About the Collingwood Football Club 
Collingwood Football Club (CFC) was founded in 1892.

Local residents, community and business leaders and politicians all hoped that having their own football club could help bring a measure of pride to a downtrodden suburb.

In 2025, CFC is one of the great icons of Australian sport. Our history spans 130 years, 16 premierships and more finals appearances than any other club. Most importantly, Collingwood has grown from being a football club to a sports club with a commitment to our community.

Collingwood is not made by a President, a Captain, a Coach or a CEO.  It’s not just any one player, employee, supporter or fan, Collingwood is made by many.

The opportunity

Reporting to the Senior Activations Manager, the Activations Lead will be responsible for the delivery of exceptional fan engagement across all AFL and AFLW match days. This role will drive the planning, and execution of impactful fan experiences that embody Collingwood’s brand and values.

The Activations Lead will oversee all match day activations, managing project timelines, budgets, and stakeholder relationships to ensure high-quality, innovative, and compliant fan initiatives. They provide direction and guidance to the Activations Coordinator and other supporting staff, ensuring every fan experience is executed seamlessly, safely, and to the highest operational standard.

Key responsibilities include:

Overview

• Match Day Production & Theming: Oversee the end-to-end execution of AFL & AFLW home games, under the creative direction of the Senior Activations Manager. The Lead ensures all entertainment, production, and branded elements meet Collingwood’s brand guidelines and deliver innovative, high-quality fan experiences.

• Fan Activations & Engagement: Drive the development and implementation of match day activations, fan experiences, and engagement initiatives that align with the Club’s brand, strengthen connection, and optimize sponsor and stakeholder value.

• Budget Management of all key projects.

• Stakeholder & Relationships: Manage and coordinate internal teams, external suppliers, and key stakeholders, fostering collaboration, effective communication and strong relationships to support strategic objectives and flawless match day delivery.

• Other duties and projects as directed by senior leadership.

Match Day Production + Theming

• Collaborate with the Senior Activations Manager to develop the end-to-end match day creative assets in partnership with the internal design team and external creative agencies. Oversee the delivery of branded elements for home game venues at the MCG, Marvel Stadium, and Victoria Park, ensuring all creative outputs comply with Collingwood’s brand guidelines.

• Lead the design and execution of the entertainment and production for AFL and AFLW home games, including match day hosts, on-field activations, music, and production. Drive innovation and consistency across all elements to deliver an engaging, high-quality match day experience that reflects Collingwood’s brand.

Activations & Fan Experiences

• Partner with Senior Leadership to develop and implement match day strategies and execution plans that align with the Club’s fan engagement objectives.

• Lead the preparation and coordination of all operational documentation, including run sheets, bump-in schedules, site maps, and risk assessments, ensuring accurate and delivered to deadlines.

• Oversee the collation and submission of required documentation for the AFL, venues, and external stakeholders, ensuring compliance and timely delivery.

• Drive the creation of memorable and engaging fan experiences across Collingwood’s AFL & AFLW match days and non-match day events, ensuring each activation reflects the Club’s fan engagement objectives.

• Manage match day experiences collaborating with various departments across the business to deliver an on-field experience for members and partners to fulfil allocations for all AFL & AFLW home and away matches including guard of honour and junior mascots.

Stakeholder Management

• Lead coordination with internal and external stakeholders to ensure seamless planning and delivery of match days and fan events, including suppliers, councils, and other partners.

• Develop and maintain strong relationships with key external stakeholders to enhance collaboration, influence outcomes, and support the delivery of exceptional fan experiences.

• Support Senior Leadership in strategic relationship management, serving as the primary day-to-day contact for internal teams and external partners related to fan experiences and match day operations.

General

• Strong budget management ensuring adherence to all budgets set by senior management, finding opportunities for cost reduction and budget maximising as well as timely processing of all invoices.

About you

To be successful as the Activations Lead, you will have:

• Industry Experience in the Events and Activations space, or similar role.

• Impeccable organizational and time management skills with the flexibility to manage a range of concurrent projects with conflicting deadlines.

• Strong written and verbal communication.

• Strong attention to detail.

• Ability to build trust and rapport quickly with internal and external stakeholders.

• Be able to problem solve in a fast-moving environment.

• Live event management, including sports presentation and/or broadcast events, is desirable.

• People management skills are particularly desirable.

• A growth mindset with the ability to meet deadlines and adapt in a fast-paced environment, while ensuring high-quality output.

• Willingness to work flexible hours, including weekends, and uphold professional conduct, ethics and confidentiality.

Football Club’s are fast-paced environments but you will engrain yourself into the Collingwood culture, remain agile, adaptable, and consistently champion our Company values of DO BETTER, SIDE BY SIDE, A NEST FOR ALL and FLY HIGHER.

What we offer
As a valued staff member of our Sporting Club you will be a part of a fun, inclusive and flexible work environment:

• Access to state of art High Performance Gym Facility

• Access to Professional Development and Learning Development Courses

• Access to tickets to all AFL and AFLW matches

• Access to exclusive partner offers, the likes of Nike, Emirates, AIA Vitality, La Trobe, CUB Economy, Business Class with Emirates, Sonos and TaylorMade

• Opportunities to support with Collingwood community outreach and volunteer programs (Magpie Nest Cafe)

• Behind the scenes access to Match-Day, including the ability to support in on-ground activations

To Apply
If you are interested in this position, please send through your CV and cover letter that addresses why you are interested in working with the Collingwood Football Club, how your skills/experience would qualify for the position, and how you would contribute to the culture of the organisation.

Please send this application to careers@collingwoodfc.com.au. Applications close COB Tuesday 23 December 2025 (however, we may close this earlier if we receive a large volume of applications).

Please keep reading…

Research shows that while men apply to jobs when they meet an average of 60% of the criteria, women and other marginalized 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 believe in being a Nest For All – we champion respect, diversity and inclusion to make our Club a safe and welcoming place for all. The Collingwood Football Club is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications from suitably qualified and diverse candidates. 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 organization we are committed to protecting children and young people from harm. It is essential that anyone involved with the Collingwood Football Club understands their responsibility in relation to child safety. Our organization requires all applicants to obtain a ‘Working with Children Check’ prior to appointment.

To learn more about working at Collingwood Football Club and our values, please visit https://www.collingwoodfc.com.au/news/76/careers