Premier League Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Standard (PLEDIS) Panel Members

The Premier League is seeking to appoint new Panel Members to its PLEDIS Panel; the diverse group of independent experts who determine whether requirements of the Premier League’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Standard for Professional Football Clubs have been met by its clubs.  

The PLEDIS is an ambitious and progressively challenging evidence-based framework. It drives continuous improvement in equality, diversity and inclusion to create meaningful and sustainable change. It covers all areas of a Club’s activities, including its role as an employer, its match day operations, its academy, first team, Community Foundation and fans. 

The Panel assessing our clubs is convened by the Premier League but is independent and objective. We are seeking to appoint Panel Members with a wide experience of equality matters – preferably at a senior, strategic level – to develop a thorough understanding of the objectives and scope of the PLEDIS and comprise the Assessment Panels which visit our clubs (as well as undertake training and preparatory work as required).

We are committed to building a diverse and experienced Panel and welcome applications from individuals with a broad range of skills and professional backgrounds, including business, football, the public sector, and high-level charity contexts. This includes, but is not limited to: ex-professional footballers, those who have held roles within football governing bodies or clubs including coaching or management, expertise aligned to the PLEDIS themes, and professionals with experience working across global markets. We value the unique perspectives that each individual can bring to this important work

The Premier League is home to some of the most competitive and compelling football in the world. The League and its Clubs use the power and popularity of the competition to inspire fans, communities and partners in the UK and across the world. The Premier League brings people together from all backgrounds. It is a competition for everyone, everywhere and is available to watch in over 900 million homes in 189 countries.

We have a wide variety of responsibilities. These include organising the competition and its Handbook as well as managing the centralised broadcast and commercial rights. The work we do in conjunction with the Clubs also goes far beyond the 90 minutes. We support and provide a framework for youth development, we protect the organisation’s intellectual property, support the wider game and community programmes, undertake international development work and liaise with governing bodies and other leagues. 

The Premier League is an equal opportunities employer and strives to create an inclusive culture where talent can flourish. We believe in the potential of everyone and open our doors to those who share those values. All appointments will be made based on merit; however, we particularly encourage applications from women, people from minority ethnic communities, LGBTQ+ people and disabled people.  

The PLEDIS framework is set around four key themes: 

Our Clubs work towards three levels of achievement: Preliminary, Intermediate and Advanced; with submissions assessed independently and verified during Panel Assessment Meetings. Panel Members’ roles are to verify that the requirements of the PLEDIS have been met and to provide advice and high-level recommendations to help Clubs further develop their EDI work. 

Panels are made up of independent experts from a range of disciplines and backgrounds, all of whom have significant experience at a senior, strategic level in progressing EDI within organisations. Each Panel convened is constituted to ensure it is made up of members with expertise in or highly developed knowledge of:

Prior to Panel Assessment Meetings with Premier League clubs, members are required to give in-depth consideration assessment documentation. During Panel Assessment Meetings members are required to:

The Panel is supported in its role by an independent Assessor Consultant team and Secretariat.