Department: Medicine, Sports Science and Lifestyle REPORTS TO: Director of Football
Location: Lochinch Training Facility
Contract: Permanent, Full-Time
Salary: £40k -£50k Dependent on Experience
Visa/passport: Must be fully eligible to work in the UK
Closing date: 9th May 2025
An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the oldest club in Scottish Football, Queen's Park Football Club.
The role
Queen's Park Football Club are currently seeking a committed, knowledgeable, and motivated Physiotherapist to lead, develop and manage the club's medical department, as a key function of the wider Medicine, Sports Science and Lifestyle Department.
The position is full-time and will be based at Lochinch Training Facility. As well as providing physiotherapy cover for training, there will also be a requirement to provide match cover for the club's first team home and away fixtures.
The focus of the Medicine, Sports Science and Lifestyle Department is to develop players with exceptional athletic ability, and a high level of availability, who are robust enough to play at the intensity required to perform at the highest level of European football.
The successful candidate will, therefore, have the skills, knowledge, competencies, and personality to achieve this and work effectively within the elite football environment.
Under the supervision of the Director of Football, the successful candidate will be involved in the comprehensive assessment, treatment, and rehabilitation of the club's first team players, as well as overseeing the medical care of the club's academy players, ensuring injured players return to play as quickly, and as safely, as possible, with minimal loss of performance. They will implement appropriate, evidence-based interventions to address areas identified at high risk of injury, reducing the incidence of injury, and ensuring player availability remains at the highest possible level.
Duties and responsibilities
- Oversee the day-to-day player medical care of all first team squad players.
- Provide first aid and pitch side emergency cover for training and games (home and away).
- Ensure all injured players under your care receive comprehensive, evidence- based physiotherapy assessment, treatment, and both gym-based and pitch- based rehabilitation.
- Arrange external medical input where appropriate, including investigations, consultations, and surgical interventions.
- Ensure all uninjured players are provided with appropriate readiness to train treatments, including prehab and maintenance strategies.
- Liaise daily with other members of the Medicine, Sports Science, and Lifestyle Department, as well as coaching staff, to provide updates on the injury and treatment status for players under your duty of care.
- Maintain a detailed, comprehensive, and up-to-date medical profile for each player under your care to assist in identifying areas at high risk of injury.
- Work within a multi-disciplinary team to design and deliver individualised injury reduction interventions for first team players
- Develop and maintain injury management strategies to create standardised injury rehabilitation and return to play protocols.
- Work together with fellow physiotherapists and other members of the Medicine, Sports Science and Lifestyle Department to review the efficacy of services and adapt practices, accordingly; ensuring a high-performance environment is always maintained.
- Ensure all medical records are maintained and updated to a Health Care Professional Council (HCPC) standard and according to club guidelines and procedures.
- Alongside club doctors, arrange and undertake appropriate medical examinations for both senior and academy players. This will include pre-signing medicals (with appropriate liaison with additional staff), annual checks and additional investigations, such as blood tests and cardiovascular screening etc
- Lead the clinical supervision of all full-time medical staff and be a clinical lead for all academy medical services.
- Ensure all medical staff attend the necessary courses for their training and development in Sports Medicine and are up to date regarding latest medical practices.
- Ensure all CPD requirements for members of the medical department are undertaken as required on an annual basis and all training C funding agreed in advance.
- Maintain an up-to-date and comprehensive continual professional development portfolio.
- Lead the production and maintenance of emergency action plans and department procedure documents.
- Undertake the continuous audit and re-audit of player training and match injury trends.
Other considerations
- Ability to work irregular and unsociable hours at times, with evenings and weekends expected.
- Understand that, on occasions, working hours may be subject to change with less than 24 hours' notice.
- Overnight travel may be required for match cover at away venues.
- Ability to travel abroad with teams if required.
Person specification
Qualifications (Essential):
- BSc Hons / MSc Physiotherapy.
- Health Care Professional Council (HCPC) registered.
- Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) registered.
- Current up to date Advanced Trauma Care Course e.g. ATMIFF, Sport Promote.
- Eligibility to work in the UK.
- Minimum of three years' experience working in a similar role within elite sport.
Qualifications (Desirable):
- Relevant master's Level Qualification in Sport and Exercise Medicine and/or Manual Therapy or working towards this.
- Experience leading a department of medical staff
- Experience working in a multidisciplinary environment, incorporating all aspects of football medicine and science
Personal Qualities (Essential)
- Ambitious, passionate, and enthusiastic.
- Curious and eager to learn.
- Versatile and resilient.
- Genuine team player but can also work independently.
- Possess the soft skills to communicate effectively and develop positive relationships with players, other members of staff, and key stakeholders (both internal and external).
- Committed to ongoing personal development.
Equal opportunities
We are dedicated to fostering a diverse and dynamic working environment by building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all sections of the community.
How to apply
If you can add value to our team, please email your CV and cover letter quoting reference: Ref: Head of Medical to: Ruth.mcGeoch@queensparkfc.co.uk