General Manager Tournament Revenue

About Netball Australia

Netball Australia (NA) is the driving force behind netball in Australia, shaping the game from grassroots to greatness. As a proud member of World Netball (WN), NA oversees national teams, the elite Suncorp Super Netball league, and fosters the sport at every level—from local courts to the global stage.

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.

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 You will be joining a team of passionate individuals who take pride in their skills, love what they do and thoroughly enjoy being part of making Netball one of the most loved sports in Australia.

About the Netball World Cup

The Netball World Cup (NWC) is the pinnacle tournament for the sport and occurs every four years. It brings the top 16 teams in the world together over 10 days, with teams competing across pool stages and finals to be crowned World Champion. In 2027, the NWC will be held in Sydney, Australia. In addition to generating significant economic impact for NSW and Australia, the NWC provides a significant moment for NA in its centenary year to drive interest, awareness and participation in the sport. NA's vision for the tournament is to deliver an innovative and record-breaking NWC that inspires a new generation of fans and players, achieving record commercial return and celebrating athletes on the global stage.

About the Role

This position will be responsible for shaping and delivering the commercial strategy for the 2027 Netball World Cup (NWC), with a focus on driving key revenue streams including sponsorship, ticketing, licensing, marketing, and fan experience. This role is central to achieving ambitious revenue and surplus targets, leading the development and execution of integrated strategies that maximise commercial performance, enhance fan engagement, and elevate the tournament's brand presence on both a national and global scale. The GM is a strategic connector between Netball Australia and the Local Organising Committee (LOC), ensuring alignment, communication, and collaboration across all commercial activities. Throughout the duration of the NWC, the following are key areas of responsibility:

Sales Leadership

• Responsible for sponsorship sales to ensure the achievement of revenue targets in line with yearly budgets and forecasts

• Work with the LOC COO and Netball Australia Commercial team to identify, develop and commercialise new products and programs

• Identify and evaluate potential new business opportunities, partnerships and market trends, relevant to sport and in particular women's sport

• Strengthening existing revenue streams, identifying new market opportunities, and implementing innovative business models, with a focus on engaging and working across the netball eco-system

• Focus on driving high quality experiences across the Netball eco-system through effective communication, collaboration and strong influencing skills

• Build and maintain robust relationships with key decision-makers, understanding their needs, and providing expert advice

• Prepare and track all Commercial Pipeline opportunities and provide in depth reporting, data and analysis of market research to stay updated on both industry trends and competitor activities.

• Work with an appointed external sales agency to bolster the LOC and NA's commercial sales potential

Deliver Revenue and Surplus Results

• Deliver all revenue and net surplus results for all areas of responsibility, from sponsorship and ticketing to licensing, fan experience, and marketing and communications

• Secure new revenue from partners as part of upsell targets that strategically important to the NA business, particularly new entertainment verticals (food and dining, music, family and kid's entertainment, shopping and film)

• Work with broader teams across Netball, specifically Business Development, Business Solutions, Partnerships and Digital to create and commercialise existing as well as new assets

Partner Strategy

• In conjunction with NWC COO and NA Commercial team, develop and implement a Partnership strategy to deliver NWC budget targets as well as growth across all internal NA properties

• Establish senior level (decision maker) relationships across all partner and agency stakeholders to solidify their association with the sport and the event(s).

• Work closely with the NA Commercial team to manage the local relationship with the Partnerships team and retail licencing team to maximise the local sponsorship and licencing revenue and activation opportunities

• Oversee the local sponsor servicing and commercial operations programs for Global and Local tournament partners, working with the NA Commercial & team to ensure all contractual obligations and rights are delivered

Management

• Play a key role in facilitating communication between the NA CEO, executives, internal departments, and the LOC executive team

• Participation in key meetings locally and centrally to update NA and LOC on revenue streams, ensuring coordination, alignment and consistency internally and externally

• Being the primary point of contact for anyone within NWC2027 LOC for anything related, directly or indirectly, to any of the NA centrally managed revenue streams

• Directly manage all revenue and experience focused staff within the LOC, while they also separately and "functionally" report to the Senior Commercial Lead and any relevant revenue departments/ teams centrally at Netball Australia Ptd Ltd.

• This "double reporting" context will be a key aspect of the success of the GM Tournament Revenue & Experience in the role, and will require strong communication and collaboration skills, as well as a deep understanding of the overall commercial landscape of both the NWC Tournament and Netball Australia's internal structures.

