About Ocean Grove Bowling Club
Ocean Grove Bowling Club (OGBC) is one of Australia's most progressive and awarded community sporting clubs, located on Victoria's Bellarine Peninsula. With a proud history and a bold future, OGBC has evolved into a modern sport, entertainment, and major-events destination.
In September 2025, the Club opened its world-class undercover Dome, featuring 16 synthetic rinks, integrated livestreaming infrastructure, and large-scale LED digital screens. This transformational facility enables elite competition, major events, and year-round participation, positioning OGBC on the national and international sporting stage.
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The Role
The Sports Operations Manager is a senior operational leadership role, responsible for the delivery, growth, and performance of the Club's Sports Department, while supporting the integration of emerging participation sports.
Reporting to the GM Partnerships & Programs, the role provides a critical bridge between strategy and execution, ensuring elite programs, participation initiatives, and events are executed professionally, commercially, and in alignment with the scale of OGBC's facilities and ambition.
As part of OGBC's evolution into a contemporary multi-sport community club, the role also supports the strategic integration of Pickleball, an emerging sport delivered on the Club's outdoor synthetic facility. This diversification reflects OGBC's commitment to strengthening participation pathways and enhancing Community connection.
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Key Responsibilities
Elite Programs
* Oversee and manage all elite pathways, including the Geelong Jets Bowls Premier League (BPL) franchise and OGBC Grovers bowls representative teams.
* Ensure member support, administration, logistics, and events are delivered to a high-performance standard.
* Act as the primary liaison with Bowls Victoria and Bowls Australia regarding representative commitments.
Participation and Growth
* Drive barefoot bowls as a key bowls pillar and community engagement stream.
* Lead the implementation of schools and junior programs, establishing sustainable participation pathways.
* Support the Bowls Coordinator in growing participation through innovative formats such as night competitions and community initiatives.
* Oversee the integration and growth of Pickleball delivered on OGBC's outdoor synthetic facility, ensuring safe, efficient, and professional shared-facility use.
* Work collaboratively with teams and relevant committees to grow participation, awareness, and utilisation across all programs.
Event Delivery
* Lead planning and execution of bowls events, including club championships, Community bowls, and regional, state, and national events.
* Ensure professional event standards aligned with OGBC's world-class Dome.
* Develop structured processes for volunteer integration and sponsor activation.
Financial Performance
* Accountable for bowls-related budgets and financial outcomes.
* Monitor KPIs aligned to club-wide performance and provide regular reporting.
Media and Communications
* Own all bowls-related digital and social media content, in collaboration with GM Marketing and Communications, including:
* Geelong Jets franchise storytelling, event coverage, and partner activations
* Ocean Grove Bowls results, programs, promotions, and event content
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Selection Criteria
Essential
* Minimum 3+ years' experience in sport administration, program delivery, or major event management within a club, venue, league, or sporting organisation.
* Foster a strong, welcoming club culture by leading through visible engagement with members and stakeholders, promoting inclusivity, transparency, and open, respectful communication across all levels of the Club.
* Proven experience activating facilities to drive participation and member growth.
* Demonstrated ability in operational delivery through leading teams.
* Strong commercial acumen with experience managing budgets, revenue streams, and KPIs.
* Demonstrated success delivering large-scale or high-profile sporting events to professional standards.
* High-level communication skills, including responsibility for sport-related digital and social media content.
* Strong understanding of governance, compliance, and working constructively with committees and volunteers.
* Ability to work evenings, weekends, and event-based hours as required.
Highly Desirable
* Experience overseeing elite or representative sporting programs, including liaison with state or national governing bodies.
* Experience within bowls, Pickleball, or a comparable participation-led sport.
* Experience delivering schools or junior pathway programs.
* Qualifications in Sports Management, Event Management, Business, or equivalent senior operational experience.
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About You
You are a confident, accountable, and commercially minded sports professional who thrives in high-profile environments. You bring structure, energy, and leadership to everything you do and are motivated by the opportunity to help shape one of Australia's leading Community sporting clubs.
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If you are passionate about sports management, we want to hear from you Apply now to join our dynamic team and play a key role in shaping the future of sport at OGBC