AI Transformation Lead

Join the team shaping the future of Australia’s game.

The Australian Football League (AFL) is the custodian of Australia’s most loved and culturally significant sport. As the national governing body of Australian Rules Football, the AFL leads, shapes and grows the game at every level - from grassroots participation through to the elite national competition. 

The AFL is one of the country’s most powerful sporting and entertainment brands, drawing millions of fans each season and commanding a significant presence across broadcast, digital and live experiences. Beyond the elite game, the AFL supports a vast community football network across metropolitan, regional and remote Australia, contributing meaningfully to health, wellbeing and social connection in communities nationwide. 

The AFL’s vision is for everyone to love and connect with Australia’s game. Our 2026 Game Plan is built around five clear pillars: Build a Premiership-Winning Team, Deliver Thrilling Football, Grow the Fan Base, Reinvest into Community and Secure the Future. 

AI is a strategic enabler of the AFL’s Game Plan. It will help the AFL boost organisational productivity, unlock new sources of value, improve decision-making, enhance the way our people work, and create more personalised, connected experiences for fans, participants, clubs and communities. 

The opportunity

The AI Transformation Lead will play a pivotal role in turning the AFL’s AI ambition into industry-wide adoption and activation.

This is a change and transformation leadership role, with AI as the primary context for change.

This role will lead the development and delivery of the AFL’s AI roadmap, bringing structure, pace and discipline to a complex, cross-functional agenda. Reporting to the EGM Strategy, Data & Analytics & Investments, and partnering with senior leaders, workstream leads and AI champions in the AI SteerCo, you will have the unique opportunity to drive AI transformation across the entire AFL ecosystem. The role will translate opportunity into prioritised use cases, clear delivery plans, responsible adoption and measurable organisational value.

This is not a deep technical AI role. It is a high-impact transformation role requiring strong change management capability, program leadership, practical AI literacy, commercial judgement and the ability to deliver measurable results.

Why this role matters

AI will transform how the AFL operates and interacts with its fans and key stakeholders.

This role will be critical in accelerating the shift from AI ambition to activation. It will help the AFL identify where AI can create the greatest value, prioritise the right opportunities, mobilise the right teams and build the governance, capability and delivery rhythm needed to adopt AI responsibly at scale.

For the right person, this is a rare opportunity to shape an enterprise AI agenda from the ground up inside one of Australia’s most recognised and influential organisations. The role will sit at the intersection of strategy, technology, people, risk, digital and data - helping the AFL build the confidence, capability and momentum needed to realise the value of AI.

This is not a technical AI role. It does not involve building models or engineering solutions. The focus is on leading enterprise transformation, ensuring AI initiatives translate into real change across the organisation. It is also not a strategy-only role — success is defined by execution, adoption and the sustained shift in how people work.

What you'll own

• Lead the AI Roadmap: Develop and execute the AFL’s AI roadmap, ensuring priorities are connected to the Game Plan and focused on practical value.
• Drive Delivery Across Work Streams: Coordinate AI work stream leads across Workforce, Technology, Data and Analytics, Digital/Fan and Risk to deliver aligned plans, clear ownership and momentum.
• Support Strong Governance: Report to the AI Steering Committee, providing clear reporting, decision papers, prioritisation and progress updates.
• Balance Pace, Value and Risk: Ensure AI initiatives are delivered responsibly, with consideration of privacy, data protection, cyber, legal, ethical, reputational and people-related risks.
• Measure Progress and Value: Track roadmap progress, adoption, value and impact so we know what is working, what we are learning and where to focus next.

The Ideal Candidate

• You are an experienced enterprise change and transformation leader having led large-scale behavioural and organisational change, not just delivery.
• You are a highly influential, commercially minded and pragmatic enterprise leader who can bring structure to ambiguity, pace to complex work and confidence to teams navigating change.
• You are at your best working across a complex organisation – engaging and influencing key stakeholders and bringing teams together to align and deliver on a shared agenda. You know how to build trust, create momentum and shift thinking, even when the path forward is still emerging.
• You are resourceful and action-oriented, with the ability to navigate complexity, unblock issues, connect the right people and find practical pathways forward in a fast-moving and evolving area.
• You do not need to be a deep technical AI specialist, but you will bring strong practical AI literacy and credibility working across technology, data, risk, legal, people and business teams.
• You are energised by building something new, connecting people around a shared ambition and turning AI opportunity into practical action, responsible adoption and measurable value.

What you'll bring

• Significant experience leading enterprise programs, transformation agendas or complex cross-functional delivery.
• Demonstrated ability to drive execution across multiple work streams with clear ownership, alignment and outcomes.
• Proven capability in managing change, driving adoption, effective communications and stakeholder mobilisation.
• Exceptional stakeholder management skills, with the ability to bring clarity, confidence and momentum to complex work across the business through strong communication and influence.
• Practical AI literacy, including an understanding of generative AI, automation, emerging technology trends and responsible AI principles.
• Sound understanding of responsible AI considerations, including privacy, bias, human oversight, cyber, data protection and reputational risk
• Strong governance capability, including executive reporting, decision papers, prioritisation and benefits tracking. Commercial judgement, with the ability to identify where AI can create practical and measurable value.
• A builder mindset - curious, pragmatic, resilient and energised by creating something new.
• Values based leadership – demonstrates strong alignment to the AFL values

Why you’ll love being on our team

At the AFL, you will be part of a values-led team that aims high, backs each other and brings energy, care and integrity to work that matters. This is a place where people play to win, play as one team and play with passion, while always staying grounded in fairness, inclusion and respect. We work hard, support each other and create the conditions for our people to grow, perform and thrive.

What you can look forward to:

• Play The Day Your Way, our flexible approach to working life, built to support you on game day and every day
• My Development, with coaching, mentoring, on-the-job learning and formal development to help you keep building your game
• Play Well, our health and wellbeing programme designed to support a healthy body, healthy mind and healthy workplace
• My Benefits, giving you access to a range of partner offers and discounts through our AFL Corporate Partners
• AFL Silver Memberships for permanent team members, so you can enjoy the action at Marvel Stadium and the MCG with family and friends
• 6 months paid primary parental leave with no qualification period for permanent team members

Everyone has a place here

Our game brings people together, and we want our workplace to do the same.

We are committed to building a culture of belonging and an environment where people feel respected, included and able to thrive, and where diversity of background, experience and perspective makes us stronger.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are encouraged to apply.

Whether you’re a footy fan or new to our game, we welcome everyone to apply. We know great candidates don’t always tick every box – if this role excites you, we encourage you to apply, even if your experience doesn’t perfectly match the job description. 

The AFL is committed to promoting and protecting the safety and wellbeing of children and young people in our care. Please note, we undertake several screening processes to ensure this commitment is upheld, this includes ensuring the successful candidate to this position holds a valid employee Working with Children/ Vulnerable People check and a satisfactory criminal history record check.

Ready to play your part?

Applications close 10 July 2026