- Dan Tunna
As one door closes...
After six fantastic months working with The Football Association, this has been my last week with the organisation...
Having initially joined for a three month project, I feel incredibly fortunate to have spent double that time working day-to-day with such a passionate, dedicated and highly-talented group of people across the organisation who truly love what they do and who they represent. It’s been fascinating to represent the highest-profile sport governing body in the UK and I’ve learnt a huge amount about the football and wider sports industries from a NGB perspective.
Clearly the sports industry faces a challenging few months and recruitment has all but ground to a halt. Like many in a similar situation, I fully intend to make the most of this period of uncertainty and ensure I’m a better marketing and communications professional by the time I start my next role. Here’s a few things I’ll be focusing on:
Learning
Because I firmly believe you never stop doing this and regularly need to challenge yourself theoretically, as well as practically. Last week I started Marketing Week’s Mini MBA with Mark Ritson, which has already provided plenty of insight and inspiration. I look forward to applying the learnings in future positions. I’m all ears on any other marketing, comms or business-related qualification/courses so please leave a comment if you have any to recommend. Is an altMBA really worth it?!
Listening
As I’m sure many have found, working from home full-time the last few weeks has been intense. The many video conferences each day, coupled with no commute, has meant the amount of podcasts I’ve been listening to has actually dropped off dramatically. I’ve so many to catch up on and I'm looking forward to getting stuck in understanding in more detail how others in the industry have been affected, how they faced up to the challenges and what the learnings have been made. Shout outs to Unofficial Partner, Are You Not Entertained?, Leaders, SportsPro and Recode Media - I'm looking forward to catching up on your first-class content.
Advising
Whilst open to all offers (short-term projects and FT positions), I’m realistic that there will be very few sport-related organisations or brands that will be hiring until live sport returns, and in some cases, until fans are allowed to attend. I’ll be using this time to offer pro bono consultancy with a charity I have a vested interest in - TackleAfrica.
I'm delighted to finally have the time to properly dedicate some thoughts on how they grow and succeed in spreading the message of sexual health awareness to young people in Africa using the power and popularity of football. I’m open to more pro bono work during the coming months so if you represent a charity, small business or start-up with a communications challenge or resource requirement please get in touch.
For more info on my experience and the services I can offer please visit my website www.dantunna.com and get in touch via email at dantunna@gmail.com or on the phone +44 (0) 7973 824415.
Stay safe and see you in the new normal.