Head of Community

About us

Essendon FC - “The Bombers” - are a professional sporting team in the Australian Football League. As home to 5 sporting teams, we run our AFL men’s and women’s programs, VFL women’s and men’s programs, and a wheelchair football team. But we’re more than the game. Not only do we exist to win premierships, we aim to give back to our loyal membership base, and importantly, our community. We understand and take seriously the impact we have on social outcomes and work tirelessly to ensure these are positive, from our partnership with The Long Walk, to our indigenous pathway programs. To do this, we have strong commercial partnerships and innovate with non-traditional ventures, such as our Essendon Education Academy, so that we can deliver world class events, give back to our fans, run community programs and ultimately, strive toward our next premiership.

About the role

Embark on a new journey as the Head of Community at Essendon FC, where your passion becomes the driving force behind our commitment to meaningful community impact. As an influential leader, you'll guide our Community Team, driving forward the Essendon FC Community Strategy.

Picture yourself at the forefront, overseeing impactful programs, creating waves of positive change. Engage with our Indigenous Affairs leaders, lead cross-functional project teams, and champion team cohesion, aligning all with our community strategy targets.

Your role extends beyond leadership – it's about making a mark through key community initiatives and events, generating momentum and growing support for the Club’s aspirations and its community impact vision. Embrace the challenge of growing trusted relationships with local community groups and partners, as well as lobbying for funding and skilfully managing costs to maximise the benefits we can deliver for our community. Become an integral part of our legacy, where your enthusiasm for driving impactful and sustainable outcomes elevates Essendon FC as a true Community leader.

About you

With a proven track record of delivering impactful Community programs, ideally within or with exposure to professional sporting organisations, you have experience leading new community initiatives and engaging and delivering programs for underrepresented communities. You possess excellent leadership skills with adeptness in managing teams, particularly in community development, education or event management. Your strong background in fundraising from various sources including philanthropic, government, and individual donors, coupled with a proficiency in developing, managing, and evaluating community development programs and events is essential. You will bring a natural aptitude for marketing & communication strategies, and the ability to cultivate and maintain key stakeholder relationships, alongside exceptional organisational and time management skills. Strong computer literacy is required, along with a current driver’s license for travel and necessary checks for working with children. Permanent residency in Australia or appropriate work visa is mandatory.

The Perks

• Our work doesn’t always fit the 9 to 5. Your life doesn’t always fit the hours around it. We offer flexibility with hybrid office / home working arrangements and hours.
• More leave? Sure! EFC People* will be gifted additional leave per year taken to coincide with Footy Department mini breaks or at the discretion of the CEO. EFC People may also choose to purchase up to 10 days per annum additional leave during the year for extra time off*.
• Parent friendly - We put family at the centre of our work. We know they are the centre of yours. We offer paid parental leave to both the primary and secondary carer of a biological or adopted child*.
• Access to our Wellbeing Partner – Converge, supporting a Healthy Mind, Healthy Body and Healthy Workplace, with up to 6 free and confidential counselling sessions, as well as significantly discounted gym memberships for you and a partner at our Windy Hill Fitness Centre.
• Continuous professional development - to compete at our best we have to keep learning. It’s an expectation and a commitment we make to everyone at EFC. All EFC people will have access to the Essendon Leadership Academy which consists of formal learning, coaching and mentoring, to support you in achieving your career goals.
• But wait there’s more - You will have access to great benefits and discounts through our Commercial Partners. Along with two Flexi Home & Away memberships* giving you access to our Home & Away games at Marvel Stadium and the MCG. Free onsite parking at our premium workspace, The Hangar, and more.

Please keep reading...

Research shows that while men apply to jobs when they meet an average of 60% of the criteria, women and other marginalised folks tend to only apply when they check every box. So, if you think you have what it takes, but don't necessarily meet every single point above, please still get in touch. We'd love to have a chat and see if you could be a great fit.

We pride ourselves on creating an environment of shared spirit of passion, innovation, and inclusivity. As an Equal Opportunity employer, we firmly believe that diversity and inclusion is fundamental to our success. We are united in upholding our Club-wide values and are consistently setting the benchmark both on and off the field as we strive to win our next premierships. And we wouldn’t be an elite footy club if we didn’t celebrate. All our wins matter, on and off the field, we love to reward and recognise our people from Club social events to tickets to the Crichton Medal and Brownlow.

To Apply

Please submit your application as soon as possible as shortlisting will commence immediately. Please include in your cover letter why you are a great fit for this role, and why you want to work with Essendon Football Club. Cover letters should be no more than one page and succinctly outline what you can bring to this position.

With our commitment to promoting and protecting the safety and wellbeing of children and young people in our care, we undertake several screening processes to ensure this commitment is upheld. This includes ensuring all our people hold a valid employee Working with Children/Vulnerable People check and a satisfactory criminal history record check.

All applications will be treated with respect and confidentiality, including timely responses.

We politely ask not to be approached by recruitment agencies at this time.