Founded in 1882, Tottenham Hotspur Football Club is an English Premier League Club, based in North London.

Led by the late great Bill Nicholson, the Club became the first in England to win the League and FA Cup Double in 1961, and the first in the UK to win a European Trophy two years later. Spurs has since been home to some of the game’s great entertainers, including Jimmy Greaves, Glenn Hoddle, Paul Gascoigne, David Ginola, Gareth Bale, Heung-Min Son and Harry Kane.

In April 2019, the Club opened an iconic new stadium that sits at the heart of a £1billion sport-led regeneration of North Tottenham. The stadium is the largest football club stadium in London and is a multi-use venue with the ability to host a variety of events 365 days a year, including NFL, boxing, rugby, concerts, and other major events, plus visitor attractions including Stadium Tours and the Dare Skywalk.

The stadium development scheme has to date created more than 4,000 new jobs for local people, with circa £300m pumped into the local economy each year.

Tottenham Hotspur has:

• A clear strategy to develop talent from within its Academy, showcased by a strong track record of Academy players graduating to the first-team squad.


• A £100m state-of-the-art Training Centre that supports the Club’s ambition to attract, develop and retain the best talent.


• Commercial partnerships with globally recognised brands including AIA Group Limited (AIA), one of the world’s leading providers of life insurance services, and Nike, the world’s leading sports footwear and apparel company.


• A commitment to minimizing its environmental impact across Club operations, being named as the greenest in the Premier League for the past three years. Tottenham Hotspur is a signatory of the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework, committing to halve carbon emissions by 2030 and become net zero carbon by 2040.


• An award-winning Foundation that is renowned for creating opportunities to help enhance the lives of people in its local community through education, employment, health, and social inclusion programmes.

JOB PURPOSE:

The Academy Sports Psychologist will be responsible for:

• To create and deliver a clearly defined performance psychology programme specifically for our Academy Players and Staff.


• Aligning the programme with that of the coaching and multidisciplinary support staff to co-create and deliver a strategy for performance, wellbeing, and the promotion of good mental health.


• Embed a psychological service which reflects the focused and strategic direction of the Academy values.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• To psychologically profile all players in the designated phases of development, providing ethically appropriate group reports and individual feedback when required.


• Work closely with the Head of Coaching to ensure all coach behaviours are assessed within training and games and develop appropriate strategies in line with Coach Competency Frameworks.


• Design, clearly position and deliver practical interventions that develops players ability to perform successfully on and off the pitch and integrates a holistic understanding of the player and staff wellbeing.


• Contribute where appropriate to the Academy departments, using evidence-based research and applied practice to enhance the position, profile and understanding of Psychology.


• Collaboratively promote psychological safety among all players and staff.


• Work closely with the coaching and multidisciplinary support staff to effectively align performance psychology with the performance needs of the coaches and players.


• Support the development of strategies to encourage positive team dynamics and high performance under pressure.


• Work with other support staff to monitor and connect with players to allow them an environment in which they can achieve their personal best.


• Monitor the well-being of Academy players utilising appropriate internal and external support services, at all times liaising with the Academy Safeguarding Manager.


• Maintain accurate, comprehensive and comprehensible records of professional interactions.


• Effectively work with colleagues to develop a shared view of the objectives of the department, recognising and respecting the common purpose of the Academy.


• Encourage equality and diversity within the workplace and promote a culture that is inclusive for all.


• Due to the nature of this industry and the demands of this role, you may be required to work outside of normal office hours including evenings, weekends and bank holidays.

KEY INTERNAL RELATIONSHIPS:

Academy Director, Head of Academy Operations and Administration, Head of Medical Services, Lead Academy & Women’s Psychologist, Coaching Staff, Head of Education, Head of Safeguarding. Player Care Manager

KEY EXTERNAL RELATIONSHIPS:

External Practitioners and Governing Bodies

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• A post graduate level qualification in Sport and Exercise Psychology.


• Accreditation with either the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES) or the British Psychological Society (BPS) as a chartered Sport and Exercise Psychologist.


• Registered or working towards registration with the Health and Care Professions council (HCPC) as a practitioner psychologist.


• Extensive experience of working in an elite sporting environment, ideally within youth sport. Within a football Academy is desirable.


• Experience of working in a busy, pressured environment outside regular 9-5 hours.


• Proven ability in implementing strategies to help clients overcome difficulties, improve performance, or realise potential.


• Proven ability in maintaining effective relationships with players, coaches, Multi Disciplinary Teams (MDT) and other service leads.


• Skilled in assessment and establishment of agreed outcomes with clients; formulation of needs/problems; intervention or implementation of solutions; evaluation of outcomes; and reporting and reflecting on outcomes.


• Training in and experience of cognitive-behavioural approaches to practice.


• Have excellent organisational skills and the ability to accurately and ethically manage data.


• Have an understanding of safeguarding when working with young people.


• Ability to lead on the strategic development of a Psychology department within a MDT in a high pressured environment.


• Effectively use interpersonal and communication skills (written and verbal) in a manner that addresses and overcomes resistance to engagement, and barriers in understanding, of psychological service delivery.


• Plans their own workload while remaining flexible, taking into account the needs of the dept/others. Collaborates effectively across multiple interfaces keeping the focus of contribution on delivering and improving provision.


• Maintains a high degree of professionalism by demonstrating emotional regulation and reflecting on others emotional states in emotive settings / under pressure.


• Regular reflection and application of learning from a structured, and targeted approach to CPD.


• Pro-actively elicits, monitors, evaluates and acts on feedback, ensuring openness at all times.


• Able to ethically share formulations and use interpersonal skills to assist multi-disciplinary communication and understanding.


• Demonstrates effective questioning skills to positively influence understanding and challenge perceptions.