The Football Association is seeking an exceptional Women’s Pathway Lead Doctor to play a pivotal role in advancing the success and continued growth of women’s football in England. In this influential position, you will lead the delivery of a high-performance medical doctor service across the England Women’s pathway (U15–U23), ensuring players are optimally supported in their health, performance, and availability, contributing directly to the success of England teams on the international stage.

This is a part-time opportunity (0.6 FTE), requiring occasional availability on weekends, evenings, and national team camps as required.

What will you be doing?

• Lead the management, recruitment, development and retention of the consultant casual doctor workforce to ensure optimal delivery of medical services to all pathway teams.
• Provide off-camp support to the team doctors and oversight in seasonal/camp/tournament planning for each age group team.
• Work in collaboration with the Women’s Pathway Lead Physiotherapist to support the medical/physio delivery to pathway teams.
• Develop and maintain close collaboration with MDT pathway leads and national coaches to ensure alignment and delivery of the ‘One Pride Built To Roar’ women’s pathway strategy.
• Develop and maintain relationships with club medical staff to ensure smooth transition of players into and out of pathway camps.
• Contribute to the development of medical policy and guidance which supports best practice in the preparation and management of players for international football.
• Support key medical projects and steering groups which support the overall strategy, and provide competitive advantage for our women’s teams.
• Ensure medical governance standards are upheld throughout the pathway teams.
• Oversee the management of camp-related equipment and medical consumables across the pathway.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of a Women’s Performance Medicine Strategy.
• Provide medical guidance and support to the Female Athlete Health Delivery Lead.
• Execute additional tasks as required to meet the FA’s changing priorities.
• Comply with all company policies and procedures to ensure that the highest standards of health, safety, and well-being 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.

For further information regarding the role, contact Ritan Mehta (Head of Women’s Medical) – ritan.mehta@thefa.com.

What are we looking for?

Essential for the role:

• Medical degree and license to practice in the UK (GMC registered).
• MSc or Diploma in Sport and Exercise Medicine.
• Member of Faculty of Sports and Exercise Medicine (UK).
• Extensive 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 elite sport MDT teams.
• Knowledge and experience in managing medical governance in sport.
• Experience working with elite female athletes and youth athletes.
• Experience in managing / leading teams of medical professionals.
• Ability to create excellent relationships with a wide range of stakeholders.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.

Beneficial to have:

• Experience working in women’s football and knowledge of the WSL.
• Experience in international sport.
• Experience in international or club football.
• Knowledge of the England Women’s Talent Pathway.
• Fellow of Faculty of Sports and Exercise Medicine (UK).
• Project management qualification/experience.
• Over 5 years’ experience as a team doctor in elite sport and in managing and participating in multi-disciplinary teams.

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 on 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, encourages 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’ day’s leave, volunteering days, as well as 25 days of annual leave (based on a full-time, permanent contract)
• A hybrid working model which offers 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

Currently, we are working 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. The contractual location of this role can be found on the FA Careers page.

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.