Director, Health and Innovation

Director, Health and Innovation

The National Football League (NFL) is seeking a dynamic, strategic, self-driven, research-focused Director of Health and Innovation to join the Player Health & Safety department. The Director of Health and Innovation will be responsible for driving strategies to decrease player injuries and enhance the safety of the game. The ideal candidate will be a strategic thinker, able to both oversee the execution of scientific research and product innovations, as well as synthesize progress and results to make actionable recommendations for senior leadership.

The Player Health & Safety team collaborates closely with other departments across the League to execute outstanding gameday medical operations and develop and implement research and innovation strategies aimed at reducing injuries and promoting player health. The Director is joining the NFL at a critically important time when the organization has made unprecedented investments into medical research, biomechanical engineering, epidemiology, and data analytics, all designed to accelerate science and identify new technologies and means of preventing and treating injuries.

Responsibilities :

• Lead high-priority player health and safety research and innovation workstreams, participating in the development of methods, techniques, and evaluation criteria for projects designed to decrease injuries.
• Contribute to departmental strategic planning and budgeting, and manage budget and resource allocation.
• Maintain a proactive view of the global sports injury reduction research and innovation space.
• Lead various innovation initiatives to develop new technologies and approaches to player training.
• Synthesize research results and data to make recommendations for actionable insights or future innovations to senior leadership.
• Craft compelling messaging that clearly articulates the results and implications of research and innovation project findings to key stakeholders.
• Manage multidisciplinary working groups and their injury reduction research portfolios, coordinate their priorities with League and Club experts, and share their findings with relevant stakeholders to advance player health.
• Oversee vendors and external sources for software, equipment, and services related to player health and safety.
• Liaise between the NFL League Office and NFL Clubs' medical, training and sports science personnel.
• Triage feedback from Clubs and vendors; provide vendor and internal support to ensure timely response to critical issues.
• Work collaboratively with company partners in finance, marketing, sponsorship, management council and football operations to execute health and safety programs and initiatives.

Required Qualifications :

Preferred Qualifications :

Other Key Attributes / Characteristics :

To apply, please submit a cover letter detailing your interest in this role and highlighting your dynamic leadership experience and strategic impact.