World Class Programme (WCP) Services Lead

Department and salary

Department – Sport System Institute Services

Salary – Grade 9: £49,734.98 - £53,277.34  

Working Hours – 37 hours (consideration will be given to job sharing / reduced hours in line with our flexible working policy)

Contract Type – 2-year fixed term

Location – Sport Wales National Centre, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff

Who we are

The Sport System Institute Services team’s purpose is to ‘Create the most science-informed sporting system in the world, enabling all athletes in Wales to thrive and making 'winning well' more likely.’

Sport Wales is the national organisation responsible for developing and promoting sport and physical activity in Wales.  We are the main adviser on sporting matters to the Welsh Government and are responsible for distributing National Lottery funds. We aim to not only improve the level of sports participation at grassroots level but also provide our aspiring athletes with the support required to compete successfully on the world stage.

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion is at the heart of everything we do at Sport Wales. Further information on this can be found in our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Statement here. 

We are a progressive employer that offers excellent employee benefits and promotes a healthy work life balance, offering a range of flexible approaches to support you. 

Language skills (bilingualism & multilingualism) are desirable characteristics across all roles within Sport Wales. We are passionate about promoting the use of Welsh language and, as part of our development programme, give everyone the opportunity to learn Welsh if they wish to do so, offering learning programmes from beginner right through to fluent. 

Sport Wales embraces a blended approach to work, where you will be able to split your time between the office and home.  

Sport Wales careers are funded by Welsh Government and the National Lottery. Find out more about Sport Wales’ relationship with the National Lottery.

How you'll contribute

Are you passionate about shaping how elite athletes are supported on their journey to the world stage?

This is an exciting opportunity to lead and refine how Sport Wales plans, coordinates, and delivers sport science and sport medicine (SSSM) services to athletes on the World Class Programme (WCP) who live and train in Wales.

You will play a pivotal role in ensuring every eligible athlete receives timely, equitable, world-leading support aligned with their performance journey. Working in partnership with UK Sport, the UK Sports Institute (UKSI), National Governing Bodies (NGBs), and practitioners across Wales, you’ll help build a truly athlete-centred system—one that is proactive, transparent, and data-informed.

You’ll lead on strategic planning, service allocation, and performance insights while ensuring consistent, high-quality multidisciplinary delivery that prioritises both performance and wellbeing.

This role offers a rare opportunity to make lasting impact on how the Welsh system supports athletes at the highest level.

Who you’ll work with

You’ll collaborate closely with:

British and Welsh NGB Performance Directors, Heads of Performance Support (HoPS), and coaches.

UK Sport, UK Sports Institute (UKSI), and Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS) colleagues.

Sport Wales Institute delivery, clinical, and research staff.

Practitioners and partners across the Welsh Institute of Performance Science (WIPS).

You’ll build strong, transparent relationships to align support planning, improve athlete experiences, and enhance the overall effectiveness of the World Class Programme network in Wales.

What you'll need

Proven experience leading or coordinating sport science and sport medicine delivery within a high-performance or elite sport environment.

Strong understanding of athlete and coach needs within Olympic, Paralympic, or equivalent performance programmes.

Experience in strategic and operational planning, service allocation, and performance data management.

Excellent leadership, communication, and relationship-building skills—able to collaborate across multiple organisations and disciplines.

Proven ability to lead multidisciplinary teams and influence system-wide performance solutions.

Strategic mindset with the ability to balance proactive planning and responsive clinical care.

A commitment to developing equitable, athlete-centred systems that champion wellbeing and sustainable performance.

What happens next

You should read the full job description (please note we do not accept CV's). 

You can apply for this role now.

If you need any support to apply for this role, then please email [javascript protected email address]

Closing date

14/11/2025 9am

Provisional Interview Date

25/11/2025

Full job description

Responsible to

Institute Delivery and Clinical Team Lead

Sport System Institute Services

Sport System Institute Services exists to build a science-informed sporting system that helps all athletes in Wales thrive and makes 'winning well' more likely. We are a team of sport science and medicine practitioners, supported by research assistants from the Welsh Institute of Performance Science (WIPS). Our best work happens when we collaborate on performance challenges identified by sport partners. By addressing system-wide challenges, we improve training environments across Wales, creating lasting impact for more athletes and sports. We bridge the gap between best practice and real-world application, equipping athletes, coaches, and parents/carers with the knowledge, resources, and support to perform at their best. We learn, deliver, and celebrate together—because we’re strongest when we work as one team with sports. 

