Derby County Football Club, established in 1884, is one of the founder members of the English Football League and has a rich and varied history, including two First Division titles in 1972 and 1975 and an FA Cup success in 1946. The club are currently playing in the Sky Bet Championship, the second tier of English Football following their promotion from League One in the 2023/24 season, and is under the management of Head Coach Paul Warne. The club also boasts a successful and respected Category One Academy, a status which has been held since 2014, and a Women’s side competing in the FA Women’s National League Northern Premier Division. Derby County recently embarked on an exciting new era following the change in ownership to Clowes Developments (UK) Limited, in the summer of 2022. Our track record of producing talent is outstanding, and we intend to protect that proud legacy, investing in key roles within the club to build on the foundations in place for success.

We have an exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic and innovative individual to join our Science and Medicine department and lead the club's nutrition provision.

The successful candidate will develop and deliver standards and protocols for key areas of nutrition provision across both the first team and the academy.

Key Responsibilities:
• Develop and deliver nutrition service provision for first-team and academy players at Derby County Football Club
• Have a presence in the dining room to advise player choices and monitor dietary intake
• Develop and deliver standards and protocols for key areas of nutrition provision. e.g. training sessions, home and away match days, supplementation, menu planning and injury/illness management
• Educate players and staff on the importance of correct nutritional strategies
• Develop supplementation strategies to support player recovery and performance
• Ensure all supplementation is safe for use in line with UKAD regulations
• Contribute towards in-house research and development projects
• Travel with the first team for both home and away games to ensure nutritional support is optimised for performance and recovery
• Liaise with hotels regarding menus and delivery
• Liaise with Moor Farm chefs to ensure food provision is of the correct nutritional values to support athletic development and performance
• Ensure nutritional support remains within budget levels agreed with the Lead of medicine and science
• Monitor and evaluate player anthropometric and body composition data and put in place adequate strategies to address findings
• Be the contact for catering staff regarding numbers and timings of food

Personal characteristics and experience:
• Previous experience working with elite athletes
• Experience providing nutritional support to an elite sports team
• Ability to implement innovative ideas, problem solve, make decisions and work under pressure within strict time-frames
• Confident, Resilient and Self Motivated
• Excellent Communications skills both verbal and written
• Excellent Presentation skills
• Ability to work in a fast paced, target driven environment
• Ability to prioritise and manage own workload
• Work using own initiative and as part of a team

Essential Qualifications
• Undergraduate Degree in an appropriate subject
• Accredited Sports Nutritionist (SENr or equivalent)
• Postgraduate qualification in nutrition
• ISAK accreditation (Minimum level 1)

Salary is dependent on experience.

This a full-time role, and due to the demands of professional football, there is a requirement for weekend and evening working and regular national travel

Everything we do as a Club is built around the three pillars of stability, integrity and progress. Our core values are:

• We are proud of who we are and what we do
• We are positive, inspired and passionate
• We are ambitious and driven
• We are prepared, honest and humble
• We are the heartbeat of our community
• We are the club of opportunity

Derby County employee benefits include:

• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays
• Two complimentary staff season tickets
• Two complimentary staff away memberships
• 20% discount at DCFC Megastore
• Company Pension with Aviva
• Discounts with select Club partners and sponsors
• Healthshield Cash Health Plan to support employee health and well-being and Perks for great deals and discounts
• Participating in our employee forum, ‘The Herd’
• Training and development opportunities
• Access to programmes and volunteering opportunities with Derby County Community Trust
• Subsidised lunchtime meals at Moor Farm