Specialist, Brand Partners (AFL)

This role sits at the heart of adidas Brand Partners in Australia, acting as the day-to-day contact for athletes with a primary focus on AFL and additional support for athletes across other sports. The position ensures athletes have the product, kit and support they need to perform and represent the brand at their best. Working within the Brand Management & Communications team, the role keeps partnerships running smoothly by coordinating product orders and entitlements, tracking athlete deliverables and supporting reporting.

• Provide high-quality day-to-day service and support to the Brand Partners asset portfolio, including athletes, teams and associations, with a primary focus on AFL and additional support for athletes across other sports.
• Build close working relationships with athletes through regular, direct contact, acting as their day-to-day adidas point of contact.
• Handle the day-to-day administration that comes with athlete servicing, including preparing kit for players, processing product requests and keeping records up to date.
• Track product entitlements for athletes in line with agreed budgets, contractual requirements and internal guidelines.
• Coordinate product ordering and distribution to athletes and partners, including campaign seeding, key footwear drops and annual product drops.
• Look after the Brand Partners product order hold and storage facility, keeping allocations accurate and product organised and easy to access.
• Track athlete deliverables, including social posts and annual appearance usage, against contractual entitlements and campaign guidelines.
• Support asset activity across brand moments, product launches and campaigns, and compile reporting on asset activity, product usage and partner deliverables, including input into Brand Marketing reporting.
• Support partners in wearing and representing adidas product in line with the Marketing Plan.
• Work with internal stakeholders to support smooth delivery of Brand Partners initiatives and resolve operational issues quickly and professionally.

• Direct experience working with athletes is essential, either through an agency that works with athletes directly or through a sporting club.
• Minimum 2 years' experience in sports marketing, partnerships, sponsorship or a similar coordination role.
• Strong understanding of sport, athletes and teams, ideally including AFL, with good awareness of the local sporting landscape and key sporting moments.
• Strong organisational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to manage multiple priorities, deadlines and product requirements across ordering, record keeping and entitlement tracking.
• Strong service mindset, proactive and able to work independently, handling day-to-day athlete requests quickly and professionally.
• Clear and confident communication skills, with the ability to build positive, professional relationships with athletes through regular, close contact, as well as with internal teams and external partners.
• Discretion and professionalism when working with high-profile athletes and handling sensitive information.
• Flexibility to support game days, events and the occasional out-of-hours request.
• Comfortable using Microsoft Office, particularly Excel and PowerPoint, to support reporting, tracking and presentations.
• Strong interest in sport, athlete culture and the adidas brand.

• University degree preferred, ideally in Marketing, Business or a related discipline.
• AFL experience is highly regarded.

The company believes that embedding diversity, equity and inclusion into its culture and talent processes gives employees a sense of belonging and the brand a real competitive advantage.