Description

Purpose: This position will coordinate mental performance and leadership development programming and services for Dartmouth’s varsity student-athletes, teams, and coaches. This position will serve as the primary mental performance consultant for a significant caseload of teams by providing one-on-one sessions, team mental training activities, and coach consultations. This role will serve to enhance sport performance, well-being, and the all-around experience through the development of skills such as resilience, attentional focus, emotional regulation, motivation, self-efficacy, and sport enjoyment. Through leadership curriculum development, annual programming, and coach collaborations, this role will serve to develop students into competitors prepared for responsible leadership and impact.

Reporting to the Associate Athletics Director for Peak Performance, the Assistant Athletics Director for Leadership & Mental Performance will collaborate seamlessly with the entire Dartmouth Peak Performance (DP2) team, leveraging interdisciplinary expertise to provide holistic support for student-athlete health, wellness, and development—empowering them to excel both on and off the field.

Description:

Mental Performance Coaching and Consulting- 70%

• This position will provide comprehensive mental performance consultation services to optimize mental skills, resilience, teamwork, and sport participation for student-athletes and coaches.
• Support a portion of the 35 varsity teams for the Big Green by offering one-on-one sessions for student-athletes, mental training programs for teams or groups, and consultation for coaches to assigned teams.
• Conduct multi-method assessment to identify needs, areas for improvement, and presenting concerns
  Ensure early identification of potential mental health concerns and refer to counseling services to provide holistic student-athlete care.
• Attend practices and games, and provide observation, feedback, and mental performance support to assist student-athletes and coaches in pursuing performance excellence and overcoming barriers to performance and well-being.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of mental performance services provided
  Collaborate with the interdisciplinary peak performance team to promote the optimal environment for performance excellence using best practices, evidence-based strategies, and peer consultation.
• Operate the Mental Performance Lab to provide cognitive training as part of individual development plans and team training for attention, anticipation, decision making, problem solving, focus, concentration, memory, pattern recognition, and object tracking.

Leadership Development- 20%

• Presents year-round classroom programming for varsity coaches and staff on the subjects of leadership, mental skill development and team building.
• Assists coaches and athletics staff with individual advising to students seeking to improve their personal approach to leadership and teams.
• Develops communication tools (including social media) to facilitate the delivery of information on these subjects to student-athletes, coaches, and staff.
• Collaborates with coaches and other campus professionals to facilitate and promote workshops and speakers related to leadership, mental skill development, and team building for student-athletes.
• Directs an intensive summer leadership program for student-athletes during “sophomore summer.”

Peak Performance Collaboration- 10%

• Meet with coaches, administrators, faculty, campus partners, and prospective student-athletes to promote awareness and access to DP2 resources and programming.
• Support DP2 communication efforts to develop educational materials and coordinate effective flow of information to student-athletes, coaches, and staff (e.g., website, email digest, and social media).
• Assist with ongoing DP2 programs and events.
• Collaborate with individuals on and off campus to provide services related to DP2.

Additional Details: A skills proficiency work sample test will be required during the interview process. Ideal candidate will be able to start early January 2027.

Requirements

Required Qualifications

• Master’s degree in sport psychology or mental performance related field.
• Five years progressive experience in mental performance consulting in a high performance athletics, tactical, or corporate setting.
• Experience developing, implementing, and evaluating programming in areas of leadership and mental performance using evidence-based and data-informed approaches.
• Knowledge of empirically supported leadership and development frameworks.
  Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including strong public speaking and group facilitation skills with diverse populations.
• Proven leadership and management skills with the ability to exercise good judgement and discretion in sensitive situations and work effectively in a fast-paced and complex work environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Doctoral degree in sport psychology or closely related field focused on mental performance.
• Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP).
  Prior experience as a full-time, embedded practitioner for mental performance and leadership development in a collegiate athletics environment.
• Experienced and skilled in consulting and collaborating with mental health professionals, athletic trainers, physicians, dietitians, coaches, strength and conditioning professionals, and other athletics staff
• Demonstrates a sophisticated multicultural understanding (e.g. race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, national origin) of self in the context of others (e.g., biases, EQ)
• Documented history of professional excellence (e.g., conference presentations, peer-reviewed journal publications, and professional award recognition)
• Working knowledge of NCAA rules and regulations.