Job purpose

The WCP Services Lead will be responsible for the strategic planning, coordination, and delivery of sport science and sport medicine (SSSM) services to athletes on the World Class Programme (WCP), in receipt of an Athlete Performance award (APA) and who live and train in Wales This role exists to ensure that every eligible athlete receives timely, equitable, world-leading support aligned with their performance journey.

Working in close partnership with UK Sport, UK Sports Institute (UKSI), The Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS), National Governing Bodies (NGBs), and Sport Wales Institute colleagues, the role will embed a consistent and transparent approach to service allocation - one that balances proactive performance planning with reactive clinical care. The WCP Services Lead will have strategic oversight of the ‘individual athlete’ stream of support, helping to shape and implement systems and processes that underpin a high-performing, athlete-centred delivery model.

This is a key role that will establish the highest possible standards of multidisciplinary working, ensure the most effective use of Institute resources, and contribute to Sport Wales’ ambition of the most science-informed sporting system in the world. 

Main duties

Lead Strategic Planning for Individual Athlete Support
Develop and oversee the strategic framework for SSSM delivery to WCP athletes based in Wales, ensuring services are athlete-centred, equitable, and designed to support high performance in a way that prioritises wellbeing, long-term development, and sustainable success.

Service Allocation Leadership
Implement and manage a robust, transparent process for allocating services to WCP athletes, defining roles and responsibilities across key stakeholders including athletes, coaches, NGBs, UKSI, and Sport Wales practitioners.

Performance Partnership Collaboration
Build strong, effective working relationships with British and Welsh NGB Performance Directors, Heads of Performance Support (HoPS), the TASS network, and coaches to ensure aligned planning, seamless delivery, and shared ownership of athlete support.

Performance Insight & Data Management
Lead the use of Teamworks AMS to track delivery hours, type of support, and impact metrics for WCP athletes—enabling strategic forecasting, reporting to UK Sport, and operational efficiency.

Multidisciplinary Team Coordination
Ensure coordinated sport science and sport medicine (SSSM) service delivery to eligible athletes, leading both proactive and reactive case management interventions

Non-Cardiff Delivery Planning
Develop innovative solutions to support athletes based outside Cardiff, ensuring location is not a limiting factor in the quality of service delivery.

Interface with UK Sport and Home Nations
Act as a key contact, alongside the delivery and clinical lead within Sport Wales for matters relating to WCP service delivery, ensuring alignment with UK Sport frameworks and sharing insight across Home Nation Institutes.

Feedback and Learning System Development
Establish mechanisms for reviewing, learning, and improving WCP support services, incorporating athlete and stakeholder feedback to evolve the approach over time.

Stakeholder Communication and Engagement
Provide regular updates and reports to the institute delivery and clinical team lead and external partners, ensuring transparency, accountability, and collaborative ownership of delivery success.

Contribute to Institute-Wide Strategy
Work with the broader Institute leadership team to ensure WCP service delivery integrates with sport- and system-level workstreams without compromising resource balance or strategic priorities.

Our values

Our approach to enabling sport in Wales to thrive is evolving. We are committed to continually challenging ourselves to: 

Learn Together - Constantly exploring, testing and reviewing

Deliver Together - Sharing outcomes, nurturing open and honest relationships, providing robust feedback, constantly improving performance

Celebrate Together - Recognising our shared successes through effective partners

By:

Acting with Integrity - Understanding and Respecting each other’s culture and values. Promoting equality and diversity

Adding Value - Ensuring the optimum mix of support, challenge, investment, skills, and expertise to achieve our shared outcomes.

Encouraging Innovation - Welcoming new ideas and approaches and supporting ambition and fresh thinking.  Not being afraid to feel uncomfortable.

Person specification