While Allan’s departure left the Club without one of their key off-field figures on the eve of the 2010 AFL Season, it also provided Senior Coach Michael Voss with an exciting opportunity to implement a new structure within his football operations.
“When Gubby left, it enabled us to make a big change from one management model to another,” Voss told The Courier Mail last week.
Part of the new model included the promotion of existing Lions High Performance Manager Dan Collins to the new role of Chief Operating Officer (COO Football).
Collins - a former Olympian who won a silver medal in the K2 500-metre pairs event at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games - joined the Club at the end of 2008 after previous stints with the Australian Sports Commission and the International Rugby Board.
He will now take on greater football responsibilities as part of his new position.
“Dan is involved in our Club’s strategy and will drive our processes and preparations,” Voss said.
“He has already been active in those areas but assumes a far more important football management role in Gubby’s absence. He becomes a key leader.”
“His extensive background in high performance means that he understands how people work in the system and how teams come together,” he said.
The Lions now begin an exciting search for someone to fill their newly created senior position of National Talent Manager which will report directly to Dan Collins.
The role will include key responsibilities such as player recruitment and retention, list management, player development and the management of the newly formed Lions Academy.
“We are looking for someone to substitute the traditional list manager’s role,” Voss said.
“We are looking outside the confines of the AFL and drawing inspiration from the corporate sector.”
“It’s a unique opportunity that doesn’t surface very often, particularly during such an exciting period at the Club.”
If you have a working background in talent identification or recruitment in elite sport, please submit your resume together with a one page introductory letter to Laurie Serafini at Slade Partners on lserafini@sladepartners.com.au
Applications close at 5pm on Thursday 25 March 2010.
