Netball Commissioner/CEO, Auckland
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New (to be named) Netball League

Netball Commissioner/CEO

  • Posted 3w ago
  • On Site
  • Full Time

Freemans Bay, Auckland

Job Description

A NEW Netball League is coming to town and we need a Commisioner to help solidify NZ as the global home of Netball!


This is our sport.


Before it belonged to anyone else, it belonged to us.


To the backyards, the school courts, the Saturday mornings that shaped New Zealand’s toughest, most determined women. We are here to demand more of that legacy.

Every girl who steps onto a court in this country should be able to see a straight line from where she stands to the very top of the world game and we intend to build that line, pass by pass, until it can’t be denied.


We stand for ambition.


For backing our own to dominate globally.


For a game that appreciates the women who play it, keeps them in NZ, and sends them out into the world as champions not exports.


This isn’t nostalgia for what netball was. It’s a platform for what it’s going to become.


What we want you to OWN.


Strategic & Competition Leadership

  • Set and execute the league's strategic and commercial plan, in partnership with the owners, to grow the league into the most a self-sustaining and professional global competition.
  • Own the competition's format, calendar, rules framework and licensing standards.
  • Set and maintain franchise licensing process, attracting and vetting franchise owners who meet the league's commercial and integrity bar.


Commercial Growth & Broadcast

  • Lead broadcast negotiations, building an audience and distribution strategy for the competition.
  • Build a diversified, sustainable revenue base across sponsorship, broadcast, ticketing, licensing and digital/fan revenue, reducing reliance on any single source.
  • Develop the league's commercial partnership pipeline and represent in negotiations with major sponsors, investors and broadcasters.


Player, Workforce & Industrial Relations

  • Lead collective bargaining and the ongoing relationship with the New Zealand Netball Players' Association


Stakeholder & Governance Relations

  • Act as the primary liaison with Netball New Zealand on all matters affecting the elite domestic game.
  • Represent the league to government, iwi, broadcasters, sponsors and the media as the competition's public face and chief spokesperson.
  • Build trust with existing netball stakeholders (clubs, regions, past players, the players' association)


Organisation Build & People Leadership

  • Stand up the league office: design the organisational structure and recruit a founding leadership team across commercial, competitions, operations, marketing and fan engagement, finance and people.
  • Establish the operating systems, policies and governance cadence.
  • Build a high-performance, values-led culture.


Brand, Marketing & Fan Engagement

  • Champion initiatives that grow participation and visibility of the women's game.


Ideally we'd love:


  • A builder's mindset: energised by ambiguity and by creating structure, systems and teams where none yet exist.
  • Exposure to women's sport, netball or a comparable community-rooted sport is an advantage but not essential; a genuine commitment to growing the women's game is essential.
  • Senior executive experience (CEO, COO or equivalent) leading a sporting competition, franchise or a professional club.
  • A track record of negotiating and closing commercial, broadcast and/or sponsorship deals of material value.
  • Experience operating alongside, or reporting to, private owners/investors.
  • Commercially astute, with strong financial literacy and the ability to build sustainable revenue models from a standing start.
  • A confident, credible external face for the competition. Comfortable with high-profile media, government and sponsor engagement.
  • Values-aligned leadership style that can unite a new organisation and an established sporting community through a period of significant change.


Desired Hard Skills

  • Commercial strategy & business growth
  • Governance & board reporting
  • Sponsorship & commercial partnerships
  • Sports / league operations
  • Strategic planning & execution

Desired Soft Skills

  • Decision Making
  • Ability to inspire & lead teams
  • Influencing & negotiation
  • Resilience & adaptability
  • Stakeholder management

Additional Compensation

  • Performance Bonus

Benefits & Perks

  • 🧕 Inclusive Workspace
  • ❤ Care and Appreciation
  • 🏎 Competitive Salary
  • 🍺 Free Drinks
  • 🍇 Fruit Box
  • 🚲 Workride
  • 💳 Extraordinary Benefits Card
View All

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