Performance Data Lead | British Gymnastics

ROLE SUMMARY

Over recent years, Gymnastics has seen increased Olympic and international level success, along with significant challenges. British Gymnastics is committed to developing, embedding, and driving a gymnast centred, world class culture at all levels - where gymnasts welfare and positive experiences of the sport are paramount. With driven, passionate, and committed Performance Support Team members, British Gymnastics is confident we can be successful in LA and beyond, and that we will achieve this with a culture that embodies excellence in performance whilst prioritising, developing, and caring for the individuals behind the performance.

To play a key role in achieving our ambitions, British Gymnastics are looking for an experienced Data Scientist to support our ongoing commitment to driving improvements in data management practices to increase the impact of data on performance across the programme, for the duration of a maternity cover. As our Performance Data Lead, you will play a key role in shaping the future of British Gymnastics by working with athletes, coaches, and performance staff to develop data management solutions that drive informed decision-making.

British Gymnastics leverages data from multiple sources to enhance gymnast availability and optimise performance. We believe that there is a significant competitive edge to be gained through further harnessing the power of our performance data to uncover meaningful insights that inform decision-making. Your expertise in data integration, process automation and visualisation—particularly within Teamworks, our data platform, will further improve how data informs individual Gymnast Planning, training, and competition analysis, contributing to smarter decision-making and enhanced performance outcomes.

To be successful in this role, you must be a highly motivated individual with a passion for data science. You should have a strong interest in technology, a commitment to personal development, and the ability to work collaboratively as part of a high-performing team.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Quickly forge strong, trusting relationships with coaches and the sports science medicine team.
• Stay connected to the UKSI, utilising the support and experience of the system to share knowledge and keep up to date with the latest developments.
• Create engaging visualisations to inform decision-making that meet the needs of the coaches, practitioners, and the Performance Leadership Team.
• Working within the rules of the relevant governing body’s (e.g. NGB, BOA) Code of Conduct, standards and guidelines.
• Support the Head of Performance Support and Head of Performance Programmes in developing and delivering the data strategy, ensuring alignment with the Performance Plan.
• Leveraging a curious and inquisitive approach to tease out knowledge and identify opportunities for data to add real performance value.
• Improve data processes, including collection, storage, integration, and visualisation, with a focus on the utilisation of Teamworks AMS.
• Increase the performance team’s awareness of best practices at every phase in the data lifecycle.
• Manage relationships with third-party tech providers to ensure outsourced projects meet program needs.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

• Experience working in a team with varied skillsets and rapidly forming strong interpersonal relationships.
• Experience working with non-technical end users to develop value-adding data processing and management solutions.
• Experience enabling positive outcomes with data solutions, such as providing valuable new insight to inform decision makers, and enhancing process efficiency and sustainability.
• Experience supporting others to implement best practice in data management.
• Experience leading and managing projects.

KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS

• Interest in sport and curiosity to learn about Olympic Gymnastics Disciplines.
• Ability to work independently, prioritise own workload, and balance conflicting demands and tight deadlines.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills that can motivate behavioural change and engagement.
• Ability to understand and abide by GDPR requirements and respect the importance of policies relating to non-disclosure.
• An understanding of how insights from data can be effectively integrated into high-performance programmes and an ability to effectively communicate complex data to a variety of audiences.
• An understanding of the needs of athletes and coaches in high‑performance environments and a good understanding of the coaching process in theory and in practice.
• Ability to efficiently restructure messy or incomplete datasets in Excel.
• Proficient in the use of data visualisation software (e.g., Excel, Power BI, Tableau) to create data reports and engaging data visualisations.
• Desire to develop data engineering skills, particularly in the integration of structured and unstructured data.
• Experience of utilising and implementing third‑party data management systems (e.g., Teamworks or similar).
• Skilled in the use of data preparation tools to automate data processes (e.g., Power Query, Tableau Prep).
• Developing knowledge of a programming language (e.g., R, Python) to automate data processes and integrate data.
• Awareness of considerations when querying relational and non-relational databases.
• Ability to work irregular and unsocial hours as required involving working outside normal office hours (evenings, weekends, bank holidays).
• Ability to travel nationally when required.
• May be required to work with gymnasts under 18 (DBS check required).