INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

Paddle Australia (PA) is the National Sports Organisation (NSO) responsible for the management, coordination, development and promotion of paddling in Australia. PA is recognised by the Federal Government and represents the interests of its members to government and the public.

PA is committed to the provision of a high standard of competition, safety and opportunity for paddling participation in Australia. This includes the development and delivery of the successful Canoe Slalom and Canoe Sprint Olympic and Paralympic programs and the six non-Olympic disciplines (Canoe Polo, Freestyle, Marathon, Ocean Racing, Wildwater and SUP), as well as recreational paddling.

PA is recognised by the International Canoe Federation (ICF); Oceania Canoe Association (OCA); the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) and Australian Institute of Sport (AIS); Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) and Paralympics Australia. PA works in close partnership with the various State Institute and Academies of Sport (SIS/SAS) in delivering its high performance programs in Canoe Slalom, Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe. As the peak body for paddle related activity in Australia, PA works collaboratively with six (6) State Paddle Associations (SPAs), around 125 active clubs, eight (8) disciplines and approximately 12,000 members, instructors and coaches. 

Operating in a commercial and inclusive manner with government, business and community, PA ensures the value of competitive and recreational paddling is understood and supported in all policy and business decisions.

POSITION OBJECTIVE

As part of PA’s performance support team, this role is primarily responsible for the continued development and delivery of a world-leading performance analysis and analytics program for coaches and athletes based at Paddle Australia’s Slalom Headquarters in Penrith, NSW, Australia. There will be a strong focus on increasing PA’s data analytics capability and leading projects focused on improving athlete performance. This role will work closely with coaches and athletes in delivering performance outcomes in accordance with PA’s HP Strategic Plan.

REPORTING STRUCTURE

This position reports directly to the Performance Support & Innovation Manager.  

Daily activities will also be directed by the Canoe Slalom Head Coach.

Potential student interns and MSc/PhD students also report directly to this position.

KEY STAKEHOLDER RELATIONSHIPS

This position will work closely with the following positions:

• National Performance Director (NPD)
• Performance Support & Innovation Manager
• Head Coach - Slalom
• National Program Coaches - Slalom
• Performance Operations Manager - Slalom
• Other Performance Support Staff - Slalom
• Performance Pathways Staff - Slalom
• National Institute Network (NIN) Program Partners
• Athletes
• PA Sport Services and Corporate Staff

PRINCIPAL DUTIES

• Work collaboratively with coaches and the performance support team to maximise athlete performance through adopting a problem solving approach.
• Develop and deliver systems that provide best practice objective assessment and feedback to impact athlete technical and physical development which is aligned with the sport’s What It Takes To Win (WITTW) framework.
• Collect, clean, store and share athlete data from multiple sources in line with PA’s expectations and data governance policies to create easily accessible information for interpretation. This will involve coordinating, implementing and developing slalom specific performance analysis technology and building performance dashboards to create ease of collaboration, investigation, and review for coaches, athletes, and staff.
• Develop and implement a data insight focused strategy to achieve three main objectives:
  • Track athlete development in the performance pathway and present performance progression
  • Profile past successful athletes to identify key steps in progression
  • Identify gaps impacting senior medal success
• Provide training and education and support for coaches and athletes to facilitate optimised use of relevant systems.
• Drive a culture of continuous improvement by building upon the knowledge and capabilities of coaches and athletes by adopting and promoting a collaborative approach to planning, preparation and performance that optimises internal and external expertise.
• Contribute to the development of Individual Performance Plan (IPP’s) and regularly review the associated specific development priorities and performance metrics to measure progress.
• Work collaboratively as part of a high performing team, establishing and maintaining effective partnerships with key internal and external stakeholders to identify, lead and deliver high quality integrated outcomes.
• Contribute to the sharing of high-performance knowledge through the production of resources and the development of collaborative communities within and across the practitioner groups in collaboration with other performance support staff.
• As a member of the PA performance support team, take shared accountability for setting a high-performance culture to enable successful outcomes.
• Work collaboratively with the wider Australian High-Performance system (including state institutes, AIS, international and professional elite sport networks) to share knowledge and leverage opportunities.
• Undertake domestic and international travel as required to support athlete preparation and performance at training camps and competitions.
• Integrate with all performance support staff to apply a holistic approach utilising innovative solutions and deliver joint projects and initiatives that support PA to keep pace with emerging technologies.
• Mentor and manage a PA internship program.

