Data Analyst

Vancouver Whitecaps FC; Vancouver; On-site; CAD 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A professional sports club in Metro Vancouver is seeking a Data Analyst to facilitate performance-related data management and analysis. The ideal candidate will have postgraduate qualifications in data science and at least 2 years of experience in a high-performance environment. Responsibilities include data pipeline implementation, performance analysis, and collaboration with staff. The club values diversity and inclusion, welcoming all applicants.

Qualifications

• Minimum 2 years experience in data science or applied sports science.
• Experience in high-performance sport or business.
• Ability to work with various data sources and platforms.

Responsibilities

• Assist with implementing data pipeline workflows.
• Develop performance analysis/models for decision-making.
• Quality control and best practices in data handling.

Skills

Data manipulation skills

Data cleaning

Feature engineering

Coding proficiency with SQL

Coding proficiency with Python

Data visualization

Proficient at querying REST APIs

Good communication skills

Education

Postgraduate qualifications in data science or related field

Tools

Python

SQL

Tableau

Microsoft Azure

Snowflake

Job description

Overview

The Whitecaps FC mission is To Unite and Inspire Our Communities. We are looking to fill a new role in the position of Data Analyst. Reporting to the club’s Manager, Sport Analytics and Data Scientist & Architect, the Data Analyst’s primary role is to help facilitate performance-related data collection, storage, management, analysis, and communication across the club. The DA will implement best practices in applied sports data acquisition, database management, and statistical analyses to assist in the club’s collaborative, informed decision-making process, in accordance with the WFC Performance Strategy. This position will contribute to both the daily training environment and assist with longer-term research and innovation projects at the WFC when necessary.

Responsibilities

• Assist with implementing data pipeline workflows for raw and summary data from optical tracking, football event data, wearable technology, and other available data sources as required.
• Assist with developing/implementing football performance analysis/models that can inform decisions about scouting/recruitment, match analysis/review, player development, and opposition scouting.
• Implement quality control and data best practices at all steps of the data pipeline for performance related data – data collection, data analysis, and data communication.
• Work collaboratively with physical preparation and medical staff to collect appropriate data sets when required, including force plates, global positioning systems, and strength testing.
• Work alongside coaches, staff, and players, in alignment with the WFC Performance Strategy.
• Assist with analyses for internal and publishable research and innovation projects, as needed.

Qualifications

Educational Experience

• Postgraduate qualifications in one of the following areas: data science, applied sport science, information technology, epidemiology (with advanced data analysis), or biostatistics.
• Complete continuing education as required for recertification.

Work Experience and Skills

Essential:

• At least 2 years experience in data science and/or applied sports science working in a high-performance sport or business environment (e.g. collegiate, national, or professional sport).
• Ability to work with various data sources, platforms, and data science software. Coding proficiency with SQL, Python.
• Experience coding in a team environment and applying best practices: clean code, testing, code review processes, documentation, version control tools (Git).
• Strong data manipulation skills, including data cleaning, feature engineering, and preparing datasets for statistical inference and analysis.
• Proficient at data visualization and interactive dashboard creation through Python and Tableau.
• Understanding of data engineering and data pipeline construction, database management, data modeling, and data visualization/reporting.
• Proficient at querying REST APIs and working with several data formats (e.g. .json, .parquet, .xml).
• Good communication skills and ability to work across multiple teams within the organisation
• Demonstrated capacity to provide timely and relevant data processing.
• Curiosity and eagerness to learn and work on new projects and technologies

Preferred

• Experience using the Microsoft software stack (Microsoft PowerApps, Power Automate, and SharePoint Lists/Pages).
• Practical experience building and deploying solutions with Microsoft Azure (e.g., Function Apps, Containerized Web Apps, Event Hubs)
• Experience with Snowflake

The Club

Vancouver Whitecaps FC is the longest-running professional soccer club in Canada and the United States. Since its inaugural season in 1974, the club has united generations of loyal fans in British Columbia and beyond. With academies in eight out of ten provinces, a network of partner clubs, and hundreds of camps and clinics every year, Whitecaps FC provide a foundation for Canada’s soccer future.

We are also strongly committed to providing opportunities to Canadian athletes, both male and female, with the largest soccer development structure in Canada. This includes academy programs in eight of ten provinces across the country.

In addition to building a winning team on and off the pitch, the Club places great importance in giving back to our community, harnessing the power of sport to create a stronger, more equitable & inclusive society through three key community goals: helping meet critical needs, using soccer to build life skills and creating soccer participation opportunities in Indigenous communities.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC believes that diversity and inclusion is critical to our success, and we seek to recruit, develop, and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool. This includes but is not limited to people of colour, Indigenous people, persons with disabilities, and persons of any sexual orientation or gender identity. Should you require any accommodation throughout the recruitment process, please do not hesitate to contact our People & Culture department.

We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.

No recruiters or agencies, please.

Within these walls, you are welcomed, accepted, and respected. Here, no matter who you are or where you come from, you are home. And you’re part of the team regardless of your age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, race, marital or family status, disability, or religious belief or non-belief. All we ask is that you be ethical and inclusive in all that you do. Be respectful of all players, fans, and staff, and remember to cheer loudest for the ones wearing the blue and white. Go ‘Caps!