Associate Director of Athletics, Sports Performance

Job Description:

Brown University Athletics and Recreation is currently seeking candidates for Associate Director of Athletics, Sports Performance. Located in Providence, Rhode Island, and a member of the Ivy League, our intercollegiate athletics program consists of 38 varsity teams with approximately 1,000 athletes who participate within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA-D1).

The Associate Director of Athletics, Sports Performance provides strategic, operational, and professional leadership for the Sports Performance program within Brown University Athletics and Recreation. The position establishes and executes a comprehensive vision and strategy for the Sports Performance ecosystem supporting varsity student-athletes and ensures the effective integration of Sports Performance with Sports Medicine, Sports Psychology, Sports Nutrition, and other student-athlete health, wellness, and performance resources.

 

The position oversees the full roster of Sports Performance Coaches and is responsible for establishing consistent professional standards, expectations, methodologies, staffing assignments, and operating practices across the Sports Performance program. The position provides leadership and oversight for Sports Performance services across all varsity athletics.

 

In addition to department-wide leadership responsibilities, the position serves as a Sports Performance Coach for varsity sports as needed. It may directly design and deliver sport-specific training programs based on departmental needs, staffing capacity, and student-athlete requirements.

 

The position has responsibility for the Sports Performance operating budget and associated resource allocation, including staffing, equipment, technology, professional development, facilities, and other programmatic needs. The position evaluates program effectiveness, establishes priorities, and makes recommendations regarding the future direction, structure, and resources of the Sports Performance program.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in exercise science, kinesiology, strength and conditioning, sports performance, physical education, or a related field.
• Minimum of 7 years of progressively responsible experience in collegiate or professional Sports Performance, strength and conditioning, or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated experience leading or managing a multi-sport Sports Performance operation or comparable complex performance environment.
• Demonstrated knowledge of sport-specific performance programming, athlete monitoring, performance assessment, recovery, workload management, and integrated student-athlete development.
• Demonstrated experience supervising, developing, and evaluating professional staff.
• Demonstrated experience managing an operating budget and allocating resources in support of programmatic priorities.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with coaches, athletic trainers, physicians, Sports Psychology, Sports Nutrition, administrators, and other members of an integrated student-athlete support team.
• Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).

 

Job Competencies

 

• Advanced Sports Performance Expertise: Advanced knowledge of strength and conditioning, exercise physiology, biomechanics, sport-specific training, periodization, recovery, workload management, athlete monitoring, and performance development across multiple collegiate sports.
• Strategic Athletics Leadership: Ability to lead a complex, multi-sport Sports Performance operation; establish a comprehensive vision and strategy; align staffing, financial resources, services, and priorities with institutional and Athletics and Recreation goals; and serve as a senior subject-matter expert and strategic advisor to Athletics and Recreation leadership.
• Program Development and Evaluation: Ability to design, implement, evaluate, and continuously improve Sports Performance programs across diverse varsity sports while establishing appropriate department-wide standards and practices.
• Staff Leadership and Supervision: Ability to recruit, supervise, develop, evaluate, mentor, and retain professional Sports Performance staff and effectively allocate personnel across multiple varsity programs.
• Integrated Performance Approach: Ability to develop and implement collaborative approaches that integrate Sports Performance with Sports Medicine, Sports Psychology, Sports Nutrition, and other student-athlete health, wellness, and performance resources.
• Professional Judgment and Decision-Making: Ability to independently assess complex performance, staffing, operational, and resource issues; exercise sound professional judgment; establish priorities; and make decisions within established policies and areas of authority.
• Budget and Resource Management: Ability to develop, manage, monitor, and evaluate an operating budget and make strategic decisions regarding staffing, equipment, technology, facilities, and other resources.
• Data Analysis and Technology: Ability to evaluate and utilize performance data, athlete-monitoring systems, assessment tools, and emerging technologies to inform programming, staffing, resource allocation, and strategic decisions.
• Leadership Through Influence: Ability to establish credibility and effectively influence coaches, medical professionals, administrators, and other stakeholders through expertise, communication, collaboration, and sound judgment.
• Communication and Relationship Management: Excellent verbal and written communication skills and the ability to establish productive relationships with student-athletes, coaches, staff, Athletics and Recreation leadership, and campus partners.
• Risk Management and Safety: Knowledge of training safety, injury-risk reduction, emergency procedures, equipment standards, and appropriate modifications to training programs in coordination with medical professionals.
• Organization and Operational Management: Ability to manage multiple sports, staff, competing priorities, annual training cycles, budgets, facilities, and administrative responsibilities in a complex collegiate athletics environment.
• Compliance and Professional Ethics: Knowledge of and ability to comply with NCAA, Ivy League, University, Athletics and Recreation, confidentiality, safety, and professional standards applicable to collegiate athletics.
• Change Management and Innovation: Ability to assess emerging research, technologies, and industry practices; lead organizational change; and implement improvements while maintaining appropriate consistency and accountability across the department.
• Student-Athlete-Centered Leadership: Demonstrated commitment to student-athlete health, wellness, development, academic success, inclusion, and competitive excellence.
• Continuous Professional Development: Commitment to ongoing professional education, research, certification, and development of professional expertise in Sports Performance and related disciplines.

 

All division employees are required to demonstrate exemplary ethical conduct and conformance to NCAA rules and regulations; the duties of the position are to be performed in compliance with all NCAA, Ivy League rules and regulations; and any rules violations on behalf of themselves or any knowledge of violations within the division are to be reported to the compliance office and appropriate parties.

 

Employees in coaching positions must receive annual rules education on NCAA legislation related to recruiting by the compliance office and maintain current AED/CPR and First Aid certification (certification is available at no cost through the Division).

 

Background Check – Criminal, Education, MVR

All offers of employment are contingent upon successful completion of a background check and education verification satisfactory to Brown.

 

Benefits of Working at Brown:

Please review additional information on the Benefits of Working at Brown.

Recruiting Start Date:

2026-09-21

Job Posting Title:

Associate Director of Athletics, Sports Performance

Department:

Athletics and Recreation

Grade:

Grade 11

Worker Type:

Employee

Worker Sub-Type:

Regular

Time Type:

Full time

Scheduled Weekly Hours:

37.5

Position Work Location:

Onsite

 

Submission Guidelines:

The designated Position Work Location for each position determines the approved modality of work. Positions are classified based on the operational and business needs of the department and may be designated as on-site, hybrid, or remote.

Employees with a designated position work location as remote must reside and perform their work in a state where Brown University is registered to do business. Brown University is a registered employer in the following states: Rhode Island, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Washington, D.C.

Please note that to be considered for a staff position at Brown University, you must submit a separate application for each position you wish to be considered for. Applications are reviewed only for the specific position to which they are submitted and are not automatically considered for future openings.  

This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship.

Still Have Questions?

If you have any questions you may contact employment@brown.edu.

Brown is an E-Verify Employer.

EEO Statement:

Brown University provides equal opportunity and prohibits discrimination, harassment and retaliation based upon a person’s race, color, religion, sex, age, national or ethnic origin, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or any other characteristic protected under applicable law, in the administration of its policies, programs, and activities. The University recognizes and rewards individuals on the basis of qualifications and performance. The University maintains certain affirmative action programs in compliance with applicable law.