Head of Paratriathlon

Organisation: British Triathlon
Salary: £60,000-£65,000
Location: Loughborough, with periodic domestic travel, as needed, to support athletes located outside Loughborough. It will also involve regular international travel, typically a minimum of 5-6 times a year.
Contract type: Permanent (Full time)
Closing date: 30 March 2026
Interview date: 9 April 2026
Job Description: The purpose of this role is to provide overall strategic leadership to the Paralympic (Paratriathlon) World Class Programme (WCP) and pathway. This role will be responsible for ensuring coaches and practitioners are aligned behind effective individual/programme-wide plans that are informed by an evidence-backed What it Takes to Win (WITTW) model. Our Head of Paratriathlon will also lead the delivery of the four-year Paralympic Games project, establishing an impactful and supportive daily training environment, and holding the staff team accountable to the programme’s ambition of Developing People and Delivering Excellence.

KEY TASKS

- Provide over-arching leadership to the Paratriathlon programme, ensuring operational delivery and alignment between WCP and Pathway programme strategies. At WCP level this includes:
- Driving a healthy high-performance culture for the Paratriathlon team, including effective and proactive decision making and two-way communication between the programme’s athletes and staff.
- Drive implementation of an Individual Athlete Planning (IAP) process aligned to WITTW, which provides appropriate performance-focussed challenge/support and translates athlete development themes/requirements into a coherent programme-wide annual/cycle plan.
- Oversee the planning and delivery of the annual Paratriathlon camp and competition programme (supported centrally by the British Triathlon admin/ops team). This includes leading the team at key annual camps and competitions (World and European Championships, as a minimum).
- In collaboration with the Head of Performance Operations, deliver all Paratriathlon WCP and competition selection processes (including acting as a selector for the WCP and all competitions).
- Ownership of Paratriathlon athlete/programme-wide innovation strategy (and integration with Olympic programme projects where relevant).
- At Pathway level, this includes: Providing strategic oversight, challenge and support to the Paratriathlon Pathway Manager in the formation and delivery of Pathway strategies and associated action plans; and, Ensuring consistency in delivery of athlete planning, monitoring, and assessment between the WCP and the Pathway.
- Formulate, deliver, and effectively communicate the Paralympic Games ‘project’, including qualification strategy, selection process, preparation strategy, Games delivery (acting as the Team Leader for the Games) and stakeholder management (principally ParalympicsGB).
- Provide leadership to the Paratriathlon team staff, ensuring alignment to athlete/programme objectives and a collaborative and cohesive team.
- In collaboration with the Performance Director (PD) and Head of Performance Operations, oversee the Paratriathlon WCP budget for activity.
- Act as a conduit with World Triathlon on international matters pertaining to Paratriathlon.
- Proactively collaborate with the Triathlon programme staff to drive integration, where appropriate and beneficial for both programmes, and effective use of resources.
- As a member of the British Triathlon Performance Senior Leadership Team, support delivery of the overall British Triathlon Performance and Pathway strategies and the wider organisational strategy.

RELATIONSHIPS

The Head of Paratriathlon will report into the British Triathlon Performance Director and will work hand in glove with the Loughborough-based coaching and integrated Olympic/Paralympic performance support team, led by the Head of Performance Support. The successful candidate will manage the Paratriathlon Pathway Manager and provide support for the wider pathway team. Additionally, they will work closely with the Head of Performance Operations and their team, and will proactively build relationships with their Olympic counterparts, including the Olympic Head Coach and Head of Olympic Pathway.

ABOUT YOU

Our VALUES are important to us. Therefore, it is critical that the successful candidate:
Is Inclusive:
- Habitually collaborates;
- Seeks the opinions of others and proactively asks for feedback;
- Treats everyone with respect, integrity and honesty.

Is People Focussed:
- Is an excellent communicator;
- Can quickly build (and maintain) effective relationships with a broad range of people;
- Has high emotional intelligence.

Is Ambitious:
- Is self-motivated and proactive;
- Is creative, innovative, and continually looking to improve;
- Sets challenging targets and is willing to be held accountable for them;
- Isn't afraid to fail and be vulnerable to try new things to Develop People or to Deliver Excellence.

Believes in doing what is right, not what is easy:
- Thrives on making decisions;
- Shows an aptitude for leadership;
- Is willing to tackle challenging issues or personalities head on;
- Understands and protects confidentiality.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & EXPERIENCE

Essential:
- Outstanding leadership and relationship management skills.
- Demonstrable ability to make decisions in high-pressured environments and communicate them effectively.
- Ability to think strategically and translate plans into operational delivery.
- Comprehensive experience of collaborating with high performance coaches/support staff to support the formation and delivery of individual/team performance plans.
- Experience of leading, managing, and developing high performing teams.

Desirable:
- A broad understanding of endurance sport (coaching, science, medicine and technology).
- An understanding of Para-specific sporting disciplines/programmes.
- Experience of working within a multi-discipline sport or one of Triathlon/Paratriathlon’s constituent parts (i.e. swimming, cycling or running).
- Experience of acting as a Team Leader at Olympic, Paralympic or Commonwealth Games level.

If you’re inspired and excited about working at British Triathlon, we’d love to hear from you!
How to apply: To submit your application visit the following link - https://app.beapplied.com/apply/hwwtwcjxtg?utm_source=UKSport - fill in the form and attach your CV and cover letter. For informal enquiries about the role please contact Mike Cavendish, Performance Director at mikecavendish@britishtriathlon.org. We value the different perspectives that a more representative workforce will bring to our work and are particularly keen to hear from applicants from diverse communities and backgrounds. Should you require assistance with the application process, please contact HR and we will make every effort to meet your specific requirements. Details of our Equality and Diversity Policy can be found at britishtriathlon.org/about-us/governance/policy-documents.