Lead Academy Nutritionist Sports Science · Academy Training Ground Job Belfast area,Northern Ireland UK,Healthcare

Job Location: Academy Training Ground, BR3 1NZ

Deadline: 20th September 2026

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 - brand new main offices at Selhurst Park Stadium, our London office, 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.

About this role:

Working at our Copers Cope Academy training ground, you will be a collaborative and pragmatic practitioner looking to deliver a per iodised, performance-focused, evidence-based and data-driven nutrition programme. You will design and deliver engaging, age-appropriate education strategies for players, staff, parents and host families that translate nutrition knowledge into sustainable behaviours. You will create systems to measure, monitor, interpret and share body composition data, while maintaining accurate records of consultations, interventions and outcomes.

You will build strong interdepartmental relationships with the culinary team to create inventive, nutritionally rich and varied menus, and with the wider MDT to align messaging, educate coaching staff and integrate nutrition into rehabilitation, to support player development. You will lead the nutrition function, managing the working budget and providing oversight and development to our studentship programme, delivering nutritional support across our long‑term player development pathway from U9–U21.

Responsibilities:

To lead the Academy nutrition function, working collaboratively with the Head of Sports Science and Medicine and wider Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) to deliver a high-quality, evidence-based nutrition service across the Academy pathway (U9–U21).
To develop, implement and continuously evaluate a per iodised nutrition programme that supports player development, health and performance across training, matchday, travel and rehabilitation environments, including fuelling, hydration, recovery and supplementation.
To provide individualised, age-appropriate and athlete-centred nutritional support to Academy players, with particular consideration to growth and maturation, energy availability, bone health, recovery and the nutritional demands of developing athletes.
To design and deliver engaging nutrition education for players, coaches, staff, parents and host families, translating nutrition knowledge into practical and sustainable behaviours and building strong, trusting relationships with players and their support networks.
To work collaboratively with Performance, Medical, Strength and Conditioning and Coaching staff to integrate nutrition into wider MDT performance systems, including player development, injury rehabilitation and return to performance.
To lead the development and implementation of systems to measure, monitor and interpret body composition and other relevant athlete data, using appropriate data visualisation and reporting to inform interventions and objectively evaluate their impact on player development, health and performance.
To maintain accurate and comprehensive records of consultations, interventions, body composition assessments, outcomes and relevant athlete data, ensuring appropriate confidentiality, governance and professional standards are maintained.
To work closely with the Academy culinary and catering teams to develop inventive, nutritionally rich and varied menus, translating nutritional requirements…