Vacancy description
Key Information
- Division:Para Technical
- Location:Home based
- Vacancy Type:Casual Contract
- Closing Date:31 January 2025
To support the delivery of an excellent Physical Performance programme to, primarily, the England Para Football women's teams, by helping to develop resilient and high-performing Para Footballers that contribute to England Para Football medal success.
This is a casual contract, which will initially run until 31st July 2025. It is anticipated that you will be required for approximately 30 days/100 hours, with the requirement to travel overseas when needed.
Please include a cover letter with your application outlining your interest in the role and how you meet the criteria.
This will be a two stage process, with the first stage interview being held week beginning 17th February at The National Football Centre, St. George's Park. For those successful at first stage there will be a second stage practical assessment on the weekend of 22nd/23rd February.
What Will You Be Doing?
- Take responsibility for designing and delivering individualised, evidence-based strength, conditioning, and injury prevention programmes tailored to the specific needs of female athletes;
- Drive forward knowledge of optimal training, recovery and injury prevention female para players;
- Use data from fitness assessments, training loads, and game performances to make informed decisions and provide actionable feedback that drives improvement and ensures peak physical performance during competition;
- Regularly assess the physical progress of players and adjust training plans accordingly to optimise performance while minimising injury risk;
- Continuously monitor player performance, including physical fitness, match related data and recovery status;
- Create a supportive and empowering training atmosphere that prioritises the mental and physical well-being of female players; understand and address the unique challenges women may face in elite football performance, including considerations for menstrual health, injury risks, and performance psychology.
- Develop and maintain close working relationships with England Para Football national coaches and performance support staff to ensure an effective multi-disciplinary approach to physical performance delivery;
- Develop and maintain close working relationships with the Para Football Physical Performance Lead and Para Football Physio Lead to ensure a smooth and effective transition of care for any injuries that are reported on or off camp;
- Maintain clear communication regarding physical performance, recovery protocols, and overall health to support the team's success both on and off the field.
- Deliver hydration strategies, warm ups and cool downs, in conjunction with the multidisciplinary team whilst on camp with England Para Football squads;
- Help administer and collect relevant physical performance data when on camps (e.g., anthropometry, hydration, GPS and heart rate);
- Contribute to the collection, storage and analysis of relevant physical performance data (e.g., GPS, heart rate and physical testing);
- Coordinate with squad doctor and lead physiotherapist to ensure that players undergoing rehabilitation programmes are adhering to advice and remote monitoring;
- Comply with all mandated training (i.e., UKAD Advisor, CRC check, Safeguarding, Mental Health Training) to facilitate compliance with all safeguarding policies;
- Executes additional tasks as required in order to meet FA Group 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 Will You Need?
Essential for the role:
Knowledge
- Completed an undergraduate degree in a relevant field (e.g. BSc Sport and Exercise Science, Strength and Conditioning)
- Knowledge of the unique demands of Para sport, particularly football;
- Demonstrated understanding of the unique physical and physiological needs of female football players;
- Understanding of injury prevention within the sport, rehabilitation, and recovery strategies with a clear ability to improve athletic performance while managing player health and longevity;
Experience
- At least 2 years of experience working as a physical performance coach with female athletes;
- In-depth understanding of soccer-specific physical demands, including strength, speed, endurance, agility, and power;
- Experience working with live and/or retrospective GPS and/or heart rate systems;
- High emotional intelligence, empathy, and the ability to build rapport with athletes, fostering trust and mutual respect, are essential for long-term success
- Experience of working in Para sport or with Para athletes;
Technical Skills
- Outstanding ability to communicate and build relationships with players, coaching staff, and other stakeholders (e.g., parents);
- Ability to create presentations and present to a wide range of key stakeholders
- Excellent IT skills, particularly working with MS Excel;
Beneficial to have:
Knowledge
- Completed a postgraduate degree in a relevant field (e.g. BSc Sport and Exercise Science, Strength and Conditioning);
- Understanding of the physical demands of female futsal;
- Ability to integrate new techniques, technologies, and evidence-based practices into training programs to maximise player performance and recovery;
- An understanding of Para athletes' needs;
- Understanding of reliability and validity within physical testing scenarios;
Experience
- Experience with injury prevention, rehabilitation, and recovery strategies;
- Experience in working in international sport and travelling with squads, both as an athlete or as a staff member;
- Evidence of previous lone working;
- Experience in working in men's and/or women's club football;
- Evidence of undertaking virtual consultations and delivering exercises remotely;
- Working towards UKSCA, BASES or other accreditations within professional bodies;
Technical Skills
- Currently hold, or working towards an FA Emergency First Aid Level 3;
- Currently hold, or working towards an FA Safeguarding;
- Currently hold an FA DBS Check;
What's in it for you?
We pride ourselves in offering a competitive rate of pay as well as great opportunities to develop and grow in your role.
We are committed to ensuring everyone can flourish in their roles, and by doing this we offer top-of-the-range facilities across two core business locations. 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 have 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 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 Women’s Adobe 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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