Senior Performance Psychologist

Main Duties: (Include but are not limited to)

• Deliver evidence‑based performance psychology services to elite match officials across the Professional Referee Group (PRG), aligned with PGMO’s broader performance psychology strategy.
• Provide high quality performance focused assessment and needs analysis, focused on understanding the psychological needs of elite match officials, teams and performance environments.
• Generate high quality, accessible psychological formulations with elite match officials and PGMO performance staff, providing meaningful insights that drive shared the shared understanding of psychological needs of match officials operating in high pressure environments.
• Provide 1:1, group‑based and systemic performance psychology interventions that are responsive to the unique needs of elite match officials operating in high pressure environments, including areas such as performance preparation, decision‑making under pressure, resilience, focus, and recovery.
• Deliver dedicated performance psychology support to VAR officials, addressing the unique perceptual, attentional and decision‑making demands of the VAR environment.
• Contribute to enhancing a psychologically informed performance environment, with a particular focus on enhancing shared understanding of psychological factors impacting elite performance through the facilitation of MDT processes.
• Deliver workshops and educational sessions to match officials, coaches and PGMO staff to enhance understanding of the psychological demands of officiating across the organization.
• Work closely with other members of the Performance Psychology Team to ensure delivery is aligned to the broader performance psychology strategy throughout the pathway.
• Contribute to the development and delivery of performance psychology services to high potential & development match officials within the pathway, working with junior performance psychologists where required.
• Recognise where match officials may need additional mental health support and work closely with the Head of Performance Psychology and Mental Health Consultant to ensure signposting to appropriate support.
• Maintain high professional standards associated with the role, ensuring quality documentation and case notes, ensuring full compliance with professional standards, GDPR and PGMO policies.

• Strong applied knowledge of performance psychology within elite sport or high‑performance context.
• Ability to conduct performance‑focused psychological assessments and share these in a responsive, accessible manner with other disciplines, particularly coaches.
• Able to generate accessible and performance focused psychological formulations of complex psychological needs and/or environments, which inform a clear intervention plan.
• Expertise in delivering performance psychology interventions on a 1:1 basis using psychological skills training (such as performance routines, attentional control, and in‑game decision-making).
• Competence in delivering both remote and in‑person psychological support.
• Expertise in delivering psychological support via systemic methods, including working with senior leaders, coaching and MDT staff to deliver psychologically informed support to match officials.

• Empathetic, approachable, and able to build strong working relationships with match officials and staff.
• Comfortable working in dynamic, high-pressure, high‑performance environments.
• Proactive, organised, able to work independently when required as part of a broader performance psychology strategy.
• Effective under pressure and able to communicate complex psychological concepts in simple, practical terms.
• Adaptable and open‑minded, with the ability to support diverse officiating groups with varying demands.
  

Person Specification: (Experience, qualifications, skills, aptitudes, and personal qualities)

• HCPC‑registered Sport & Exercise Psychologist (Practitioner Psychologist) with active HCPC registration.
• Recognized qualification in sport and exercise psychology (BPS Stage 2 or SEPAR).
• Extensive experience as a qualified Sport and Exercise Psychologist / Performance Psychologist (Practitioner Psychologist) within elite sport or similar environments.
• Significant experience working in roles as a Senior or Consultant Sport and Exercise Psychologist / Performance Psychologist (Practitioner Psychologist) roles within elite sport or similar environments
• Significant experience working directly with others within executive, senior leadership team or key decision-making roles to enhance elite performance (such as executive or director level)
• Clearly evidenced experience of working in elite performance environments, such as 1st team professional football, with international teams or athletes, or Olympic/Paralympic environments.

• Experience supporting elite match officials, VAR teams, or professional refereeing groups.
• Experience working within professional football or similar fast‑paced, high‑pressure sporting contexts
• Experience working with coach and/or learning development.
• Further professional training in applied psychological models, skills or competencies
  

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