Hello friends! 👋

Welcome to the SportsGrad Newsletter. Each week we take a deep dive into how people are growing their careers in sport.

Here you’ll find insights, tactics and tools to help you win jobs, get promoted, work around the world, make an impact, and still get paid fairly in sport.

Plus the latest on what’s happening in the SportsGrad Community - a private group of legends lifting each other toward the careers of their dreams.Learn more

Today we’re deep diving into Event Management!

We’ve put together a list of 8 epic professionals working in sports Event Management who we reckon you could learn a lot from. Each professional has been on the podcast, where you can learn even more about their career journey.

Some guests talk about their experience on the field with the athletes, some lead major events like the Super Bowl and the US Open over in the States, some travel the world for work, some lead all of the workforce operations and more!

The list covers a variety of roles within Event Management, all who pursued different career paths to get to where they are now. Each professional comes from a completely different organisation, however what they share in common is that they are ELITE.

Enjoy!

Episode #283: How to get your first full-time job in sport with Hayley Gorman

Meet Hayley Gorman, the Workforce Coordinator at UniSport Australia, and one of our beloved SportsGrad Members!

We met Hayley last year in October when she joined the Community, and was working part-time for the Bicycle Network. Since then, she’s gone to land her first full-time role, as well as become a super active and well-known member within SportsGrad.

Listen to learn how to land your first full-time job in sport, tips to improve your networking and leadership skills, what it’s like moving interstate for a job, and how being a SportsGrad Member has helped her career.

#277: Journey from Event Coordinator in Melbourne to NFL Stadium Director for the Jacksonville Jaguars with Eray Saban

Meet Eray Saban, the Assistant General Manager of ASM Jacksonville and the Director of EverBank Stadium, home to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

As you’ll learn in this episode, Eray is no stranger to a large stadium and event, and all of the challenges that come with it. From sports games, to sell-out concerts, to dealing with the FBI, his job is to make sure that every attendee has a safe and enjoyable experience.

Previously, his roles have included Event Operations Manager at Kai Tak Sports Park in Hong Kong, Stadium Event Manager at Marvel Stadium, and Event Operations Coordinator at Tennis Australia.

Tune in to learn how to break into the US sports industry, skills needed to manage large-scale events, and how to effectively manage and lead.

#247: How to be an Event Manager at Football Australia with Sam Hickson

Meet Sam Hickson, the Football Australia Event Manager with a 10 year plan to work on Brisbane 2032.

Sam has already lived the dream in sport, working on the Socceroos 2022 World Cup Campaign in Qatar, and at the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

You may remember Sam from episode #185 where we caught up with him on the ground in Doha immediately after Australia heroically qualified for the WC against Peru.

Well Sam’s back to share all his wisdom - have a listen to learn about his role, how he got the job, and his plans for the future.

Sam is now the Events and Participation Manager at UWLSU!

#244: Event Management at Cricket Australia with Katie Staniforth

Meet Katie Staniforth, the former Early Childhood Teacher turned event extraordinaire, and current Senior Event Director at Cricket Australia. Katie’s experience spans, Super Rugby, the London 2012 Olympics, NRL, the ICC T20 World Cup and Cricket Australia.

In her role at CA she works with the internal teams, the State & Territory associations, and the venues to put on International Test, ODI and T20 Cricket in Australia. In other words, she’s part of the glue that pulls the match together.

This episode is a recording of the Masterclass Katie gave exclusive to the SportsGrad Community. If you want a taste for the events and content only available to Members, this is it.

If you’re wondering why SportsGrad Member have such success finding jobs at the biggest organisations in sport, it’s because of content and connections like these - tune in!

#234: From Sport Management student to Global Event Manager with Cormac Rabl

Looking for a career that lets you travel the world while working in the thrilling world of sports?

Look no further! Follow in the footsteps of Cormac Rabl and work in event management.

It can take you to incredible destinations such as England for the Rugby World Cup, Gold Coast for the Commonwealth Games, Qatar for the FIFA World Cup, New Zealand for the World Masters Games and beyond.

Check out this episode if travelling for work sounds like the perfect gig for you!