• Manage the team's key focuses and priorities to ensure the team remain laser focused on delivering outcomes for NWC

Ticketing & Licensing

• Ensure day-to-day management of the LOC ticketing and licensing teams, co-ordinating regularly with the relevant NA stakeholders

• Support the implementation of the tournament ticketing strategy for the Sydney market specifically

• Work closely with the LOC GM Tournament Operations and NA Commercial team, and ticketing and consumer products teams, to build and deliver the tournament sales and engagement plans, ensuring marketing, communications and digital content strategies maximise ticket sales

• Foster strong integration between the LOC Executive team and the Tournament, Operations, and Services teams, ensuring alignment of plans while providing local insights, sales performance, and trends to help shape strategic decisions.

Marketing

• Lead the development and execution of the overarching marketing strategy for the 2027 Netball World Cup, ensuring alignment with commercial, brand, and fan engagement objectives

• Develop and implement a comprehensive media and public relations strategy to drive awareness, excitement, and strong narrative support in the lead-up to and during the tournament

• Manage key agency relationships and collaborate with internal stakeholders to deliver integrated campaigns that support ticket sales, partnership activation, and fan growth

Fan Experience

• Design and deliver a world-class fan experience strategy that engages diverse audiences across all stages of the tournament

• Oversee the planning and execution of fan engagement initiatives across digital, in-venue, and community platforms to deepen emotional connection with the sport and event

• Identify and develop opportunities and entertainment-driven touchpoints that enhance the spectator journey, both inside and outside the venue

Other areas of responsibility

• Understanding of the media rights in relation to 2027, and specifically the implementation of the Local Broadcast Partner requirements

About You

Essential Skills & Competencies

• Strategic Sales Leadership: Proven ability to drive high-value sponsorship sales and commercial growth across multiple channels and verticals

• Commercial Acumen: Strong understanding of revenue generation models, budgeting, forecasting, and delivering on financial targets

• Stakeholder Engagement: Excellent interpersonal and relationship-building skills, with the ability to influence and engage senior decision-makers across commercial, government, and sport sectors

• Collaboration & Communication: Exceptional collaboration skills to work across multiple teams, departments, and reporting lines, including a dual-reporting structure

• Analytical Thinking: Ability to analyse market trends, consumer data, and commercial pipeline reports to inform strategic decision-making

• Project & Program Management: Strong planning and organisational skills to manage multiple revenue-generating initiatives simultaneously, including ticketing, licensing, and partner servicing

• Governance & Compliance: Demonstrated ability to work within complex governance structures and ensure contractual and legal compliance in sponsorship and licensing

• Leadership & People Management: Experience leading high-performing teams, setting targets, and managing performance to achieve strategic and financial objectives.

Experience

• Minimum 8–10 years' experience in senior commercial, sponsorship, or revenue-focused roles, preferably within sport, entertainment, events, or media industries

• Proven experience working in or with major events or tournaments, ideally in a local organising committee (LOC) or national sports body

• Experience in managing commercial partnerships across diverse industries, including sport, lifestyle, entertainment, and consumer brands

• Experience managing ticketing and licensing programs, with an understanding of fan engagement strategies.

Knowledge & Qualifications

• Tertiary qualifications in Business, Marketing, Sports Management, or a related field (or equivalent work experience)

• In-depth knowledge of the sports and entertainment landscape

• Understanding of broadcast/media rights and their commercial impact, particularly in the context of large-scale events.

Personal Attributes

• Alignment to our DNA - Belong, Be Bold, Be Your Best

• Strategic thinker with a results-driven mindset

• Confident communicator and negotiator with high emotional intelligence

• Highly adaptable and resilient, with the ability to work in fast-paced, evolving environments

• Committed to upholding contributing to the growth of women's sport.

Research shows that while men apply to jobs when they meet an average of 60% of the criteria, women and other marginalised groups tend to only apply when they check every box. 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.

Additional Information

Reporting into the LOC COO, this full-time role will be based at Sydney Olympic Park, on a fixed-term basis through to November 2027. Given the unique nature of the sports industry, and the domestic & global reach of our organisation, travelling and working outside of Netball HQ and traditional office hours may be required from time to time. Our teams work flexibly, and we encourage the successful applicant to discuss flexible working options with their new Manager.

We reserve the right to shortlist and interview suitable candidates as they are identified, so if this sounds like you, and we hope it does – please don't delay your application. We do not take for granted the high volume of applications we receive, but please be aware this means we are only able to contact shortlisted candidates.

Netball Australia & its subsidiaries takes its 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 and must be able to hold valid checks at all times throughout their 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.