Photographer

About the Marketing, Creative and Content Team: 

Our Marketing, Creative, and Content team are the driving force behind how the club connects with fans and the wider community.

We are a talented and passionate group dedicated to creating engaging campaigns, compelling visuals, and high-quality content that showcase the club’s personality and values. From managing digital channels to producing innovative storytelling, we work collaboratively to build a strong, authentic connection with supporters both locally and globally.

Our team is committed to creativity, teamwork, and delivering memorable experiences that inspire pride and loyalty among our fans.

The Opportunity: 

Sunderland AFC is seeking a talented and passionate Photographer to join our Content team. In this pivotal role, you will be responsible for capturing high-quality imagery across a variety of settings, including matches, training sessions, player arrivals, media events, commercial shoots, and club functions. Your creative vision will help produce engaging visual content that reflects the energy, emotion, and culture of the club, both on and off the pitch. You will deliver fast-turnaround images for digital, social media, editorial, commercial, and PR purposes, often working under tight deadlines. Additionally, you will be editing, retouching, and optimising images using Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom to ensure a high standard of quality, while maintaining and organising the club’s photography archive and digital assets efficiently.

This full-time, on-site role is primarily based at the Academy of Light and Stadium of Light, with regular matchday work including evenings and weekends. The position focuses mainly on the Men’s First Team but also involves contributions to the Women’s team, Academy, commercial activities, and fan engagement. You will collaborate closely with video, design, marketing, and communications teams on campaigns and content planning, supporting branded activations and promotional shoots. 

What We Ask For: 

The ideal candidate will have a minimum of three years’ professional photography experience, preferably within elite sport, live events, editorial, or a fast-paced media environment. A strong portfolio demonstrating compelling storytelling, high technical quality, creativity, and the ability to capture emotion and atmosphere is essential. You should possess an advanced understanding of professional camera systems, lenses, lighting setups, and remote shooting equipment, along with excellent editing and post-production skills in Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom.

Experience with fast file transfer, live editing, and delivering same-day content is crucial, as well as a strong grasp of composition, lighting, colour grading, and visual branding. Knowledge of social-first content trends and how photography performs across digital platforms will give you an edge. You must have excellent organisational skills, attention to detail, and rigorous file management standards. The ability to remain calm and decisive under pressure, especially during live events, is vital. Strong communication and interpersonal skills are necessary for effective collaboration across departments.

Flexibility to work evenings, weekends, and travel to away fixtures is essential, as well as a full UK driving licence.

You will be required to obtain an Enhanced DBS through SAFC. 

Location and eligibility: This is a full-time, on-site role based at the Stadium of Light and Academy of Light. Applicants must have the right to work in the UK, as we are unable to provide visa sponsorship for this position.