Football Operations Manager Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

At the San Francisco 49ers, our mission is simple but powerful: to create meaningful moments that inspire and connect. Whether it’s on the field, in the community, or behind the scenes, we’re united by the belief that the work we do has the power to bring people together and leave a lasting impact.

Success here takes more than passion; it’s about bringing your best to every challenge. We thrive by balancing priorities with precision, making thoughtful decisions in fast‑paced environments, and always looking ahead to what’s next. Our team is built on core competencies that shape how we work: adaptability, integrity, collaboration, strong communication, and a relentless focus on continuous improvement. Together, these qualities fuel our ability to deliver world‑class experiences for our fans, partners, and community.

If you’re excited about being part of a supportive team where you can develop your skills, share your ideas, and help make a difference, we’d love to have you join us.

The Director of Global Youth Football will lead the strategic vision, growth, and execution of all San Francisco 49ers Youth Football initiatives—domestic and international. This role oversees core program verticals, including education and community programming, school‑based football expansion, domestic flag football leagues and camps, tournaments, youth football operations, and international partner‑led programming.

The Director will serve as the organization’s senior leader for youth football strategy, ensuring all programs align with 49ers values, support growth of the sport at every level, and deliver best‑in‑class experiences for youth, families, community partners, and international collaborators.

This position is based in Santa Clara, California, and requires strong leadership, strategic planning, partner management, and operational oversight.

• Develop and execute the overarching strategic vision for the 49ers Global Youth Football ecosystem, including long‑term domestic and international expansion across schools, leagues, camps, tournaments, and elite programming
• Establish growth targets and build strategic plans aligned with organizational goals, budgets, and community impact priorities
• Directly supervise a four‑vertical staff structure; set goals, manage workflows, and coach staff to deliver industry‑leading programming while fostering a collaborative, respectful work environment.
• Ensure cross‑functional communication, alignment, and collaboration across all verticals to bridge gaps between different teams and goals.
• Oversee all budgeting, forecasting, revenue tracking, and financial planning; secure and manage grants with a commitment to accuracy and precision; ensure compliance with commercial partnership deliverables (Visa, US Bank, Cisco, Banorte); and track program ROI and financial performance.
• Expand youth football in elementary and middle schools, drive Girls Flag Football growth and sanctioning at high school and university levels, and lead partnerships with Boys & Girls Clubs, YMCA, PAL, and similar organizations.
• Oversee development of educational programming, including coach and official training curriculum and workshops, to implement best practices and innovative solutions.
• Guide strategy and growth of 49ers Flag Football leagues across Northern and Central California, including paid, adult, and school‑based models.
• Oversee youth camps (girls, coed, elite), tournaments, staffing, equipment/inventory management, and home game‑day activations.
• Lead all international youth football efforts through agency partners across England, Scotland, UAE, and Mexico; ensure brand alignment, curriculum deployment, equipment fulfillment, and partnership performance tracking.
• Serve as primary liaison with the NFL, NFL Flag, USA Football, corporate sponsors, grant partners, and internal departments (49ers Foundation, Brand Marketing, Corporate Partnerships); represent the organization professionally at league meetings, summits, and partner events.
• Maintain the highest standards of ethical decision‑making and take ownership of outcomes for both successes and mistakes.
• Other duties as assigned.

• Ability to thrive in a fast‑paced environment and manage high expectations while working with tight deadlines.
• Ability to foster a collaborative, positive, and respectful work environment.
• Demonstrates ability to effectively build trust and a network of contacts at all levels within the industry and in the community, both internally and externally.
• Ability to create and implement changes and plans while maximizing employee adoption and engagement, adjusting quickly to dynamic environments.
• Ability to promote a flexible and accommodating environment that accepts, appreciates, and is open‑minded to the viewpoints and expertise that all stakeholders bring to the work environment.
• Ability to lead people through processes towards agreed‑upon objectives in a manner that encourages participation, ownership and creativity by all those involved.
• Ability to provide constructive feedback, mentorship, and advice in order to help others grow, develop, and achieve team goals.
• Strong understanding of youth football development, including flag and tackle pathways.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, presentation, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Ability to work early mornings, evenings, and weekends as required for events and stakeholder meetings.

• At least 8–10 years of experience in youth sports, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Demonstrated leadership experience managing multi‑vertical teams or programs, with a proven ability to aggressively drive growth and participation while fostering a collaborative, team‑focused culture.
• Proven track record of scaling programs or expanding youth sports participation.
• Experience in strategic planning, budgeting, and financial oversight.
• Experience working with corporate partners, school districts, community organizations, or international programs.
• Experience with Microsoft Suite, including Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Word.

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions.

The employee will be sitting in an indoor/outdoor facility the majority of the time and may be exposed to outdoor weather conditions.

The employee is frequently required to sit, walk/stand, and move/lift up to 25 pounds. The employee is also required to use hands or fingers, handle or feel objects, tools, or controls and reach with hands and arms. The employee is occasionally required to climb or balance and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee is regularly required to talk or hear. Specific vision abilities required by this position include close vision, distance vision, and color vision.

This position requires the ability to work extended hours, weekends, and holidays.

25% of local travel time and 15% international travel requiring overnight stay are expected for this position.

$140-145K

The company is an Equal Opportunity Employer, drug free workplace, and complies with ADA regulations as applicable. All duties and responsibilities are essential functions and requirements and are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities. The requirements listed in this document are the minimum levels of knowledge, skills, or abilities.