Sports Performance Manager: Physio and S&C

Organisation: Varsity Nine
Salary: £30,000–£35,000
Location: Milton Keynes
Contract type: Permanent (Full time)
Closing date: 31 August 2026
Job Description: About Varsity Nine

Varsity Nine is building one of Europe’s leading private football and athlete development environments, creating pathways across academy football, US College scholarships, professional opportunities, international programmes, and elite showcase events.

We work with talented players from the UK and around the world, combining high-level coaching, performance analysis, education, recruitment support, and player management to help each athlete progress. Joining Varsity Nine means becoming part of a fast-growing, ambitious football organisation with a clear purpose: to create life-changing opportunities for young athletes.

This is an opportunity to work in a dynamic environment, contribute to meaningful player outcomes, and help shape a modern football business with significant plans for growth.

Role Summary

The Sports Performance Manager: Physio and S&C is a hands-on performance support role embedded within the Varsity Nine Football & Education Programme and International Programme. The role combines injury prevention, physical preparation, rehabilitation support, strength and conditioning delivery, and player wellness monitoring across our daily training and match environments. The role will mainly be based in Milton Keynes, with a secondary working location at Bisham Abbey Sports Centre.

This role would suit a recently qualified or early-career sports performance professional with a degree in Physiotherapy, Sports Therapy, Strength & Conditioning, Sports Rehabilitation, Sport Science, or a related discipline, and at least three years of practical experience working with athletes in football, sport, academy, university, or high-performance environments.

Your mission is to help create a professional, safe, and high-performing environment where players are physically prepared, appropriately supported, and able to train and compete consistently. Working closely with the coaching, analysis, operations, and education teams, you will support player availability, physical development, injury management, and return-to-play processes across the Varsity Nine programmes.

Responsibilities

Player Physical Preparation & S&C Delivery
- Physical Preparation: Plan and deliver strength and conditioning sessions that support player development, robustness, movement quality, athletic performance, and injury reduction.
- Warm-Up & Activation: Lead or support pre-training and pre-match warm-up, activation, mobility, and movement preparation protocols.
- Athletic Development: Support the development of speed, agility, power, endurance, strength, flexibility, and movement mechanics across the Football & Education Programme and International Programme.
- Individual Support: Provide targeted physical development support for players with specific performance needs, injury history, or return-to-play requirements.
- Training Load Awareness: Work with coaching staff to monitor physical demands and help ensure players are appropriately prepared for training, fixtures, showcases, and tours.
- Professional Standards: Help maintain a disciplined, high-performance environment that reflects elite academy and professional football standards.

Injury Prevention, Treatment & Rehabilitation
- Injury Prevention: Implement injury reduction strategies, screening processes, mobility routines, strengthening programmes, and recovery protocols.
- Pitch-Side Support: Provide appropriate first aid, injury assessment, and immediate care support during training sessions, fixtures, showcase events, and tours.
- Rehabilitation Support: Design and deliver basic rehabilitation and return-to-play programmes in line with the player’s stage of recovery, qualification scope, and medical guidance.
- Return-to-Play: Support structured return-to-training and return-to-match processes, liaising with coaches, parents, external practitioners, and medical professionals where required.
- Player Availability: Maintain clear records of injuries, availability status, rehabilitation progress, and recommended training modifications.
- Referral Management: Recognise when players require external medical referral or specialist support and communicate this appropriately through the correct Varsity Nine

Performance Monitoring & Player Wellbeing
- Performance Data: Assist with the collection and interpretation of physical performance data, including GPS, PlayerData, wellness scores, fitness testing, and workload information.
- Recovery & Wellness: Support player recovery strategies including mobility, stretching, nutrition guidance, sleep awareness, hydration, and general athlete wellbeing education.
- Education: Deliver simple, practical education to players around injury prevention, recovery, preparation, lifestyle habits, and professional behaviours.
- Reporting: Produce clear and concise updates for coaching, operations, and leadership staff regarding player availability, physical development, injury status, and performance support needs.
- Collaboration: Work closely with coaches, analysts, tutors, operational staff, and parents where appropriate to support the holistic development of each player.

Operational & Professional Standards
- Programme Support: Support the daily delivery of the Football & Education Programme and International Programme across training, fixtures, showcases, and tours.
- Equipment Management: Manage and maintain sports performance equipment, medical supplies, recovery tools, and other devices where required, and relevant storage systems.
- Policies & Safety: Ensure appropriate standards around safeguarding, first aid, injury recording, emergency action plans, hygiene, and player welfare are followed.
- Travel & Delivery: Support national and international programme delivery, tours, fixtures, and showcase events where required.
- Professional Environment: Contribute to a positive, ambitious, and professional culture throughout the programmes.
- Continuous Development: Remain engaged with modern sports performance, physiotherapy, rehabilitation, strength and conditioning, and football industry best practice.

Requirements

Essential
- Right to work in the UK (no sponsorship is available for this role).
- Relevant Experience: Minimum three years’ practical experience working with athletes in football, sport, academy, university, private performance, or high-performance environments.
- Education: Degree in Physiotherapy, Sports Therapy, Sports Rehabilitation, Strength & Conditioning, Sport Science, Exercise Science, or a related discipline.
- S&C Knowledge: Ability to plan and deliver safe and effective strength and conditioning sessions for developing athletes.
- Injury Support: Understanding of injury prevention, basic assessment, rehabilitation principles, and return-to-play processes.
- Pitch-Side Confidence: Ability to provide appropriate first aid and injury support during training and match environments.
- Communication: Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to engage players positively and communicate clearly with coaches, parents, and staff.
- Organisation: Ability to manage player records, injury notes, session plans, equipment, schedules, and competing daily priorities.
- Player Care: Strong understanding of athlete welfare, safeguarding, professional boundaries, and working with young people.
- Mobility: Willingness to travel for fixtures, tours, showcase events, and operational delivery.
- Site Presence: Ability to work from the Milton Keynes Training Facility or Bisham Abbey site and programme environments on a daily basis.
- Logistics: Full clean driving licence.
- Clearance: Clean DBS.

Desirable
- Professional Accreditation: Working towards or holding relevant accreditation or membership, such as HCPC, BASRaT, SST, UKSCA, CIMSPA, or equivalent.
- Football Experience: Experience working in football, academy football, college football, or a professional/semi-professional club environment.
- Emergency Care: FA Level 2 Emergency First Aid in Football, FA Intermediate Trauma Medical Management in Football, or equivalent qualification.
- GPS & Monitoring: Experience using GPS, PlayerData, wellness monitoring, fitness testing, or performance tracking systems.
- Rehabilitation Experience: Experience supporting players through rehabilitation and return-to-play programmes.
- Youth Athlete Development: Understanding of physical development, growth and maturation, and working safely with young athletes.
- Live Event Experience: Experience supporting tournaments, showcase events, tours, or high-pressure sporting environments.
- Growth Potential: Ambition to progress into a senior sports performance, medical, or physical performance leadership role within Varsity Nine.

Package Details
- Salary: £30,000–£35,000 (subject to experience).
- Structure: Reporting directly to the Head of Football Operations, with close collaboration across the Academy Director, Technical Director, coaching team, and programme staff.
- Benefits: 21 Days Leave + Bank Holidays; Pension; Business travel reimbursement; National and International travel opportunities; Access to elite football environments, showcase events, and ongoing professional development opportunities.
How to apply: Please email Vivion (vivion@varsitynine.com) with your CV and a cover letter.