Football Video Systems Technician

Location: Heraklion, Greece

Contract: Freelance

Salary: Starting from €180 daily rate

Start Date: July for training and August for Matches

What The Job Is All About:

We are recruiting to fill Football Video Systems Technician roles within our expanding operations in the Greek Super League. There may be opportunities to work across tournaments such as the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. This is an exciting opportunity to work at the forefront of sports technology as part of a dedicated and dynamic team. 

Working day expectations:

• Match Day -> Arrival up to 5 hours pre-Kick Off

• Match Day -> End of day up to 2 hours post game completion

• There are also varied needs during the setup day/s which may require the assistants to be present on the day/s before match day.

• The role requires the consultant to be flexible with work hours depending on the needs of the onsite team

We are looking for committed and passionate people that are willing, and able to work throughout the football season. Please consider that this work is likely to be mostly on the weekend with some midweek fixtures. 

We will equip you with the technical training, support and full exposure to our systems to perform your match day tasks but also encourage development and progression to help make an impact on what we do. 

Key Responsibilities:

The main purpose of this role is to supervise and manage all the technical video equipment present in the stadium for of our VAR (Video Assistant Referee) technology.

You can find the more specific responsibilities here:

• Responsible for the end to end setup, operation and monitoring of the VAR service on-site . 

• Check that all the servers and equipment present in the van are functioning and resolve the problems if necessary;

• Connect the van with the Remote Center and test the connection with the Remote Centre Technical Guarantee.

• Check correct installation of the audio and Referee Review Area (RRA) system on the sidelines;

• Take the video signals from the control medium of all the cameras that frame the field and provide our outputs for: Semi Automatic Offside (SAO); VAR; VORcam;

• Fill in the checklist relating to your role, reporting any uncompleted checks and specifying the reason;

• Monitor the VAR system during the match, communicate and resolve problems with the help of the remote centre & remote support 

• Help the RRA Operator with dismantling activities.

• Drive the Hawk-Eye Capture van to stadium

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise:

Essential:

• Bright and enterprising with excellent organisational, analytical and problem-solving skills

• Proactive, responsible attitude and ability to work on your own initiative with minimum supervision

• Time management skills and ability to work in a high pressure, procedural, live broadcast environment

• Ability to liaise with stakeholders in a professional and approachable manner with attention to good communication.

• Comfortable working in English (reading, writing and speaking) as will need to interact with colleagues from other countries

• Able to adapt to flexible working conditions with irregular working hours

Preferred:

• A technical background, ideally in IT or Broadcast

• An interest in sport and/or sports analysis, with a good knowledge of football and the rules of the game

• Experience working with VT/replay technology desirable, or live event / technical production

• Prepared to travel locally and, if required, further afield in Greece

• Driving licence required

At Hawk-Eye Innovations, we appreciate and value the importance of potential and growth. If you believe that you excel in certain areas and possess the passion and desire to develop further, we encourage you to apply

Team Culture:

We pride ourselves on our team culture. We believe in fostering a supportive environment where every team member can contribute their best work. Our core values include:

• Innovation: We constantly seek new ways to improve and innovate in the sports entertainment industry.

• Teamwork: We celebrate our successes and learn from our experiences as a team.

• Passion: Our love for sports drives everything we do.

What Difficulties Might I Face?

Up to this point, I’m sure there have been many things that you find intriguing about the role, however, there can be difficult times:

Working Hours: Due to the nature of the sports industry, there will be work on weekend evenings, and we are expected to fulfil our roles until the last minute. 

High-Pressure Situations: Working in a live broadcast environment on a production that is distributed to millions worldwide will bring high levels of pressure. 

All of these factors offer different challenges daily as an operator. We will do all that we can to train you and support you to the best possible level, but these challenges must be considered before submitting your application. 

Application & Hiring Process:

• Application: If you're interested in this position, please submit your CV and complete the application form and hit submit.

• Task Submissions: Successful candidates from the application stage will receive an invite to access our one-way video interview platform in English (Hireflix)

• Review Period: Once you have completed the tasks, our team will take a period of time to review all tasks and provide application updates. 

• Interview & Training Assessment: This next stage will be a remote training assessment, followed by a virtual interview with our hiring managers.

• Offers & Feedback: The team will take time to review all feedback and conduct our final reviews.