About Netball Australia
Netball Australia (NA) is the driving force behind netball in Australia, shaping the game from grassroots to greatness. As a proud member of World Netball (WN), NA oversees national teams, the elite Suncorp Super Netball league, and fosters the sport at every level, from local courts to the global stage. For nearly 100 years, NA has led, inspired, and supported a myriad of opportunities for thousands of communities and millions of Australians to play, deliver, watch, and ultimately love our sport.
With over 8.2 million Australians interested in netball, and over 4 million considered to be core fans of Suncorp Super Netball, our game is in great shape with the incredible success of our elite competitions propelling strong participation and fanbase growth domestically and globally.
We are rightly proud of our heritage, our standing, and our successes. Few teams in any sport, and even fewer organisations in any industry, enjoy the position and the positive pressure of being No. 1 in the World! You will be joining a team of passionate individuals who take pride in their skills, love what they do and thoroughly enjoy being part of making Netball one of the most loved sports in Australia.
On the cusp of our centenary, and significant opportunity leading into the 2027 Netball World Cup in Sydney, there has never been a more exciting time to join.
About the Role
The Policy & Risk Manager is responsible for leading Netball Australia’s Policy and Risk Frameworks to ensure strong governance, compliance, and risk management across the organisation. Reporting to the General Manager, Legal & Integrity, this exciting full-time permanent opportunity will support NA’s Board, Board Committees and Executive Team with strategic advice, oversees policy development and review, manages organisational risk, and promotes a culture of integrity and accountability. The overarching purpose of this role is to drive and embed NA’s Policy and Risk Frameworks, support the integrity function and ensure compliance with Netball Australia integrity and competition policies and practices through the establishment of education programs and implementing supporting systems and frameworks across NA, Suncorp Super Netball (SSN) Clubs and Member Organisations (MOs).
Key responsibilities include:
- Review, maintain and implement NA’s Policy Framework and Register, ensuring alignment with governance standards, legal requirements and best practice in sport integrity and compliance
- Coordinate policy reviews and updates, including scheduling, stakeholder consultation and approval processes
- Ensure policy review and implementation processes and systems are effective, efficient and up to date
- Provide expert advice and support to policy owners and business units, ensuring policies are accessible, practical, consistent, and clearly communicated.
- Monitor compliance with policies across the organisation, identifying gaps and recommending improvements to mitigate risk
- Prepare and present reports on NA policies – in partnership with policy owners – to NA Executive Team, NA’s Finance Risk & Audit Committee and Governance Committee and the NA Board
- Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders, including regulators, sporting bodies, government agencies, SSN Clubs, Member Organisations, the Australian Netball Players’ Association (ANPA), decision makers, specialists, risk and control owners, subject matter experts, to ensure policies reflect current standards and obligations
- Promote and support education and communication initiatives to build staff and stakeholder understanding of policy requirements and responsibilities, working closely with policy owners
- Stay informed on legislative changes, sport governance trends, and integrity frameworks, incorporating these into policy development.
- Regularly review, implement and maintain NA’s Risk Management Framework, ensuring organisational approach to risk registers, risk assessments, mitigation strategies, and annual reviews of organisational risk and risk appetite
- Coordinate NA’s approach to risk management, ensuring consistent processes for identifying, assessing and monitoring strategic and operational risks
- Support risk owners when they are preparing and presenting risk information to the Executive Team and NA Board, enabling informed decision-making
- Manage and maintain accurate information about NA’s strategic and operational risks, ensuring timely updates and reporting
- Support NA in defining risk appetite and tolerance, and integrate these into organisational planning and decision-making
- Coordinate the implementation of the organisation’s risk management policy and other elements of the risk management framework
- Coordinate the regular review and improvement of NA’s Risk Management Policy and other elements of the Risk Management Framework, driving continuous improvement and alignment with best practice
- Collaborate with decision makers, specialists, risk owners, control owners, subject matter experts and internal and external stakeholders to assess, monitor and manage risk across the organisation
- Prepare and present reports on risk and risk management to the Executive Team, NA’s Finance Risk & Audit Committee and the NA Board
- Promote a culture of risk awareness by supporting staff understanding of risk management responsibilities through training, communication and engagement initiatives.
