LU: Head of Performance Support/Lead S&C Coach (NFL Academy)

Loughborough University: Head of Performance Support and Lead Strength and Conditioning Coach (NFL Academy).

Full time and open ended (subject to external funding).

Loughborough University is the Times and Sunday Times Sports University of the Year 2024 and has a global reputation for sporting excellence, ranked QS world number one for sport and related subjects. We are proudly a unique and leading higher education sporting ecosystem, the only ever winners of the British Universities and Colleges Sport competition, with 43 successive victories.

A UK Sport accredited Elite Training Centre, and home to over 15 sports governing bodies, our ecosystem is closely connected with a network of high-performance partners.

We are recruiting a key role to support the performance partnership with the National Football League (NFL) and Loughborough College, forming the NFL’s only global Academy.

The NFL Academy is a major international initiative driven by the NFL, which aims to use American football to create life-changing opportunities for young people. The NFL Academy offers student athletes aged 16-19 from around the world the opportunity to combine their education with a life skills programme and an intensive training in the sport, under the guidance of full-time professional coaches and performance staff.

Based within Loughborough University’s performance sport environment you will be joining a team who have a proven track record of developing hundreds of elite-level athletes, including Olympic and Paralympic champions. You will be an integral part of the team that will support the development of the NFL Academy athletes and play a key role in the growth of American Football in the UK and around the world.

The successful candidate will be leading and managing a talented Performance Support Team to achieve Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) stipulated by the NFL. To meet these KPIs the successful candidate will need, not only an in-depth knowledge of the field of Strength and Conditioning, but also the coaching expertise to bring it to life for a diverse group of athletes in order to maximise combined performance. The successful candidate will also need to be a critical thinker, have a passion for solving complex problems and have an overview of medical governance in order to work with the Performance Support Team to maximise game availability and return to play timeline.

The role will require flexible working patterns, with some evening/weekend work as well as attendance at fixtures.

This post is subject to a satisfactory to the organisation Disclosure and Barring Check.

The University benefits package includes:

• competitive pension schemes
• a range of childcare support initiatives and benefits including childcare vouchers; on-site university nursery (with salary sacrifice scheme); and holiday play schemes
• a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies
• BUPA Cash Plan (100 scheme)
• Employee Assistance Programme
• season ticket loan scheme
• on campus parking with charging points for electric vehicles
• fantastic range of sports facilities and preferential membership packages available
• excellent CPD and inclusive resources for development

For informal enquiries please contact Chris Wright on C.M.Wright@lboro.ac.uk.

For more information, please refer to the Job Description and Person Specification.

Closing date: 12th January 2025

Interview date: w/c 27th January 2025

Loughborough University is committed to achieving equity and valuing diversity in all aspects of employment and welcomes applications from all sections of the community.