Job Location Academy Training Ground BR3 1NZ

Package Fee’s Funded Masters by Research (UK Rate)

Deadline 18 th April 2025

Who we are:

We are Crystal Palace Football Club, a Premier League Football Club with more than 160 years of proud history. Spread across three different sites – our London office, Selhurst Park stadium and our Training Ground/Academy, we offer the best atmosphere and culture for our fans and our employees.

We strive for excellence in the workplace with a philosophy of high standards, professionalism, and a strong work ethic from our employees. We are constantly trying to grow, diversify and build with not only our team on the pitch, but also our team in the offices and on the ground.

Placement overview:

• Full-time Masters by Research enrolment with student placement.
• 12 – 18 hours per week – some evening and weekend attendance required.
• Master’s tuition fees paid by Crystal Palace at UK rate.
• Start date: July 2024
• The primary research location will be at Crystal Palace Football Club Academy (BR31NZ) or 1 st team training grounds (BR3 1RJ).

Crystal Palace Football Club (1 st Team and Academy) are seeking enthusiastic and committed individuals who are looking to develop themselves as a performance coach or sport scientist and undertake a Masters by Research to enhance the performance department services .

This is the ideal role for someone who is looking to enhance their ability as a coach or sport scientist whilst also developing industry relevant research skills. The role will be a highly challenging and rewarding role which will give the candidate a great insight into what a full-time role within Academy or 1 st team football looks like.

Crystal Palace Football Club is proud of its role in developing performance practitioners to develop youth footballers through the funded MRes pathway. 12/12 students have secured full-time roles within 9 different clubs since commencement of the programme.

Practical Experience and Learning:

• Delivery of pitch and gym-based sessions to U9 – U16 teams
• Assisting with U18 – U21 sessions
• Learn to create and interpret GPS reports with the Professional Development Phase players.
• Collate data using wellbeing questionnaires and RPE’s to create subjective training reports which you will present daily to coaching staff.
• Conduct a range of physical tests in line with Premier League requirements as well as additional testing.
• Create session plans to be delivered to U9 – U16 groups and reviewing these with staff.
• Take part in regular internal and external CPD as well as completing a Coaching Competency Framework that allows development of key areas of coaching which are essential to progress within the Academy performance department.
• Develop applied research, writing and data analysis skills that inform innovation in practice.
• Upholding and promoting the Club’s policies and procedures, including Health and Safety, Safeguarding and Equal Opportunities policies and procedures.

Role Requirements:

• 2:1 or higher in a relevant discipline.
• Interest in researching a topic within Academy football.
• Experience of delivering athletic development sessions to youth athletes.
• Experience of coaching or playing football.
• Experience or willingness to learn data analysis environments (e.g., R Studio, Power BI)
• A willingness to learn in an environment which is full of challenges.

Please note, international students require IELTS 7.0, with a score no lower than 6.5 in each individual component, or an equivalent English language qualification, at the point of application. The funding for fee’s is for at the UK rate (£5,800), and so international students would require additional supplement for MRes international fees (additional £11,700).

Recruitment process

Round One: Application and shortlisting.

Round Two: Practical interview at Crystal Palace Football Club Academy (if successful provisional offer subject to academic clearance).

Round Three: Submission of research application and firm offer (if successful).

How to apply?

As part of your application, you will need to submit:

• CV and cover letter as one file (PDF Format)
• A research proposal that should not exceed 1,000 words – see detailed guidance on writing your research proposal below – Please submit this under the Cover Letter (Support Statement) Section of the application form.
• Two academic referees

Research Proposal Guidance

Please consider and choose one of the following project areas and associated reading. Develop a 1000-word research proposal, that includes an abstract, review of literature, identification of clear research questions and research methods to answer the intended research question. Further guidance is provided below.

Key areas research areas: rehabilitation, training load monitoring (internal/external load) of training drills, training weeks or during player injury rehabilitation, testing (physical testing, fatigue testing influence of growth and maturation), training methods (high intensity interval training; velocity-based training).

• Taberner et al. (2019) Progressing rehabilitation after injury: consider the ‘control-chaos continuum.
• Impellizzeri et al. (2019) Internal and External Training Load: 15 Years On
• Mandorino et al. (2024) Predicting Soccer Players’ Fitness Status Through a Machine-Learning Approach
• Weaving et al. (2023) The Maximal Intensity Period: Rationalising its Use in Team Sports Practice
• White et al. (2022): Sequential Movement Pattern mining in field-based team sport
• Weakley et al. (2023) Testing and Profiling Athletes: Recommendations for Test Selection, Implementation, and Maximizing Information
• Weakley et al. (2021) Velocity-Based Training: From Theory to Application

Guidance to submitting research proposal:

We would normally expect the research proposal to include the following:

• An abstract of no more than 200 words outlining the design of the research, including a clear statement of the proposed contribution to knowledge that will be made by the work: details should be in the proposal itself but should also be summarised in the abstract. The abstract is in addition to the proposal and so does not count in relation to the word limit on the proposal.
• Some evidence of familiarity with relevant literature and the place of the proposed research within a body of existing work: in designing research it is important to do so considering existing work on the topic. The proposal should show a familiarity with relevant literature, the ability to critically evaluate that literature and the ability to identify gaps in existing research. It should not simply be a report on what others have said on the topic or the research that they have completed. Rather, it should show your ability to identify patterns in existing research, evaluate those as points of departure for new research, and place your proposed research within the context of that work.
• A clear statement of research questions and, where appropriate (but only where appropriate), hypotheses: the proposal should also indicate the relationship between the research question and the methods of data collection and analysis that have been designed to address it. In addition, one might expect some discussion of how existing work in the relevant field relates to, and influences, the research questions.
• A rationale for any theoretical choices made in designing the research.
• A rationale for the methodological choices made in designing the research.
• Where relevant, details of the methods of data collection and the nature of that data, plus an account of the rationale for the choice of those methods.
• Where relevant, details of the methods of data analysis, plus an account of the rationale for the choice of those methods.
• Where appropriate, brief discussion of the primary ethical issues raised by the design of the research, along with an indication of how those issues might best be addressed.

Our commitment to Equality

At Crystal Palace Football Club, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion is spirited and continues to grow due to the working environment, which makes all staff feel appreciated and welcomed. Crystal Palace Football Club do this by encouraging good relations and practices towards different groups and are committed to promoting employment opportunities that celebrate diversity.

We are committed to attracting, recruiting, and retaining the most talented candidates and the club intends to ensure that everyone who wishes to engage with the club, whether as matchday fans, staff, players, board members, participants in Foundation programmes and any other person engaged with the club’s activities, has a real and equal opportunity to do so.

Reasonable Adjustment

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Committed employer. We guarantee an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role, ensuring equitable opportunities for everyone.

If you require disability-related adjustments during the recruitment process, please contact DLO@cpfc.co.uk (DLO inbox is for disability-related queries only, if you wish to gain further information regarding this vacancy, please contact cpfc. recruitment@cpfc.co.uk ). We are here to help you through the whole recruitment process including trying to apply for a vacancy, getting in touch with us through the process, and/or helping with access in case you are required to come in for an interview.

Safeguarding

Crystal Palace Football Club is committed to safeguarding and ensuring the welfare and protection of children and vulnerable people and expects all staff to share this commitment. As such, the post holder will be required to undergo any relevant security checks, including a comprehensive background check, Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) to ensure the safety and protection of children and vulnerable individuals.