- Collaborate with NA Legal Counsel – Integrity and SSN Compliance Lead to establish the annual integrity education framework, ensuring alignment with organisational priorities and integrity requirements
- Conduct an annual review of the integrity education framework to confirm that agreed learnings and outcomes are achieved across the Australian netball system
- Ensure annual approval of the integrity education framework by Sport Integrity Australia (SIA), maintaining compliance and best practice standards for a National Sporting Organisation.
- Lead NA’s participation in SIA’s Safety in Sport Continuous Improvement Program
- Assist with the preparation of Board, Board Committee, Member Organisation CEO/Chairs papers, meetings and reports as required
- Identify opportunities for partnerships and/or grants to promote and/or improve Netball Australia’s integrity and compliance activities
- Ensure that Netball Australia adheres to best practice governance policies, procedures and education programs to support organisational integrity.
About You
Research shows that while men apply to jobs when they meet an average of 60% of the criteria, women and other marginalised groups tend to only apply when they check every box. 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.
- Expertise in risk, audit and compliance management, and policy development
- Strong relationship-building skills, with the ability to inspire, empower and enable others
- Proven ability to work collaboratively in teams to achieve organizational objectives
- Excellent interpersonal, engagement and communication capabilities, including negotiation and stakeholder management
- Flexibility, adaptability and resilience in a dynamic environment
- High level of political acumen, initiative and proactive problem-solving skills
- Strong analytical and creative thinking, with the ability to exercise sound judgment and make timely decisions based on accurate analysis
- High level of integrity, dependability and results orientation, with a strong sense of urgency
- Significant knowledge and success in sports services or a similar industry, with a commitment to quality and customer service
- Ability to set priorities, plan work programs, meet deadlines and manage budgets and time effectively
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to prepare reports and engage positively and constructively with stakeholders, government agencies and staff
- A comprehensive understanding of appropriate behaviours when engaging with Children/Young People
- Commitment to uphold and demonstrate Netball Australia’s values.
What We Offer
- Vibrant Culture: A supportive, inclusive, high-energy, and values-driven team with a passion for our sport.
- Hybrid Working: Flexibility to work from home alongside office connection days, based on role requirements.
- Employee Wellbeing: Additional Wellbeing Leave, Annual Flu Vaccinations & Skin Checks.
- Paid Parental Leave, Fertility Leave, Birthday Leave.
- Pets in the Office Fridays, Opportunity to attend Netball matches, and free breakfast bar on-site
The role is based at Netball’s Head Office in Fitzroy/Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung country where you will be spoilt for choice on great coffee spots! Given the unique nature of the sports industry, and the domestic & global reach of our organisation, travelling and working outside of Netball HQ and traditional office hours may be required. Our teams work flexibly, and we encourage the successful applicant to discuss flexible working options with their new Manager. Reporting into the Head of Market Development, this role is offered on a full-time, fixed term basis until 30 June 2028.
We reserve the right to shortlist & interview prior to the advertisement expiry, so if this sounds like you, and we hope it does – please submit your application as soon as possible. We do not take for granted the high volume of applications we receive, but please be aware this means we are only able to contact shortlisted candidates.
Netball Australia takes our Safeguarding responsibilities seriously and we provide an environment that is safe for our child and adult beneficiaries. All successful candidates will undergo a criminal record and Working with Children check prior to employment and must be able to hold valid checks at all times throughout their employment. We provide our staff and volunteers with ongoing supervision, support and training in their work with child and adult beneficiaries. We have a collaborative, supportive and diverse culture and promote the continued development of our team members! We believe your religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identification or culture do not define you nor impact your application or employment with Netball Australia. We are a sport for all people across the community and take pride in providing a diverse, inclusive and safe environment for all.
Recruitment agencies – thanks for thinking of us, but we have this one covered!
