Sustainability Manager, UEFA EURO 2028 UK & Ireland

Sportanddev; Wembley; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

An event delivery organisation is seeking a Sustainability Manager for UEFA EURO 2028 in the UK & Ireland. This role involves leading sustainability initiatives, ensuring environmental practices are integrated into tournament operations, and managing diverse stakeholder partnerships. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in environmental sustainability and strong project management skills. This is a fixed-term contract based in Wembley with a competitive salary and benefits.

Benefits

25 days holiday

Contributory pension

Private Medical Insurance

Qualifications

• Proven experience managing sustainability programmes in a major events context.
• Experience developing complex sustainability initiatives.
• Strong understanding of circular economy and waste reduction strategies.

Responsibilities

• Lead delivery of sustainability actions for UK & Ireland 2028.
• Act as liaison for sustainability matters with local partners.
• Contribute to sustainability reporting and evaluation.

Skills

Project management skills

Stakeholder management

Understanding of environmental sustainability

Knowledge of social sustainability topics

Education

Degree in a relevant field

Job description

Sustainability Manager, UEFA EURO 2028 UK & Ireland

The appointee is to lead and guide delivery of environmental and social sustainability initiatives across the UK & Ireland 2028 Tournament, ensuring that all planning, operations and social impact activity reflect the ambition to pursue a culture of sustainability.

Location: Wembley Stadium, London

Contract: Fixed term contract to start April 2026 until Summer 2028

The tournament

Contested every four years, the UEFA European Championship has been showcasing the continent’s top talent since its inception in 1960 and is the world’s third largest sporting event.

UEFA EURO 2028 is taking place across the UK & Ireland where Europe's top 24 national teams will compete in a 31-day, 51 match tournament, attended by over 3 million spectators and with a global tv audience of upwards of 2 billion people.

As one of the world's largest and highest-profile sporting events, UEFA EURO 2028 will attract the attention of the sporting and major event communities, the media, and the public at large across the UK& Ireland, Europe and the World. With its unique hosting model, the event promises to spread the impacts and benefits of the tournament across the nations and communities of the UK and Ireland

The organisation

UK & Ireland 2028 Limited has been set up as a new company to locally deliver several UEFA requirements for the tournament, working closely with UEFA, 9 Host Stadiums, 8 Host Cities and other key stakeholders.

The role

You will lead and guide the delivery of environmental and social sustainability initiatives across the UK & Ireland 2028 Tournament, ensuring that all planning, operations and social impact activity reflect the ambition to pursue a culture of sustainability. The role will drive excellence in operational sustainability, champion best practice across host cities and partners, support advocacy and initiate positive action to help deliver a tournament that leaves a positive and lasting sustainability legacy.

This role supports the successful delivery of the UK&I 2028 Tournament through inclusive, values-driven and performance-focused contribution. The role is expected to model our organisational values: Embrace the Opportunity, Achieve Excellence, and Thrive Together

What will you be doing?

• Lead delivery of the UK & Ireland 2028 sustainability actions as defined in the Tournament ESG Strategy, ensuring targets and timelines are met.
• Lead scoping and delivery of any additional environmental sustainability initiatives agreed by UK&I 2028 and partners, including actions towards meeting sustainability standards across UK and Ireland host governments.
• Lead social sustainability initiatives agreed by UK&I 2028 and partners, including action to deliver a warm, accessible and inclusive tournament, and building exemplary practices to uphold human rights.
• Lead tournament Sustainability Working Group including overseeing UK&I 2028 secretariat duties completed by Impact & Sustainability Coordinator.
• Act as advisory and liaison contact for Host Cities and local delivery partners on all sustainability matters, supporting integration of sustainable practices across venues, fan zones and other operations.
• Serve as the main liaison with UEFA, government and football association partners on environmental sustainability matters, ensuring organisational alignment and consistent communication.
• Support the scoping and delivery of sustainability advocacy messaging to be embedded into tournament communication and wider social impact amplification activity.
• Contribute to the tournament’s sustainability evaluation, including environmental impact measurement and reporting on key ESG indicators.
• Support the network of staff Sustainability Champions, embedding a culture of environmental responsibility across the organisation and partners.

What are we looking for?

• Proven experience managing sustainability programmes and acting as the lead Subject Matter Expert across all areas of sustainability, ideally within the major events sector.
• Strong understanding of environmental sustainability issues, such as carbon management, circular economy, sustainable procurement, and waste reduction.
• Good understanding of social sustainability topics including diversity and inclusion.
• Experience developing and implementing complex sustainability initiatives across multi-stakeholder environments including meeting fixed deadlines.
• Experience contributing to sustainability reporting, monitoring, and evaluation.
• Excellent stakeholder management and partnership-building skills, able to collaborate effectively across public, private, and community sectors.
• Strong project management and organisational skills, able to manage multiple workstreams and deadlines.

Values & Behaviours:

Embrace the opportunity

• Encourages experimentation and learning within the team.
• Drives creativity in problem-solving.
• Sets high standards and supports team delivery.
• Models accountability and integrity in all actions.

Thrive together

• Builds inclusive and trusting team environments.
• Addresses conflict constructively and builds consensus.

Why apply?

We offer a competitive salary (plus benefits of 25 days holiday, contributory pension, Private Medical Insurance etc), which coupled with the opportunity to be part of one of the biggest sporting events to ever take place across UK & Ireland we think makes for an exciting place to be!

Where is the role based?

Our head office is based at the iconic Wembley Stadium in London, however depending on your role you may be required to travel across the UK and Ireland to our 9 Stadiums and 8 Host Cities, with some roles being based in those locations.

As an event delivery organisation, we believe in the power of collaboration and connection. That’s why we currently work from HQ at least two days a week. From 2026, this will increase to three to four days a week, and during the tournament year (2028), full-time onsite working will be required.

Everyone is welcome

We’re building a skilled, values-led workforce that reflects the diversity of the UK and Ireland. We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and identities — and we don’t expect everyone to have followed a traditional path to get here.

We're happy to accommodate any requests for reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process. Please email any requests to [emailprotected] . We’ll work with you to ensure you can perform at your best.

All employees will be subject to a DBS check appropriate to the nature of the role and in line with our commitment to providing a safe and inclusive working environment.

https://www.sportanddev.org/latest/jobs-and-opportunities/sustainability-manager-uefa-euro-2028-uk-ireland