General

• Be aware of, understand and comply with PA Policies (available on the PA website).
• Partner with and work effectively and collaborative across PA to achieve organisational goals, targets and objectives.
• Provide regular updates to the Performance Support & Innovation Manager and/or Head Coach on progress and/or issues, as required.
• Proactively plan, manage, coordinate, track and run assigned tasks.
• Attend and participate in meetings and events as required.
• Uphold and foster a culture of high performance, excellence and continuous improvement within PA.
• Conduct thorough checking of work by others and self-checking of information and documentation.
• Ensuring documentation kept up to date and in good order.
• Undertake other reasonable tasks as delegated by Performance Support & Innovation Manager.
• Perform general office duties as required.
• Adopt continuous learning and improvement processes in all aspects of the position.
• Implement, participate and promote PA national program initiatives, protocols, values, policies, processes and procedures.

KEY SKILLS & EXPERIENCE

Qualifications

• Tertiary qualifications in sport and exercise science, data science/analytics or equivalent (essential).
• Post-graduate qualifications (MSc/PhD) in Sport Science or equivalent field (preferred).
• Current Working with Children Check, or the ability to obtain one.
• Current Drivers License.

Experience/Skill Level Required

• A minimum of 2 years’ experience in the provision of performance analysis support in a high performance sporting environment or equivalent.
• Diversity of experiences with evidence of purposeful professional practitioner development.
• Experience working with National Sporting Organisations and/or Sport Institutes to demonstrate understanding of the broader High Performance sport system is an advantage.
• Experience working within interdisciplinary teams and an understanding of the roles and responsibilities of other Performance Support disciplines and associated collaborative opportunities is an advantage.
• Demonstrated experience in influencing behaviour and/or leadership.
• Ability to distil complex concepts and results into clear sport-specific context and at an appropriate level of technical language for the target feedback recipient.
• Proven success in utilising performance analysis methods and knowledge to inform coaches and athletes and positively impact performance.
• An ability to collect, analyse and interpret information, think laterally, develop and implement innovative performance solutions to improve athlete performances.
• Technical knowledge to operate a range of performance analysis equipment and software and an ability to visualise information in effective and appealing ways aligned to stakeholder preferences (e.g. PowerBI, Looker Studio, Tableau).
• Experience in database design and management including an ability to collect and securely store video for easy retrieval.
• Proficiency in a programming language/s (e.g. Python, R, C++, SPSS) to implement solutions effectively with experience in statistical modelling and data mining an advantage.

Aptitude & Interpersonal Skills

• Passion for excellence with a strong desire to excel and willingness to establish and strive for stretch goals.
• A willingness to learn, adapt and bring new ideas with the goal of continuing to improve.
• Strong professional communication (both verbal and written), negotiation and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to understand, respond to the requirements and be empathic to elite athletes and coaches.
• Ability to lead, drive and manage change through influence rather than authority.
• Proactive, self-motivated and has a passion to achieve excellence.
• Ability to delegate, influence and motivate people at all levels of the organisation.
• Ability to motivate and inspire individuals towards achieving higher levels of performance.
• Capacity to establish the trust and respect of the internal and external stakeholders.
• Strong ability to transfer information, skills and knowledge to other staff members.
• Demonstrated project management skills.
• Ability to work well both within a team environment and autonomously.
• Strong organisational, planning, multi-tasking and prioritisation skills to achieve deadlines.
• Demonstrates initiative when undertaking tasks.
• Committed towards undertaking duties efficiently with a strong attention to detail.
• Excellent internal and external stakeholder management.
• Professional personal presentation suitable for the position.
• Strong skills in forward planning, analytical and strategic thinking.
• Strong judgement and problem-solving skills with a capacity to deal with complexity.
• Ability to promote, interpret, communicate and work in accordance with the policies and procedures of the organisation.

CHILD SAFEGUARDING

Paddle Australia is committed to protecting Children from harm. We require all applicants that will work with children to undergo an extensive screening process prior to appointment.

Please refer to Appendix 2 of the PA Safeguarding Children and Young People Policy for more information about recruitment and screening for child-related positions.