About Us

The Perth Bears are Western Australia’s newest professional sporting club, set to join the NRL in 2027. As a high-performance organisation, we’re committed to building strong foundations on and off the field to ensure long-term success. Joining our team means being part of a rare start-up opportunity in elite sport, where your expertise will directly shape the future of rugby league in WA and help deliver a lasting legacy for our community.

The Opportunity

As the Football Operations Manager, you will play a pivotal role in establishing and leading the operational, administrative, and logistical infrastructure that underpins our NRL and Pathways programs. Reporting to the General Manager - Football, you will be responsible for ensuring best practice operational delivery, compliance, governance, financial oversight, and team logistics as we build towards our inaugural season in 2027.

What You’ll Do

• Lead the day-to-day administration and operational delivery of the Football Department across NRL and Pathways programs.
• Manage football department systems, records, calendars, player registrations, contracts, accreditations and compliance requirements.
• Coordinate all team travel, accommodation, transport, camps, training venues and logistics to ensure seamless delivery across the NRL season.
• Deliver match-day operations for home and away fixtures, including team management responsibilities, liaison with officials and compliance with NRL protocols.
• Manage football operations budgets, supplier relationships, Soft Cap reporting and expenditure compliance in partnership with the Finance team.
• Act as the football department's operational liaison with NRL Football Operations, Integrity, Salary Cap, Judiciary and Match Review functions.
• Oversee football equipment, apparel, facilities and operational requirements to support high-performance outcomes.
• Support player contracting, transfers, visa administration, relocation requirements and salary cap reporting processes.
• Coordinate mandatory education programs, governance requirements and integrity obligations for players and staff.
• Lead and develop operational staff while fostering a culture of accountability, continuous improvement and high performance.

What We’re Looking For

• Minimum five years' experience in elite Rugby League operations, football administration, or a comparable high-performance sporting environment.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex travel, logistics, accommodation and competition operations.
• Strong understanding of professional sporting environments, stakeholder management and football administration.
• Advanced Microsoft Office skills, particularly Excel, Word and Outlook.
• Exceptional organisational skills with the ability to manage competing priorities and deliver under pressure.
• Highly developed communication, relationship management and influencing skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently while contributing to a high-performing team environment

Why Join Us?

This is more than a job. It's a rare opportunity to help shape the future of the Perth Bears and build the foundations of a new NRL club. As part of a start-up environment, your ideas, expertise, and leadership will directly influence the development of our players, coaches, and performance pathways.

You'll have the chance to build a best-in-class development system from the ground up and work within an ambitious, collaborative, and high performing culture. Most importantly, you'll leave a legacy on rugby league in Western Australia and help shape the next generation of Perth Bears talent.

Working in a Start-Up Environment

The Perth Bears are a start-up organisation in a critical foundation phase. Like other roles recruited to date, this position is intentionally hands-on and will initially operate with lean support structures.

The role will be fully accountable for establishing, delivering, and operating the function, while the club grows. This is not a role with layers of administration or inherited systems. You will be required to design processes, integrate technology platforms, build relationships, solve problems in real time, and deliver outcomes concurrently.

Success in this role requires comfort with ambiguity, strong personal accountability, and the ability to move seamlessly between strategic planning and day-to-day execution.

Important Information

This role is based in Perth, Western Australia and remote working opportunities are not available.

The Perth Bears are an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive workplace for all employees. We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and people with disability.

Please note, the Perth Bears do not accept unsolicited applications or requests for employment sent directly to the Club. Only applications submitted through the advertised channels will be considered.

Not open to recruitment agencies.