Paddle UK
Performance Support Lead (Psychologist)
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Performance Support Lead and Senior Sport & Exercise Psychologist (Paracanoe and Canoe Sprint)
Location: National Water Sports Centre, Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham (with domestic and international travel to camps and competitions)
Hours: Full-time (minimum 37 hours per week; requires working outside normal hours, including evenings, weekends, and public holidays as required by the competition calendar)
Salary/Band: £58,000 - £62,000
Closing date: Friday 16th October 2026
Shape world-class performance support, deliver expert psychological interventions, and power British athletes toward podium success at LA 2028 and beyond.
Paddle UK is seeking an exceptional practitioner and leader to join our Paracanoe and Canoe Sprint programme. In this pivotal role, you will sit on the Flatwater Leadership Team (FLT), balancing strategic leadership of the Performance Support Team (0.6 FTE) with applied psychology service delivery (0.4 FTE) across both World Class and pathway programmes. You will serve as the driving force behind multi-disciplinary alignment, medical governance, and athlete wellbeing.
Operating out of the National Water Sports Centre and national hubs, you will support over 20 elite athletes. You will champion a culture that safely challenges boundaries, balances physical and psychological preparation, and protects athlete health to deliver sustainable, world-leading performances.
Key Responsibilities
- PST Leadership & Alignment: Lead, line-manage, and develop a multi-disciplinary Performance Support Team (including analysis, S&C, physio, medical, and psychology) whilst aligning workflows across multi-year Olympic/Paralympic cycles.
- Psychology Service Delivery: Provide specialist psychological assessments, formulations, and 'return-to-performance' interventions to enhance athlete mental resilience and wellbeing.
- Medical Governance: Assure medical governance standards alongside the Chief Medical Officer and UKSI partners to safeguard athlete physical and mental health.
- Performance Planning: Oversee integrated performance planning across programmes, ensuring data-driven monitoring tools inform decision-making.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with coaches, support staff, and external UKSI networks to maintain a holistic, athlete-centred support system.
- Safeguarding & Welfare: Act as a senior guardian for athlete welfare, ensuring compliance with HCPC/BPS ethical standards, safeguarding policies, and mental health crisis protocols.
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Why Join Us?
This is a rare opportunity to play a dual strategic and clinical leadership role within one of the UK’s most successful Olympic and Paralympic sports. You will join an environment that values:
- Strategic Impact: The opportunity to shape the performance culture, support systems, and pathway structure heading into LA 2028.
- Collaborative Leadership: A seat on the Flatwater Leadership Team, working directly with the Performance Director, UKSI consultants, and elite coaches.
- Holistic Excellence: A supportive environment where athlete health, psychological safety, and world-class ambition go hand-in-hand.
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About You
We are looking for a curious, resilient, and collaborative senior leader who thrives in high-performance environments and is comfortable challenging established thinking. You should possess:
- Psychology Qualifications: Degree in Psychology, HCPC registration as a Practitioner Psychologist, and a Master's or Doctorate in Sport/Clinical Psychology (or equivalent BPS Chartered / BASES Accredited status).
- Applied Expertise: Substantial clinical/applied experience delivering sports psychology services to elite athletes, including return-to-performance and crisis management protocols.
- Leadership Track Record: Proven experience line-managing multi-disciplinary practitioner teams, setting clear objectives, and aligning sports science services.
- Governance & Data Knowledge: Strong background in medical governance standards and using evidence/data monitoring tools to guide clinical decisions.
- Flexibility & Travel: Readiness to travel nationally and internationally and work flexible hours across training camps and major championships.
Benefits
- 25 days annual leave, plus bank holidays
- Dress for your day
- Free onsite parking and bike storage
- Company pension scheme
- Employee benefits platform (including Bike to Work, Health and Wellbeing)
To find out more about Paddle UK, our benefits, culture and recruitment process please visit our Careers Centre.
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