strategy, influencers, ambassadors, creative, content and reputation,
- Client Organic Growth
Working with the Co-Founders and your Account Director you will be empowered to seek organic growth within your clients to boost the business's profitability and build your own growth plan.
- New Business
A strong pipeline of new business is vital to the ongoing growth of the agency, and this candidate will be required to be proactive to new business growth opportunities around inbound and outbound leads to grow their Division. This will be in parallel with the collaborative wider efforts of the SLT and Co-Founders. We are all in this together!
We empower staff at all levels to be involved in new business (we believe if a junior is on the team they should be in the pitch!) so you will play an important role in coaching and guiding the team. And if there is an area you are passionate about or a dream client…let’s hatch a plan to make it happen!
- Living our MatchFit Values
As a Director you will be instrumental in ensuring our core business values continue to live and breathe at all levels within the agency:
o Growth
o Expertise
o Transparency
o Togetherness
o Bravery
THE SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE WILL HAVE:
❑ The ability to cultivate outstanding high-level client relationships
❑ Brilliant leadership credentials and a vision for their work
❑ An entrepreneurial drive to build an amazing opportunity
❑ A desire to foster a fun but high-quality work culture
❑ A proven track record of leading their teams to deliver brilliant and award-winning work
❑ A true passion and love for sport, and a belief in the sports industry
❑ Comfort applying strategic thinking and building high class documents and plans
❑ Brilliant pitching and presentation skills
❑ A reputation for being a fantastic role model, leader and coach for their team
❑ Be able to commute to our office in Shoreditch, London on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays
PERKS AND BENEFITS:
❑ 25 Days Annual Leave Allowance running January to December. Your allocation does not include the eight Bank Holidays, which you receive in addition. We also hope to close for 1.5 weeks over Christmas and New Year, with no impact on holiday allowance, pending client work allowing
❑ For You Day: One day a year, outside of your holiday allocation, which is simply for you. The day has been spent celebrating birthdays, volunteering, experiencing culture, and watching sports!
❑ MatchFit Sporting Moment: Furthering our mission ‘We want everyone to love sport as much as we do’, our people have £250 each year to spend on a unique sport experience
❑ Annual Profit Share Scheme: This is contingent on business performance and profitability as well as personal performance
❑ Pension Scheme: MatchFit contribution of 3%, along with a personal contribution of 5%, although you could contribute more if you desire
❑ Juno Benefits Scheme: the flexible benefits platform connecting our employees to hundreds of available products, services and experiences aimed at improving their wellbeing, inside and outside of work
❑ Private Medical Insurance: Industry-leading private medical insurance, offering primary care (including GP services), mental health support, in-patient and day-patient treatments, outpatient and surgical procedures and advanced cancer cover
❑ 1-for-1 Day-in-lieu: for anytime spent out at weekend client events
❑ Hybrid Working Policy: With Monday and Friday designated as work-from-home days
❑ Travel Season Ticket Loan to support train commuters which will be paid off within your monthly salary
❑ Training and Development: including ‘Lunch and Learn’ – our vibrant monthly internal programme – and external opportunities and courses, including attending panels, conferences, seminars and networking events.
❑ Team Socials: Every quarter, as well as an annual Agency Away Day and an annual Christmas Party Day
❑ Cycle to Work Scheme
❑ Free Monthly Team Lunch
❑ Life Insurance: Four times annual salary as Death in Service
REMUNERATION:
❑ Salary: £85,000
❑ Pension: 5% enhanced employer contribution
❑ Perks: Total perks scheme (including Juno) worth 5% of salary
❑ Health: Private cover as part of the SLT
❑ Life: 4x Salary Death in Service cover
❑ Equity: % stake in EMI share scheme
❑ Profit Share: % of own annual Division P&L division profits
❑ Bonus: Discretionary business bonus based on targets
❑ Holiday: 25 days (plus 8 bank holidays)
❑ Maternity: 20 weeks at full pay + 8 weeks at half pay
❑ Paternity: 4 weeks at full pay
Recent Awards& Shortlists:
❑ Sport Industry Awards 2025: Specialist Agency of the Year
❑ UK Sponsorship Awards 2025: Agency of the Year (Winner: Challenger)
❑ Sports Business Awards 2024: Agency of the Year and Women’s Sport Business
❑ Football Business Awards 2025: Agency of the Year and Women’s FootballBusiness
❑ PRWeek Awards 2024: 2 campaign nominations with The FA
❑ The Drum Awards 2024: 4 nominations, inc. Gold for Topps in the Sports PR category
WHY MATCHFIT?
Under pinned by our mission – ‘We want everyone to love sport as much as we do’ – we are well on the way to our vision to build the best sports communications agency in the UK.
As co-founders, we are committed to cultivating an agency which empowers our people to build their dream career in sports communications, work with world-class clients, and be proud to be a part of MatchFit. With a steadfast belief in gender equality and equal opportunity, this is an agency which can truly change the game.
This role truly is a blank canvas, inheriting a fantastic roster of clients and people, but with the potential to grow this fast in collaboration with our founders.
We know that there are no limits to what our team can achieve together. And we are going to have a lot of fun seeing how far we can go. If you’d like to get MatchFit, we’d love to hear from you.
