About the Carlton Football Club

The Carlton Football Club is one of Australia’s oldest and most prominent sport institutions. Founded in 1864, the Club’s headquarters and training facilities are located in Carlton at IKON Park, our traditional home ground. Our IKON Park redevelopment is now complete, and we are proud of our state-of-the-art facilities that supports our high-performance environment. We are passionate about our contribution to the Community and foster an inclusive and welcoming culture where our values are at the core of who we are and what we do.

About the Role

The Carlton Football Club is committed to providing an industry-leading environment for players and football staff that supports high-performance outcomes and positive health.

The VFL doctor is primarily responsible for overseeing the health and wellbeing of VFL players, ensuring their safe and effective return to play following injury, and providing expert medical care across all aspects of their performance and health.

This role reports to the AFL Head Doctor and VFL Operations Coordinator and supports VFL players with training as well as gameday health, fitness and injury management. The role will assume the responsibility within the team structure for contributing to medical decisions that affect the players’ safe participation and will integrate medical expertise with other health care providers, including medical specialist, fitness staff and allied health professionals.

The VFL Doctor will be employed as an Independent Contractor on a Medical Services Agreement and as an AFL official, with a requirement to adhere to all AFL policies. 

Key Responsibilities

• Undertake player injury consultations inclusive of injury assessment, diagnosis and intervention or relevant referral if required, reporting findings and recommendations to VFL Senior Coach, and other members of sports science and medical team as necessary.
• Integrate medical expertise with other health care providers, including medical specialists, high performance staff and allied health professionals.
• Assume the responsibility within the team structure for making medical decisions that affect the players’ safe participation.
• Principally determine when a player is ready to begin a fitness program, join a team or return to play following an injury or illness.
• Organise appointments for medical imaging services, specialist opinions and other medical investigations and deliver reports on outcomes on each case.
• Conduct and attend meetings with all associated staff (allied, high performance, coaching, etc.) to continually monitor the health and fitness of all players on the list. Reports to be prepared in conjunction with medical and conditioning staff for dissemination to coaching staff and others.
• Monitor the rehabilitation programs as devised by the high-performance staff and other allied health professionals at the Club.
• Provide for proper document and medical record keeping, including keeping the club’s injury management system up to date as required by the club and AFL.
• Provide for the medical wellbeing of each player as required.
• Oversee assessment, diagnosis and treatment with respect to player health and injury management.
• Advise on injury prognosis and performance impact and collaborate on rehabilitation plans.
• Collaborate with AFL Medical staff to optimise player health and performance outcomes.

Availability

Due to the nature of the role and the industry, the VFL Team Doctor will need to be available for the following:

• Attend at least 1 training session per week pre-season and in-season as required.
• Attend all Club pre-season games and Club home and away games, including interstate games.
• Available in person or remotely to attend medical and high performance staff meetings.
• Available on call for phone contact or in-clinic consultations.
• Hours will vary depending on when the program is operating between out-of-season and in-season.
• VFL preseason commences in late November and official games commence in March and run through until September.

Experience, Skills and Attributes

• Medical degree is essential with significant postgraduate experience in the management of sports injuries within elite sporting teams.
• In-depth knowledge of Sport and Exercise Medicine.
• Appropriate medical and general liability insurance.
• Current AHPRA registration to be maintained throughout employment.
• Experience in an elite sporting environment, ideally AFL.
• Demonstrated experience in men’s health.
• Working knowledge of AFL Policies and Procedures (e.g., Concussion Management Guidelines).
• A current National Police Clearance, or the ability to obtain one.
• Current driver’s licence.
• Ability to develop connection and professional relationships with VFL players.
• Strong communication skills including prompt and user appropriate communication on player availability, injuries, management and rehabilitation planning.
• Thorough understanding of sports culture.
• Proven ability to display sound judgment.
• Strong team skills with the ability to work with a multidisciplinary team and be a good team player.
• Exceptional organisational and planning skills.
• Proficient at assuming responsibility, and capable of working unsupervised and being professionally accountable.
• Deepened self-awareness and a motivation for professional growth.

Benefits and Culture

Carlton’s values underpin how the Club operates, describing how our people work together, interact and behave. The Club is passionate about its culture, focused on cultivating a unique sense of belonging and connection. In addition, we offer our people flexible working, learning and development opportunities, as well as employee benefits such as membership, café and retail discounts, alongside working in a world-class sporting amenity.

The Carlton Football Club is an equal opportunity employer and a place who welcomes all. We encourage people with diverse experiences and backgrounds to apply. This includes, but is not limited to, those from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, Culturally and Linguistically Diverse, and LGBTQIA+ communities. We are committed to fostering a workplace environment which is inclusive, safe, and flexible. All applicants will be considered based on the relevance of their abilities to the role and their alignment with our Club Values.

The Carlton Football Club is committed to providing a welcoming environment where the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people involved in our programs, services, activities, events, and the broader community, will always be our first priority. All staff must hold (or be willing to obtain) a current Victorian Working With Children Check as part of their employment with the Club.