#138: How to staff the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup with Hiam Katrib

Meet the Head of Workforce for the 2023 Women’s World Cup, Hiam Katrib.

When staffing such a large scale event where they need the best people involved, it’s no easy task.

Prior to working with the World Cup, Hiam has helped staff almost every Olympic Games since Sydney 2000.

In this episode we cover how to know when roles become available, what it looks like behind the scenes, the end to end recruitment process, and what it’s like working at the Olympics!

#118: What it’s like working BTS of Grand Slam Court Operations with Sean Cary (USTA)

Meet Sean Cary, Managing Director of Competition Operations at the United States Tennis Association.

In this episode, Sean takes us behind the scenes of the US Open.

We cover the what his role involves, their core values, the 12 month planning cycle of the US Open, and how they manage recruitment and communications.

If you've ever wondered how it comes together and what jobs are on offer, then tune in tennis fans!

#61: How to choose the location of the Super Bowl with Aubrey Walton

Meet Aubrey Walton, the Director of Event Location Strategy & Planning at the NFL.

After chasing her dream to work in the NFL, Aubrey left her 900 population home town of Sycamore, Ohio to make the move to one of more than 4 million in Los Angeles.

She now leads the committee of people who choose the location of the Super Bowl, NFL Draft and Pro Bowl each year.

In this must-listen episode, Aubrey takes us behind-the-scenes into the criteria and process the NFL undertakes to choose the host city of the Super Bowl and reveals some of the outstanding pitches from city’s vying for her teams' attention and ultimate right to host the annual Championship game.

Plus, we find out how Aubrey prepared for 11 interviews over 3 months (yes that’s 11), flying between Los Angeles and New York City, for her job at the NFL and explore how she has grown as a leader, from intern to director, over her career - have a listen!

Aubrey is now the Head of Host Cities Rights Management for the 2026 FIFA World Cup!

What’s happening in the Community?

Community Wins ⭐️

Here’s what SportsGrad Members got up to last week...

Jasmine Rob and Madison Dunford accepted roles with Melbourne Football Club as a retail assistant and support experience officer respectively!

James Roche signed a contract with Stan Sport to work on programming for the Olympics

Special shoutout to Jake Stewart who has listened to all 288 episodes of the SportsGrad Podcast

SportsGrad Members have landed over 630+ jobs in sport.

If you've had a win, share it with us in the #wins channel on Discord!

Upcoming Member Events 💛

Members, to join an event, RSVP via Discord.

Pro Member Events:

🏐 Melbourne Mavericks Watch Party - June 16th 2pm AEST

🤝 Pro Speed Networking - June 18th 7pm AEST

💰 Budgeting and Finance Masterclass with Sheila Magoye (Cricket Australia) - June 26th 12:30pm AEST

Do you work in sport? Apply to become a SportsGrad Pro Member

Rookie Member Events:

🏐 Melbourne Mavericks Watch Party - June 16th 2pm AEST

🤝 Rookie Speed Networking - June 24th 7pm AEST

💡 Career Q&A with Will Roberts (New Zealand Olympic Committee) - June 27th 12:30pm AEST

Do you want to work in sport? Join the list to become a SportsGrad Rookie Member

Job Opportunities 💼

Looking for a new gig? Here’s a few organisations who want to hire SportsGrad Members (see which org in Discord!):

🥇 Digital Media Executive - Sydney (Full-time)

🏏 Fan & Community Engagement Specialist - Sydney (Full-time)

💰 Account Executive - Melbourne (Full-time)

🏟️ Event Workforce Coordinator - Melbourne (Full-time)

🏏 Blast Specialist - Coffs Harbour (Full-time)

🏉 Participation & Fan Acquisition Officer - Sydney (Casual)

📸 Digital Marketing Internship - Melbourne or WFH (Internship)

📲 Digital Media Assistant - Canberra or WFH (Internship)

🤝 Special Events & Partnerships Assistant - Canberra (Internship)

🏆 Sports Assistant - Canberra (Internship)

👷 Operations Assistant - Canberra (Internship)

🏋️ Workforce Assistant - Canberra (Internship)

Need help hiring sports industry talent? Get in touch with Ryan.

Thanks for reading!

Catch you soon,

Acacia 💛

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