England Para Football Lead Performance Doctor (Part Time 0.6FTE/3 days a week)

Vacancy description
Key Information
- Division:Para Technical
- Location:Home based
- Vacancy Type:Part-time, Permanent
- Closing Date:20 August 2025
The Para Lead Performance Doctor will be responsible for leading the delivery of world class Sports Medicine support for players on the England Para Football programme and identified programme activity. You will implement the FA policies and procedures in relation to governance, medical standards and performance medicine oversight to all England Para teams.
This is a part time role for 3 days a week.
Whilst contractually homebased, there will be a need for regular travel to The National Football Centre, St. George's Park so please do bear this in mind when making your application. As a guide, this is not necessarily every week, but you would be required on camp at St. George's Park when needed, and at leadership and medical governance meetings every two weeks.
Interviews are scheduled to take place on the 15th September at St. George's Park.
Please include a cover letter with your application, clearly outlining your interest in the role and why you meet the criteria.
What will you be doing?
Sports Medicine
- Support medical teams working with senior squads with the planning and management of all performance medicine services for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of illnesses and injuries across the Para programme in a manner that maximises performance across all training and major tournament activity.
- Lead and manage, with support from the Medical Coordinator, the appropriate provision of medical cover for all planned Para activity.
- Lead the development of bespoke medical policy and guidance across Para teams. This may include but is not limited to medicine management, medical documentation, emergency protocols, cardiac screening, and standard operating procedures and feedback/action necessary changes to keep procedures up to date and compliant with legal requirements and professional body standards.
- Provide additional medical support where needed at identified training camps/tournaments.
- Key medical contact for Health Partners insurance and communication of the insurance policy with staff and players.
- Work with the Chief Medical Officer to align England Para teams with other England teams where appropriate, within the limits of Para Infrastructure and resource, ensuring consistency of structures and support.
- Support relevant FA medical projects and steering groups in supporting the overall performance strategy to provide competitive advantage for Para teams throughout the pathway but specifically aligned to senior Para team objectives.
- Attend and contribute to England Team's medical governance meetings.
- Ensure that Injury & Illness Surveillance data is captured and recorded by all casual medical staff, to support the overall Para player management across pathway teams.
- Liaise with secondary care providers where appropriate to ensure continuing ongoing care of the highest standard.
- Oversee the management of camp-related equipment and medical consumables across the Para Programme.
Multidisciplinary Team
- To create a collaborative and cohesive dynamic across the casual medical workforce, to ensure consistency in medical delivery and approach.
- Work with the coaches and other key support staff, including the Player Health Lead, to minimise injury risk and maximise competitive performance.
- To lead on MDT meetings to discuss complex medical cases within the Para Football programme (where appropriate)
- Work as part of the performance support staff and ensuring full and open communication and information sharing within the team (athlete confidentiality permissive)
- Work with the Integrity team within the FA to implement appropriate anti-doping education for all players and staff.
- Lead a suitable CPD programme for other members of the England Para Football medical staff and other selected staff.
- Maintain a network of leading medical specialists across the country so England Para Football players have access to the best treatment if/when this cannot be provided from within the programme.
- Executes additional tasks as required to meet the FA's changing priorities.
- Comply with all company policies and procedures to ensure the highest standards of health, safety, and wellbeing can be maintained.
- As part of the FA's commitment to ensuring a safe environment for everyone in football, every employee will be required to complete a DBS check. The level of the check required will be based on the activity of the specific job role and in line with legislation and government guidance.
What are we looking for?
Essential for the role:
Knowledge
- Full registration with the GMC
- A post graduate qualification in Sports (and Exercise) Medicine at Diploma level (or equivalent) with verifiable clinical training in sports medicine
- Member or Fellow of Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine (FSEM)
- Current ATMMiF (or equivalent)
- National network/knowledge of SEM contacts to facilitate off-camp care of players
Experience
- Experience as a Team Doctor in elite sport and in managing and participating in multi-disciplinary teams
- Excellent academic and applied knowledge of contemporary practice in performance medicine
- Track record of successfully integrating into MDT coaching teams
Skills
- Excellent sports medicine delivery skills
- Excellent written and oral communication with a demonstrable record of good organisational skills
- Ability to create excellent relationships with a wide range of stakeholders
Beneficial to have:
Knowledge
- Knowledge of the England Para Football Pathway
Experience
- Experience in successfully managing / leading teams of medical professionals
- Experience in a medical governance role
- Experience in international sport
- Experience in Para sport
Technical Skills
- An understanding of the cost/benefit analysis of medical services.
What's in it for you?
We are committed to ensuring everyone can flourish in their roles, to achieve this we have unique office spaces under the arch of the iconic Wembley National Stadium, which is the home of English Football. We are also delighted to offer a world-class, Elite Performance Centre, St. George's Park in Staffordshire which is an exceptional setting to develop and inspire high-performing England teams and leaders.
We pride ourselves in offering a competitive salary as well as great opportunities to develop and grow in your role. But that is not all; we also have a range of exciting benefits, some of which can be found below:
- Access to event day tickets at Wembley Stadium, alongside a host of regular internal events throughout the season, encouraging you to connect and learn with your colleagues and look after your mental health and well-being.
- Free, nutritious lunches at Wembley Stadium and St. George's Park.
- Free private medical cover.
- A contributory pension scheme.
- An additional 'Thank You' days leave, volunteering days as well as 25 days annual leave (based on a full-time, permanent contract.)
- A hybrid working model offering greater flexibility.
For more information on what it is like to work at The FA, please visit our FA Careers page, https://www.thefa.com/about-football-association/careers
We are a diverse workplace, aspiring to represent football across the country. The Football Association actively promotes inclusion and diversity, encouraging you to be the best version of yourself at work.
We welcome applications from everyone and are proud to be an equal opportunities employer. If you have any particular requirements in respect of the recruitment or interview process, please mention this during your application.
As part of the FA's commitment to ensuring a safe environment for everyone in football, every employee will be required to complete a DBS check. The level of the check required will be based on the activity of the specific job role and in line with legislation and government guidance.

