Applications are invited for a fully-funded, four-year PhD studentship working with the British Sailing Olympic programme to begin on the 1st October 2017. This PhD is registered at the University of Chichester, West Sussex and the successful applicant will be embedded within the English Institute of Sport's (EIS) Performance Psychology Team. The successful applicant will be mainly based at the British Sailing Team's Performance Unit, in Portland.
Background:As the national governing body, the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) has the responsibility to help Britain's brightest sailing and windsurfing talents fulfil their potential, from the early stages of their competitive careers to the pinnacle of winning Olympic medals. Success breeds success and the RYA has been able to establish one of the best sport development programmes in the world built on the platform of multiple Olympic triumphs.
The English Institute of Sport (EIS) whose mission is to pioneer the delivery of science, medicine and technology services to drive medal success at Olympic, Paralympic and international competition work closely with the RYA in a collaborative partnership to help deliver repeatable success on the world stage. 
This PhD is a unique opportunity for the successful candidate to be immersed in one of the leading sports within the UK Sport High Performance System and look to deliver performance impacting research which helps deliver Olympic success at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo and beyond. The role will involve leading the research aligned to a key strategic performance objective for the Tokyo cycle and working closely with a number of key stakeholders, athletes, coaches and support staff within the British Sailing Team. Being based at the Performance Unit in Portland, the role will link into day-to-day practices on the programme and will quickly become an integral part of the Sport Science and Medicine Team where their research will look to inform applied work on the coal-face of elite performance. 
Aim: The purpose of this PhD project is to develop an in-depth understanding of decision making and its influence on elite level sailing performance. Part of the project will require the student to validate a working definition of decision making that can be profiled, monitored and reviewed using available performance data. The development and validation of such profile will then aim to facilitate theoretical understanding of decision-making in sailing and lead to the development of interventions to improve decision-making under pressure, which has applications across classes and throughout the performance pathway.
Applications from those with a postgraduate qualification in psychology, sport psychology, experimental psychology or a related area are welcomed. A good knowledge and understanding of skill acquisition and decision making would also be desirable. The main outcome from this PhD will be to disseminate knowledge to coaches and practitioners to enhance their working practice with sailors throughout the performance pathway of British Sailing. 
Essential criteria: Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC) with the British Psychological Society (BPS); a distinction (or working towards a distinction) in a BPS accredited MSc Sport Psychology programme or related discipline; evidence of excellent communication and time-management skills; and an in-depth understanding of quantitative research methods. 
Desirable criteria: Registered for the Stage 2 Qualification in Sport and Exercise Psychology (QSEP) to become a Chartered Psychologist with the British Psychological Society, and evidence of an ability to publish in peer-reviewed journals. 
Supervisory team: The project will be supervised by Dr Jenny Smith (University of Chichester, Chichester), Paul Mullan (Head of Sport Science & Medicine, British Sailing Team) and Dr Kate Hays (Head of Psychology, English Institute of Sport). Fees: The studentship will provide full-time PhD student fees waiver of GBP 4,250 p.a. and a bursary of GBP 14,000. For International candidates, the difference between the international fees and UK fees must be paid by the candidate. 
Interviews will be held on the 29th / 30th August 2017.  
Please direct all enquiries to Professor Iain Greenlees or Dr Jenny Smith