The Performance Specialist will support the Head of Performance in the creation of a high-performance culture driven by a player-centric approach and a focus on individual and team development. This role is responsible for implementing and delivering best-practice strength and conditioning provisions for Angel City FC players. This individual will lead, deliver, and enhance the club’s strength and conditioning approach 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 maintain 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.

This role reports to the Head of Performance.

Responsibilities

• Support the Head of Performance and High Performance Director 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 strength and conditioning programs are in place for all and that each player’s physical development requirements are tailored to their specific needs and priorities.
• Lead the delivery of individual and group strength and conditioning programs, including indoor and pitch-based strategies.
• Work closely with medical staff members to deliver individualized return-to-play programming in the gym and on the pitch.
• Liaise daily with the medical department regarding player status and wellness.
• 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 Strength and Conditioning performance and outcomes to ensure the club’s approach is insights-led.
• 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.
• Establish a healthy working relationship that includes 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.
• 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 as a strength and conditioning coach at the elite level of women’s soccer is a plus. Technical proficiency on the pitch is ideal.
• Ability to lead large group strength sessions or work with athletes individually for LTD or RTP.
• Experience in conducting scientifically underpinned assessment, monitoring, and evaluation procedures.
• Experience using data management systems to ensure the secure and efficient storage of, monitoring, and evaluation of data.
• 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, Power BI, & Google Drive, as well as visualization tools.
• Ability to communicate clearly and effectively with players and staff at all levels.
• Positive influencer, comfortable with leading dynamic change.
• 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 players and club staff.
• Understanding of learning, development, and high performance with a proven ability to create optimum learning environments for players.
• Track record of consistently high performance in a professional environment.

Qualifications

• BSc/BA in Exercise/Sports Science (or a related discipline)
• MSc in Strength & Conditioning, Sports Science, or a related discipline
• CSCS, UKSC, 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
• Cell Phone reimbursement
• Catered lunch
• Complimentary tickets to home games
• Bi-annual performance reviews

Compensation

In addition to the benefits above, this role has a pay range between $80k to $85k.