Executive General Manager - Community

Why join the Netball Crew?

For nearly 100 years, Netball Australia has led, inspired, and supported a myriad of opportunities for thousands of communities and millions of Australians to play, deliver, watch, and ultimately love our sport. With over 8.2 million Australians interested in netball, and over 4 million are core fans of Suncorp Super Netball, our game is in great shape, with the incredible success of our elite competitions propelling strong participation and fanbase growth domestically and globally. Australia is the No. 1 ranked team in the world, with 12 World Cup wins and 5 Commonwealth Games wins. 8 out of 10 families in Australia are involved in netball, with over 1 million participants and 50,000+ Woolworths NetSetGo registrations!

We are rightly proud of our heritage, our standing, and our successes. Few teams in any sport, and even fewer organisations in any industry, enjoy the position and the positive pressure of being No. 1 in the World. We love what we do and thoroughly enjoy inspiring everyone to experience the magic of Australia’s leading female sport!

If this sounds like something you would enjoy being a part of (and we may be bias but think you might!) then keep reading to find out a little more about this great opportunity!

Who are we looking for?

You are passionate about sport, about people, strategically focused and have a depth of knowledge about what Community means to Sport, to participants, to fans and to the future growth of the game.

This position is a permanent appointment and will be based at our head office at Netball Australia in vibrant Fitzroy, Victoria. Our Teams work flexibly, and we encourage the successful applicant to discuss flexible working options with their new Manager.

You have a team of incredibly talented and experienced humans – they are diverse, passionate, inclusive, full of inspirational ideas and are truly invested in participation and growth of both domestic and international Netball.

Some of your main duties and responsibilities will include:

Stakeholder Management

• Build and lead the relationships with our State and Territory Member Organisations
• Build combined KPI’s and measure and track progress across all key community participation metrics
• Build and maintain robust relationships with the Executive Leadership Team with foundations of trust, loyalty and respect.
• Enhance collaboration, alignment and effectiveness with each Member Organisation, including promotion of strong and respectful relationships between working groups and respective colleagues.
• Manage the participation relationships with Australian Sports Commission including ensuring NA is delivering its obligations on all funding requirements

Community

• Lead participation growth, workforce capability improvement, stakeholder and partnership management and the provision of tailored customer experiences
• Leading the development and alignment of a Netball Participation Plan and framework
• Provide strategic leadership to ensure the growth and management of Netball participation by relevant stakeholders is focused on growing the game’s footprint and participation base, ensuring that contemporary resources are deployed in accordance with agreed plans to deliver outcomes within agreed timeframes
• Lead and manage identified major strategic Community Pillar projects as required including cross business integration
• Provide sound recommendations regarding participation growth needs and continuous improvement opportunities.
• Develop and manage positive and productive partnerships with sponsors, businesses, the government, and other organisations that contribute to Netball Australia’s resources.
• Foster collaborative partnerships between Netball Australia, Member Organisations, Australian Sports Commission, and other system stakeholders to grow the game.
• Continue to build the capability of coaches, officials, and club volunteers, from grassroots to the elite.
• Support the work of NA in engaging and delivering value to commercial sponsors and partners.
• Develop and manage annual NA Community budgets.
• Consult within the business to understand requirements and roadblocks, and provide relevant insights and support that unlock innovative solutions for priority Community projects
• Work closely and support Netball Australia’s First Nations Lead to promote the development of First Nations programs and initiatives.
• Advocate within relevant networks to improve inclusive practice and foster increased diversity within Netball Australia and the Netball ecosystem with a focus on multicultural and LGBTIQ+ audiences
• Contribute and collaborate with Executive Team and High Performance on strategy including integration of Men and Boys into Netball including Infrastructure programs as required
• Continued collaboration with Executive Team and High Performance to evolve clear timeframes and deliverables of Men and Boys Strategic priorities
• Work closely with Member Organisations, Australian Sports Commission and key stakeholders to identify roadblocks, concerns and feedback through continuous collaboration to drive, evolve and shape the future of Men and Boys participation in Australia.

International Market Development

• Support the Market Development Team in the continued development and implementation of pathway programs to utilise netball as a tool to engage and empower players from grassroots to elite internationally,
• With a strong focus on social impact and public diplomacy, support the Head of Market Development to oversee and manage the sustainable pathway program in targeted Pacific Nations
• Assist and support key selection criteria through appropriate applications for continued funding for future co-designed International Development programs.

Confident Girls Foundation

• Provide targeted support for the Foundation's strategy development and sound governance.
• Work closely with the Board of Confident Girls Foundation to support, enable and advise on CGF Strategic priorities and deliverables.
• Oversee the Board and Staff of the Confident Girls Foundation

Our Ideal Candidate:

At Netball Australia, we value our people, and our people are the fabric of our organisation. Our DNA: Belong - We create and foster a safe and respectful environment. We are united by a shared purpose but recognise and support differing opinions and identities. Be Your Best - The ongoing pursuit to be better and bring out the best in others. Be Bold - We step outside our comfort zone and are courageous in our exploration of the new.

Our ideal candidate would be able to demonstrate a strong alignment to our DNA. Some other key capabilities. behaviours, knowledge, and traits that would stand out to us:

• An understanding of Federated Sports models ideally with experience within Netball
• An ability to make complex decisions autonomously within legislation, regulations, organisational strategies and corporate policies and procedures.
• Demonstrated knowledge of the Australian sport sector and capability to engage with the appropriate sector resources to achieve the organisation’s objectives.
• Sound knowledge and understanding of strategy and its development, implementation and evaluation to achieve agreed outcomes.
• Significant experience working as part of an executive leadership team, with a Board and diverse cross-functional teams.
• Experience in successfully managing a large and diverse team, including demonstrated success in achieving objectives in line with organisational strategy.
• Sound knowledge and understanding of financial management and budgeting.
• Project management skills with an understanding of the project management cycle.
• Excellent communication skills that underpin influence with staff, key stakeholders and the netball community and ensure external correspondence and reports meet requirements.
• Subject matter expertise in the development and implementation of initiatives that foster increased diversity and inclusive practice, particularly when engaging First Nations peoples and communities.

Other Information:

On the cusp of our centenary, Netball Australia is focused on the future. With significant opportunity leading into the 2027 Netball World Cup in Sydney, and Netball Australia’s centenary year, there has never been a more exciting time to join! This is a permanent, full-time opportunity and will be based at our HQ in vibrant Fitzroy, where you will be spoilt for choice on great coffee spots! Our teams work flexibly, and we encourage the successful applicant to discuss flexible working options with their new Manager.

If this sounds like you, and we hope it does – please submit your CV along with a Cover Letter telling us what most excites you about this fabulous role. For a copy of the full Position Description, please reach out to **@netball.com.au. We shortlist and interview great candidates as soon as they are identified so if you would like to be considered. 

Netball Australia takes our Safeguarding responsibilities seriously and we provide an environment that is safe for our child and adult beneficiaries. All successful candidates will undergo a criminal record and Working with Children check prior to employment. We provide our staff and volunteers with ongoing supervision, support and training in their work with child and adult beneficiaries. We have a collaborative, supportive and diverse culture and promote the continued development of our team members! We believe your religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identification or culture do not define you nor impact your application or employment with Netball Australia. We are a sport for all people across the community and take pride in providing a diverse, inclusive and safe environment for all.

Due to the high volume of applications, we receive, only short listed candidates will be contacted. We short list and interview as soon as preferred candidates are identified, so please don’t delay your application.