Sports Scientist

The Sports Scientist will support the Head of Sport Science in the creation of high-performance culture driven by an individualized player-centric approach and a focus on individual and team development. This role is responsible for implementing and delivering best-practice data collection and analysis that enhances the performance environment for ACFC’s players & staff. This individual will lead, deliver, and enhance the club’s data strategy to ultimately prevent injury and enhance individual and collective athletic performance. 

Serving within a multi-disciplinary medical & performance team, the individual will be expected to effectively communicate daily with other high-performance staff regarding physical programming and target performance goals required to improve the profile, reduce the risk of injury occurrence, and enhance on-field performance and lead long-term athletic development pathway of Angel City players. All of the above should be guided by the objective use of data, research, and the use of various technologies to monitor progress & performance.

Responsibilities:

• Support the Head of Sport Science and Director of Medical & Performance in the design and delivery of a clear, transparent, and collaborative culture and soccer operations model for the franchise.
• Oversee the delivery of monitoring, profiling, and evaluation of all first-team players to ensure a clear, data-driven strategy is in place for all and that each player’s physical development requirements are tailored to their specific needs and priorities.
• Lead the collection of individual and group data to help inform best indoor and pitch-based strategies.
• Develop visuals and flagging processes to alert to changes in health status, function, and possible need for intervention.
• Liaise daily with the medical department on player status, wellness, and rehabilitation.
• Design and/or enhance existing evidence-based protocols for return to train and return to play processes, and collaborate on the transition process in conjunction with the medical department.
• Ensure the latest clinical, scientific, and technical innovations for applied practice are implemented while maintaining the highest level of care.
• Develop and deliver enhanced analysis and reporting on match performance and outcomes to ensure the club’s approach is insights led.
• Design reporting that is functional and useful to the technical staff that provides insight around training & match performance and how the physical data intersects with technical/tactical performances.
• In collaboration with the Medical Team and Head of Sport Science, create and monitor off-season training programs.
• Educate and support players, as well as produce appropriate visuals, on all performance and recovery-related strength and conditioning themes.
• Collaborate with the Director of Medical & Performance and Head of Sport Science to ensure all players receive individual physical programs, monitoring, and management to track long-term player development.
• Develop reporting that is player-centric and provides the athletes with an accurate, clear picture of their performance and/or progress as it relates to their health & physical development.
• Establish a healthy working relationship inclusive of open and frequent communication, collaboration, and trust with colleagues across technical and operations staff. Work collaboratively with the multidisciplinary team to deliver excellent outcomes in an elite performance environment.
• Actively support, where possible, the wider community, commercial, and revenue-generating projects undertaken by the Franchise.
• Enforce team rules and league rules applicable to players and coaching staff.

Requirements:

• Understanding of sports science and related disciplines, including their impact on athletic performance
• Experience in conducting scientifically underpinned assessment, monitoring, and evaluation procedures
• Experience in using data management systems to ensure the secure and efficient storage of, monitoring, and evaluation of data
• Confidence in making decisions
• Understand sports science technologies such as STATSports, Polar, Vald, and Athlete Management System and how they can be utilized to drive performance & development
• Experience in software including Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Google Sheets, & Google Drive, as well as visualization tools
• Experience in Power Bi and its related tools is highly preferred
• Ability to communicate clearly and effectively with players and staff at all levels
• Positive influencer, comfortable with leading dynamic change
• Ability to translate complex data insights into simple, actionable language that is understood by the medical team, technical staff, and athletes.
• Commitment to diversity and inclusion
• Consistently displays empathy with players with an ability to inspire.
• Excellent organizational skills & attention to detail
• A desire to continually innovate in collaboration with the rest of the High-Performance Team
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to build meaningful, strong, and strategic relationships with club staff
• Understanding of learning, development, and high performance with a proven ability to create optimum learning environments for players
• Track record of consistent high performance in a professional environment
• Experience as a Strength and Conditioning Coach at the elite level in women’s elite soccer is a plus
• Strong commitment to personal development and training

Qualifications

• BSc/BA in Exercise/Sports Science (or a related discipline)
• MSc in Strength & Conditioning, Sports Science, Data Science, or a related discipline (strongly desired)
• CPSS desired and CSCS or UKSCA or equivalent
• Applied elite soccer experience, work within the elite female soccer space preferred

ACFC Perks & Benefits

• Fully funded comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage
• 401K plan
• Flexible PTO policy  
• Paid Parental Leave
• Catered lunch, snacks, and beverages
• Complimentary tickets to home games
• Bi-annual performance reviews

Compensation

In addition to the benefits above, this role has a pay range between $100-$110k.