ABOUT US

The Football Association [The FA] is the not-for-profit governing body of football in England. It is responsible for promoting and developing every level of the game, from grassroots through to the professional game, and generates significant revenue to support investment into English football each year.
The FA oversees England international teams across men’s, women’s, youth and disability football, as well as running the National League System and FA Competitions including the Emirates FA Cup, and the Adobe Women’s FA Cup, and the world-class facilities of Wembley Stadium and St. George’s Park, all with a purpose to inspire positive change through football.
Our game can tackle some of society’s core challenges. It can bring communities together, nationally and locally. It can be a platform for inclusion, ensuring there is a place for all. It can get people active and promote wellbeing often at a time when we need it most. With UEFA EURO 2028 – hosted in the UK and Ireland – on the horizon, we have an incredible opportunity to transform football across the country.
Now is the time to inspire positive change.
We currently work within a hybrid working model whereby the expectation is to work from your contractual location for part of the week, and as and when required by the team. The remaining days can be worked remotely. We will continue to monitor this model, and it may be adjusted in future if deemed necessary.
Your contract with The FA will specify a fixed location of Wembley Stadium or St. George’s Park unless the role is advertised as a homebased contract. The contractual location of this role can be found at the top of this advert on our FA vacancy page.

THE PROCESS

We believe that assessment and selection should be robust, fair, and inclusive.
Following receipt of your application and the closing of the application process, you can expect a period of circa two weeks for us to thoroughly screen and shortlist, ahead of any next stage and interview.
Please note, we receive a high volume of applications so this can vary but we ensure that our assessor panel reviews all applications, and no use of automated screening or AI is used.
At an interview, we want to ensure that we see the best of you as an individual and increase our understanding of your skills and experience relevant to the demands of the role. It is very much a two-way process with importance placed on the candidate experience so that regardless of outcome, you feel valued, and treated fairly and hopefully have a positive experience.
No process is ever the same, but we would like to create an environment that is welcoming and ensures the experience is as enjoyable as possible.
We tailor our assessment and selection depending on the nature and demands of the role. The FA Resourcing Team will provide you with as much notice as possible about the process and the format of any interview will always be communicated to you in advance, including what to expect on the day and who you will be seeing.
We often receive a high volume of applications, and for certain roles, we will supplement your application, utilising our on-demand video interviewing platform. On-demand video interviews enable you to answer preset questions, in the comfort of your own home or office setting and at a convenient time for you, giving us greater insight into you as an individual and the skills and experience you might bring to the role and working at The FA.
We also utilise Microsoft Teams for virtual interviews and of course host you at our world class venues, Wembley Stadium and our National Football Centre, St. George’s Park.

GROUP STRATEGY

WE HAVE MOVED FOOTBALL FORWARD.
From 2020 - 2024, we have – in collaboration with our key partners – been able to deliver meaningful change across the game.
From winning our first major tournament in over 50 years to delivering thousands of high-quality pitches to the grassroots game.
BUT WE CAN’T STOP NOW - AND WE WON’T.
This new strategy is about doubling down. Our game can tackle some of society’s core challenges. It can bring communities together, nationally and locally.
It can be a platform for inclusion, ensuring there is a place for all. It can get people active and promote wellbeing often at a time when we need it most.
With UEFA EURO 2028 – hosted in the UK and Ireland – on the horizon, we have an incredible opportunity to transform football across the country.
NOW IS THE TIME TO INSPIRE POSITIVE CHANGE.
Our ultimate purpose is to ‘Inspire positive change through football’ – everything we do ultimately ladders up to this end goal.
The 2024-2028 strategy focuses on tackling four long-term strategic challenges that will fulfil this purpose and drive real change across the game, our ‘Game Changer’ objectives.
Underpinning these Game Changers are then four activities and approaches that will enable us to meet challenges head on, our ‘Drivers’.


EDI STRATEGY

Our equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) strategy forms an integral part of our long-term commitment to using our influence across English football to create a game free from discrimination.
A GAME FREE FROM DISCRIMINATION
Our 2024 – 2028 strategy outlines three fundamental pillars for delivering a game free from discrimination – Boosting Representation, Driving Inclusion and Tackling Discrimination.
These pillars ensure that our work uniting communities, improving lives, and inspiring positive change on and off the pitch will remain a core priority for English football for years to come.
We are a diverse workplace, aspiring to represent football across the country. The FA actively promotes inclusion and diversity, encouraging you to be the best version of yourself at work.
We welcome applications from everyone and are proud to be an equal opportunities employer. If you have any particular requirements in respect of the recruitment or interview process, please mention this during your application.
As part of The FA’s commitment to ensuring a safe environment for everyone in football, every employee will be required to complete a DBS check. The level of the check required will be based on the activity of the specific job role and in line with legislation and government guidance.
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