ABOUT US

Football Australia is situated on the lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We acknowledge the histories, traditions and living cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and commit to building a brighter future together.

Football in Australia is a melting pot of approximately 2 million participants represented by over 200 different cultures, we are proud to be the most diverse and globally connected sport within the Australian sporting landscape.

This diversity in culture, ideas, and experience makes us strong and prepares us to achieve our vision to ‘be a leading football nation where everyone is inspired to live and love the game’. To achieve this, we live by our company values which include: 

• Impact On & Off the Field: Challenge the way we think and do to seek ways to grow the impact football has, influence industry thought leaders.
• Inclusive & Diverse Football for all: Football is embedded in the nation's social fabric, follows the story of Australia, be accessible for all
• A United Team: Bringing people together to unleash the power of football and to deliver the vision, we bring the team spirit to the game
• Trust: Building trust across the whole football community, be trusted custodians of the game, act with integrity and objectivity

WHAT WE OFFER

At Football Australia we want to look after our people and below are just some of the many benefits of joining our team:

• Flexible work arrangements
• Birthday Leave
• Study Leave
• Wellbeing & Lifestyle leave
• Paid Parental leave in addition to statutory government offering
• Volunteer leave
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Partner discounts
• Workplace Banking Program
• Social Activities such as 5-a-side futsal

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has awarded Football Australia hosting rights for the 2026 edition of the AFC Women's Asian Cup™. Having co-hosted the best-ever edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ in 2023, Australia will host the Continent’s premier women’s national team for a second time in history having also staged the 2006 edition of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup™.

This prestigious event will bring together 12 nations in a tournament structured into three groups of four. Following the resounding success of last year's FIFA Women’s World Cup™, Football Australia, its stakeholders and partners are eager to create another tournament that celebrates women's football, delivers legacy outcomes for football and Australian society more broadly.

A Local Organising Committee (LOC) will be established for the sole purpose of delivering the 2026 edition of the AFC Women's Asian Cup™ in Australia. With the LOC soon to be established, the Senior Manager – PMO AFC Women's Asian Cup 2026 LOC Office, will initially be contracted to Football Australia, transitioning to the LOC Office once established.

This role will be pivotal in supporting the planning and operational execution of the tournament. This position will collaborate with the AFC, Football Australia, and all LOC internal Program Areas, ensuring that all deliverables are planned, executed, and meet AFC requirements within designated timelines.

A key responsibility of this role is the oversight and management of the Tournament Master Schedule. Collaborating with each of the tournament’s stakeholders on an ongoing basis to monitor specific project timelines and manage project deliverables, regularly communicating project status, risk and updates.

Please note that this role is fixed term until post tournament 2026.

Duties & Responsibilities: 

• Develop and manage a comprehensive tournament project plan for each of the tournament’s phases, outlining all tasks, timelines, and milestones
• Develop full-scale plans and associated documents for all tournament stakeholders
• Identify and manage project dependencies for all deliverables, ensuring each of the LOC’s functions and programs are kept informed of dependencies impacting each of the departments.
• Proactively manage changes in project scope to ensure deadlines are met and projects are adequately staffed, to accommodate updated requirements.
• Establish strong relationships with program areas within Football Australia and the LOC, government, host cities and operational stakeholders to successfully deliver tournament requirements.
• Coordinate with all tournament stakeholders on an ongoing basis to monitor specific project timelines and manage project deliverables, regularly communicating project status, risks, and updates.
• Evaluate AFC tournament requirements in alignment with government and host city agreements.
• Working with the Tournament Director and EGM Event Growth and Experience, manage the development of all Tournament and Event related documentation.
• Coordination and record taking of Tournament Coordination meetings allowing for comprehensive program area integration across the organisation.
• Monitor and support the completion of the relevant documentation by each of the programme area managers.
• Own the holistic view of the WAC roadmap to ensure milestones are delivered on time and interdependencies are clearly communicated between WAC and AFC
• Have an oversight of the WAC procurement plans and recruitment plans and ensure milestones are delivered to the agreed timings
• Working with the Tournament Director, monitor the preparation and readiness of all venues, including stadiums, training facilities, in accordance with the AFC requirements.
• Coordinate the set-up of the Tournament Time Main Operations Centre and ensure all reporting and communication processes are effective and streamlined.
• Administer the daily briefings during Tournament Time.
• Lead on post-event evaluations to report on performance, identifying areas for improvement.
• Facilitate the ‘Transfer of Knowledge’ process, capturing, documenting, and sharing insights, lessons learned, and best practices from the tournament.

A full copy of the position description can be found here.

ABOUT YOU

Experience, Skills and Qualifications: 

• Bachelor’s Degree or similar level of higher education in business, strategy, sports management, project management or related field
• A minimum experience of 5 years in Strategy, Planning and Project Management
• Highly developed skills in MS Project, Excel, PowerPoint and Visio and other planning software and online collaboration tools
• Demonstrated strategic planning, execution and project management experience for major international sporting events.
• Extensive experience in project management for major sports tournaments, with a solid understanding of local Australian stakeholders at the city, state, and national levels.
• Proficient in stakeholder management, operational environment analysis, and the use of monitoring tools to track progress and identify and report on issues.
• Strong collaborative skills to work with teams in delivering strategic plans.
• Exceptional organisational and presentation skills.
• Excellent communication abilities, both in presentation and interpersonal interactions.
• Demonstrate ability to facilitate meetings
• Capable of working independently as well as in a collaborative, team-oriented environment.
• Demonstrated success in completing a major sporting tournament and meeting KPIs’
• A full list of experience, skills and qualifications can be found in the above position description

Additional Requirements: 

• Full working rights in Australia
• Working with children check (paid/employee) or state-based equivalent 
• Australian National Police Check
• International Criminal History Record for each country (other than Australia) in which you have resided for 12 months or more in the last 10 years (if applicable)
• Out of hours and weekend work as required

Click APPLY NOW to submit your application, including a cover letter and current resume.

Application Closing Date: 6 December 2024

Football Australia are an equal opportunity employer committed to providing a safe working environment that embraces and values child safety, diversity, and inclusion. Our values and behaviours support and encourage an environment that sees its people drive impact on and off the pitch, are trusting in each other, united to achieve and embrace an inclusive environment.

We encourage applications from people who identify as female or non-binary, Aboriginal or Torres Strait Island people, people with disabilities and people with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. If you require support or advice with your application, please contact us.

In submitting an application, you agree to our collection statement. To review, head to the following link: footballaustralia.com.au/jobs/collection-statement