What Actual Jobs are Out There for Sports Management Graduates in Australia?

Sports management career

Sport is a big part of Australian life. Every year, millions of Australians play with a local team, volunteer at clubs and attend game days. It’s also a high growth sector, with diverse job opportunities.

Sport is a big part of Australian life. Every year, millions of Australians play with a local team, volunteer at clubs and attend game days. It’s also a high growth sector, with diverse job opportunities.

If you’re studying sports management and looking for a career in the sport sector, your future is looking good.

The sector overall is going strong, with high demand for managerial skills and strong future jobs growth predicted for sports administrators. According to Australian Government statistics, 14 million Australians participate in sport annually, and 220,000 are employed across the sector, helping to generate approximately 3% of GDP.

According to the Sport and Recreation IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast, these are the top 5 skills in demand, across the industry in Australia:

  • Customer Service/Marketing
  • Communication/Collaboration including virtual collaboration/Social intelligence
  • Learning agility/Information literacy/Intellectual autonomy and self-management
  • Design mindset/Thinking critically/System thinking/Solving problems
  • Managerial/Leadership.

(Luckily for you, these are all skills you develop when studying Sports Management!)

The same study identifies the top 5 occupations in demand across the whole sport, fitness and recreation sector:

  1. Fitness Instructors
  2. Sports Coaches, Instructors and Officials
  3. Information Officers
  4. Advertising, Public Relations and Sales Managers
  5. Conference and Event Organisers

As you can see, coaches and fitness instructors are in demand across the broader sports and recreation industry. However (more relevant to sports management grads) there’s also a growing need for sports administrators working behind the scenes in management, PR, social media, and information and communications.

So, what actual jobs can you expect to get as a Sports Management graduate in Australia?

Sports Management is a diverse degree that equips you with a broad range of skills.

Graduates can enter into careers ranging from public relations to project management, corporate sponsorships, events management, social media marketing, brand management, or talent recruitment. You could work in the community or government sports sector, the media, or in big business.

Which direction you take it depends entirely on what kind of work you prefer, as well as what’s on the market.

To get a sense of what’s really out there in Australia right now, we’ve run some online searches for sports management positions currently advertised on job seeking websites.

Based on our research, here are a few of the different job titles you could expect to find in your future, as a Sports Management graduate.

These are all actual job titles currently advertised across Seek.com, Linkedin, and Sportspeople, (follow the links for job search results) which graduates of a Sports Management degree would be perfectly suited to. Remember, you need to make sure you’re getting work experience while you study, so you’re employable by the time you graduate: these positions all require prior experience as well as a qualification.

Teams Program Coordinator (IRONMAN Oceania)

The IRONMAN series of events is one of the largest individual participation sports platforms in the world. Our specialty within the Oceania region is high-profile mass participation triathlon, cycling & running events, including the iconic City2Surf.  

You would coordinate the Athletic Teams Program specifically focused on corporate teams and other groups who enter our events.”

Required skills and qualifications:

  • Experience in building relationships with existing and new clients 
  • Excellent presentation, oral and written communication skills 
  • Sales experience (event sales experience preferable) 
  • Solid negotiation and closing skills 
  • An absolute drive to meet and exceed targets 
  • The ability to work autonomously and also as part of a team  
  • Experience with Microsoft Office and registration platforms 

Marketing Manager (Golf Australia)

You will be responsible for developing, presenting and overseeing execution of marketing plans for participation programs like MyGolf and tournaments such as the Australian Open, Women’s Australian Open, Vic Open and leading national amateur championships.

Required skills and qualifications:

  • A good knowledge and demonstrated passion of the sports/entertainment landscape.
  • Passionate about storytelling in compelling ways.
  • Demonstrated ability to set priorities, plan work programs, meet deadlines and manage time effectively.
  • Excellent organisation, planning and project management skills that allow the individual to work under pressure to meet deadlines.
  • Digitally savvy – experience using data management / CRM systems and competent with digital marketing tools like social media, website content management systems and Adobe products.

Participation and Programs Officer (Table Tennis Victoria)

You will manage the table tennis Sporting Schools Program in Victoria, taking a proactive approach to encouraging more schools to participate in the scheme. You will co-ordinate and drive participation projects. This includes various social programs, entry-level programs, club capability building and school activities.

Required skills and qualifications:
  • Bachelors’ Degree in Sports Management or related discipline.
  • Elite interpersonal skills with the ability to evoke the cooperation of people including volunteers, coaches, schools and participants across a range of organisation.
  • Excellent communication (written and verbal), relationship building and presentation skills.
  • Well-developed time management skills and the ability to prioritise tasks.
  • Proven ability to work independently and with initiative.

Customer Relations Manager (Social Sport, a private provider of social sporting competitions)

As our Customer Relations Manager you will be joining our management team who ensure all competitions are delivered seamlessly. Your role includes: Inbound sales lead management, outbound sales campaigns, customer experience management, online marketing campaigns.” 

Required skills and qualifications:

  • The ideal candidate must be an enthusiastic, personable, sports-loving, target-driven individual who is capable of decisive and assertive action where required.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication
  • Attention to detail and the capacity to work to deadlines.

Event Manager (Gold Coast SUNS, AFL Team)

The Events Manager is responsible for the strategic development, planning, management and execution of our SUNS Events Program. This includes major events, member events, match-day and other strategic initiatives. In addition, this role will also have integration across our non-AFL event content held at Metricon Stadium, including BBL and concerts.”

  • A strong personal brand which personifies the GC SUNS values
  • A tertiary qualification in marketing, events, sports management, communications or a business-related discipline
  • Experience in leading, managing and organising large scale corporate and consumer events
  • A creative flair with event ideas and activation
  • Knowledge and passion for sports, particularly AFL
  • Experience with CRM programs and database management

Partnerships Manager (Netball WA)

The Partnerships Manager will be responsible for the delivery and servicing of a number of Netball WA, Glass Jar Australia and West Coast Fever corporate and community partners, alongside developing new systems and processes to streamline this responsibility.”

Required skills and qualifications:
  • Bachelors degree in a relevant discipline
  • Demonstrated experience in a business development and/or sales specific role (preferably within the sports industry)
  • Is able to demonstrate a record of achievement against sales targets/KPIs
  • Strong customer service and stakeholder relationship management experience
  • A passion for sport
  • Strong communication skills, attention to detail and ability to elicit cooperation from and work with a range of people/stakeholders

Club Manager (Mitchelton Youth Club Inc.)

MYC is a non-for-profit, community minded, multi-sporting organisation with approximately 600 active members ranging in age from 2 years to young adults. The Club Manager role involves: general administration, human resource management, event organization, funding applications, risk management, developing and implementing strategies for continued growth.”

Required skills and qualifications:

  • Any relevant qualifications or certifications such as business management or sports administration will be held in high regard
  • Effective human resource management skills
  • Effective communication skills, both verbal and written
  • Ability to communicate across a variety of groups of people ranging from athletes, parents and volunteers, through to coaches, committee members and suppliers
  • Proven management experience
Check our Sports Management Courses to learn more
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