About us

Joining the Hawthorn Football Club represents a unique opportunity to work in a fast paced, elite sporting environment where you can be yourself and thrive.

Our Club’s values and One Club philosophy across our men’s and women’s football programs ensures that inclusion and diversity are at the core of all we do. You will work and thrive in an environment that is committed to excellence and supported by a culture of wellbeing and work/family balance.

Our strategic priorities guide the Club to deliver long term objectives to continually grow, innovate and achieve on-field success. We are excited that our new state of the art home Kennedy Community Centre in Dingley is now completed and ready for us to move to.

We are committed to creating a supportive environment in which people feel connected to our football club and to each other. Importantly we want to have fun!

About the role

The General Manager of AFLW is responsible shaping the strategic direction of a high-performance AFLW program and lead a team committed to achieving sustained on-field success.

Key Responsibilities

• Developing and executing the strategic plan for the AFLW program, ensuring alignment with the club’s vision and values.
• Leading all aspects of the AFLW football department, including high performance, medical, player development, operations, property, recruitment, and list management.
• Overseeing the recruitment and retention of AFLW players and staff.
• Collaborating with the CEO, EGM of Football, and other club leaders to integrate the AFLW program with broader club objectives.
• Ensuring compliance with AFL and AFLPA regulations and guidelines.
• Fostering a high-performance culture that reflects Hawthorn’s values and drives elite behaviours.
• Managing the AFLW program budget and ensuring efficient use of resources.
• Representing the club at AFL and AFLPA meetings, in the media, and at internal and external events.
• Working closely with the Executive and football department to drive growth and development of the AFLW program.

Qualifications and Experience

The successful candidate will have proven performance in a senior management role, preferably working in women’s sport or AFL/W (more than 5 years) as well as experience with:

• Building teams, managing people, and fostering elite performance.
• Negotiating, influencing, and stakeholder engagement.
• Financial and budgetary management.
• Player list management (desirable, but not essential)

This is a full-time permanent opportunity commencing this season.

Our offer to you

As a Hawthorn Football Club employee, you will work in a supportive, values driven and harmonious team. You will be challenged and provided with opportunities to learn new things, grow, and develop. Our initiatives which drive wellbeing, connection and performance include:

• Access to gym facilities
• Special offers and discounts through our Corporate Partners
• Professional development opportunities – inhouse and external
• One Club memberships to enjoy games with your family and friends

The Hawthorn Football Club is an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages applications from suitably qualified and diverse candidates. We welcome applicants who reflect the diversity of the Australian community and encourages applicants from the following backgrounds to apply:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
• Culturally and linguistically diverse
• LGBTIQ+
• People with a disability

We provide a welcoming, safe, and flexible approach to work and provide an environment that benefits from and enables the best from everyone.

As an organisation we are committed to protecting children and young people from harm. It is essential that anyone involved with the Hawthorn Football Club understands their responsibility in relation to child safety. Our organisation requires all applicants to obtain a ‘Working with Children Check’ prior to appointment.