Project Director – Sports and Venues Sector Lead

Job Description

The National Director, Sports Program Management & Business Development will be the face of Turner & Townsend's Sports practice in ANZ —driving growth, creating opportunities, leading pursuits, building strategic relationships, and connecting the firm's national capabilities to deliver exceptional outcomes for sports and entertainment clients. This individual will be equal parts industry leader, strategist, client executive, and business builder. 

Turner & Townsend is seeking a highly connected and nationally recognized Sector Lead to lead the growth, strategy, pursuit, and delivery oversight of our Sports and Venues practice across Australian/New Zealand. This leadership role will serve as the national market leader for sports and entertainment-related capital programs and projects, driving business development, client engagement, pursuit strategy, and collaboration across regional teams.   

The Sector will be responsible for expanding Turner & Townsend's presence across professional sports, major public assembly venues, convention centres, mixed-use entertainment districts, training facilities, stadiums, arenas, and major event infrastructure projects. The successful candidate will leverage an established industry network and deep sector expertise to create opportunities, lead pursuits, develop winning proposals, and position Turner & Townsend as the premier program management partner within the sports industry.  

This role requires a strategic leader who can unite internal resources, cultivate external partnerships, engage with C-suite client executives and ownership groups, and drive revenue growth nationally.  They will also connect with Turner & Townsend APAC and Global S&V leads to collaborate on key industry relationships and pursuits.  

National Market Leadership  

• Develop and execute the national Sports & Venue sector growth strategy aligned with Turner & Townsend's business objectives and APAC/Global Sports and Venues growth plan.  

• Serve as the principal leader and advocate for the Sports& Venue market across all ANZ. regions.  

• Identify emerging trends, market opportunities, investment priorities, and client needs within professional sports, collegiate athletics, venue development, and sports entertainment.  

• Collaborate with regional, and national and global leadership teams to establish market priorities, revenue targets, and growth strategies.  

• Maintain relationships with key industry partners that commonly operate in this sector such as designers and SMEs.  

• Represent Turner & Townsend at industry conferences, trade organizations, league events, and key client meetings.  

Business Development & Client Engagement  

• Leverage an extensive network of sports owners, executives, peak industry bodies, venue operators, public agencies, developers, architects, contractors, and industry influencers to generate opportunities.  
• Build and maintain executive-level relationships with professional sports teams, leagues, institutions, municipalities, developers, and venue ownership groups.  
• Lead client development activities and direct engagement with prospective clients to position Turner & Townsend for future opportunities.  
• Conduct executive presentations, strategic planning discussions, and market outreach efforts to secure new business.  
• Develop account strategies for key clients and pursue long-term growth opportunities across multiple programs and projects.  

Pursuit Leadership & Proposal Development  

• Lead complex pursuits from opportunity identification through contract award.  
• Develop capture strategies that maximize Turner & Townsend's competitive position.  
• Assemble and lead pursuit teams consisting of internal subject matter experts, regional leaders, project executives, and external partners.  
• Coordinate proposal development, interview preparation, presentation strategy, and client engagement activities.  
• Define win themes, value propositions, staffing strategies, and delivery approaches for major pursuits.  
• Oversee pursuit budgets, schedules, and proposal quality to ensure consistency and excellence.  
• Mentor teams in pursuit best practices and business development methodologies.  

Internal Collaboration & Team Integration  

• Connect and align regional teams to create a unified national Sports practice, aligned with the Global Sports and Venues leadership.  

• Collaborate with other national Sector Leads for joint pursuits, especially for precincts where multiple sectors may be involved.  

• Facilitate collaboration across Program Management, Project Management, Cost Management, Advisory, Controls, Scheduling, and Strategic Consulting teams.  
• Identify and deploy the best resources nationally to support pursuits and project delivery.  
• Create processes and governance that promote consistency, knowledge sharing, and operational excellence across regions.  
• Serve as a bridge between executive leadership, regional operations, and client-facing teams.  
• Strategic Partnerships & External Team Building  
• Develop strategic relationships with architects, engineers, contractors, technology providers, venue consultants, and specialty advisors.  
• Build high-performing pursuit teams tailored to specific opportunities and clients.  
• Establish partnerships that strengthen Turner & Townsend's ability to compete for major sports and entertainment developments.  
• Evaluate market gaps and recommend strategic hires, partnerships, or acquisitions to strengthen the Sports practice.  

Program & Project Leadership  

• Provide executive oversight and strategic direction on major sports programs and projects nationally.  
• Act as senior advisor to project teams delivering stadiums, arenas, training facilities, mixed-use developments, and event-driven capital programs.  
• Support project teams in navigating client challenges, executive stakeholder management, risk mitigation, and complex delivery issues.  
• Ensure consistency in service delivery, client experience, and project performance across the portfolio. 

Team Leadership & Market Development  

• Mentor and develop emerging sports sector leaders throughout the organization.  
• Support recruitment and retention of industry-leading talent.  
• Promote a culture of collaboration, accountability, innovation, and client service excellence.  
• Share industry knowledge, market intelligence, and best practices across the business.  
• Establish performance metrics and growth objectives for the Sports market sector.  

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Construction Management, Engineering, Architecture, Business, Real Estate, Sports Management, or a related discipline.  
• 15+ years of progressive experience leading sports facility, sports development, venue, entertainment, or large-scale capital project programs.  
• Strong knowledge of the Sports and Entertainment sector, with an appreciation of key trends and market drivers.  
• An established profile and presence in the sector with significant credibility generated from previous activity and delivery of related sports and entertainment projects and programs  
• Demonstrated success generating and winning new business within the sports and entertainment industry.  
• Established national network of relationships across professional sports franchises, collegiate athletics, venue operators, developers, architects, contractors, and industry partners.  
• Proven experience leading complex pursuits, proposals, interviews, and client presentations.  
• Strong understanding of sports facility planning, development, design, construction, and operations.  
• Experience working directly with ownership groups, athletic directors, commissioners, league representatives, team executives, and public-sector leaders.  
• Exceptional communication, presentation, negotiation, and relationship-building skills.  
• Demonstrated ability to lead geographically diverse teams and national initiatives.  
• Financial acumen with experience developing growth plans, forecasting revenue, and managing pursuit investments.  
• Ability to travel nationally and potentially within APAC as required.  

Success Measures  

Within the first 12–24 months, the National Director will:  

• Establish and execute a national Sports market growth strategy.  
• Increase qualified opportunities and win rate across the Sports sector.  
• Build a coordinated national pursuit and client development framework.  
• Expand Turner & Townsend's visibility and brand presence within the sports industry.  
• Strengthen relationships with key clients, leagues, owners, institutions, and development partners.  
• Develop an integrated national network of internal and external resources supporting sports pursuits and delivery.  
• Create a sustainable pipeline that drives consistent growth across regions.   

Additional Information

Our inspired people share our vision and mission. We provide a great place to work, where each person has the opportunity and voice to affect change.

We want our people to succeed both in work and life. To support this we promote a healthy, productive and flexible working environment that respects work-life balance. 

Turner & Townsend is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees and actively encourage applications from all sectors of the community.

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