What can Caitlin do?
Give a quick overview of your work experience (jobs, internships, volunteering)?
Digital Manager - Eddie Betts Foundation
Social Media Lead - AFL Women's
Women and Girls' Digital Producer - Football Australia
Digital Manager - Premier of Victoria
Senior Digital Advisor - Federal Government
Social Media Coordinator - AFL (NSW/ACT)
EA to the CEO - AFL (NSW/ACT)
Writer - Cricket NSW
Development Officer - AFL
NEAFL Team Manager - Sydney University
Senior Paralegal - Shine Lawyers
Do you have a track record of delivering measurable outcomes or KPIs?
Drove 589M+ page social media impressions (+103%) and a 93.9% increase in engagement for AFL Women's
Increased viewership of Eddie Betts Foundation content by 576%, reaching up to 4 million accounts during peak periods
Increased productivity by 25%, gained 679.1% increase in social impressions and a 108% increase in followers as leader of the Victorian Premier's Digital team
What technical or industry-specific skills do you bring?
Over a decade of experience within the sports industry across multiple sports
Deep knowledge and understanding of a sports audience and their
behaviours
Deep understanding of the unique challenges faced by athletes, particularly
female athletes
Athlete relations and management
Acute knowledge of all levels of sport from junior participation and community,
to inclusion and elite club level
What tools/platforms/software are they proficient in?
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Premiere Pro
Microsoft suite - Word, Excel, etc
Canva
Capcut
Edits
Splice
Google Docs
What qualifications, certifications, or degrees do you hold?
Bachelor of Communications
I bring a different lens to football operations having come from a different pathway. Because of this, I understand how decisions have a holistic impact on a club or team and how doing things the traditional way, isn't always the answer.
I wouldn't want someone to take a 'punt' on me - I'm not a gamble, I'm someone you can depend on.
Having said that, I've never let anyone down who, in the past, has taken a 'punt' on
me, and that's how I now have the experience, knowledge and reputation I have.
I've worked hard for every opportunity. I don't expect, I earn.
I move with passion and integrity, and love to love what I do.
I bring a different lens to football operations having come from a different pathway.
Because of this, I understand how decisions have a holistic impact on a club or
team, and how doing things the traditional way, isn't always the answer - an increasing positive in a sporting environment.
What steps has Caitlin taken to break into the sports industry?
I have already been a part of the sports industry for quite some time, though to achieve my pivot into operations, I have been networking and meeting with people in the operations space, and developing a narrative that states the transferable skills I can bring.
Caitlin's interest in sport all started from (take this from their why)
I have worked in the sports industry for over a decade now, but that hasn’t always been the case.
I was once a Senior Paralegal, starting to work towards studying law, until I received a life lesson that I've listened to every day since.
After starting to build a career the second I left high school, I became sick and in my mid-20s, and for the first time since I was 15, I was unable to work. It was during this time that I realised I should be spending my days doing something I loved, not something I thought I was 'meant' to do. Why couldn't I be one of those people who live out their passions? So, I pivoted.
I went from a fairly set and well-paid position in the legal industry, to being an unpaid intern for my dream company - the AFL. From there, I never wavered in knowing what I wanted at the company, and I put in the hard yards to get it. Though I held various titles across my time at the AFL, I made it so that I was a key contributor to the creation, execution and development of the AFL Women's competition.
Never did I think that path would lead to being headhunted by the Prime Minister's team in 2022. This was an unexpected turn of events, but not one I could pass up, so I moved to Canberra and worked with the country's leaders to improve their digital communications. This would lead to running the current Premier of Victoria's digital team, before my position was made redundant in 2025.
It is now that I am steadfast in gaining my return to sport (while I contract for Football Australia and the Eddie Betts Foundation), but this time in a new space. I am now looking to return to my sporting operational roots, and join a team within an operations capacity.
Since then, Caitlin has gone on to work in sport and government, achieving things like
Achievement 1 | Achievement 2 | Achievement 3 |
|---|---|---|
Drove 589M+ page social media impressions (+103%) and a 93.9% increase in engagement for AFL Women's | Increased viewership of Eddie Betts Foundation content by 576%, reaching | Increased productivity by 25%, gained 679.1% increase in social impressions |
Where does Caitlin want to go?
Next 6 - 12 months | Next 5 - 10 years |
|---|---|
I would like to transition from a senior social media leadership role into a football
| I would like to be the Head of Women's Football at an AFL club. Though I am of course open to other sports. |
What sporting problem keeps Caitlin up at night, and how would you solve it?
Gaining an equal platform for women in sport.
I’ve always said that I just want to contribute to the growth of women’s sport, and as
it starts to take-off the way it currently is, I want to help maximise its power. I want to
help create environments where women and girls are given every single chance to
thrive, and for them to show every little boy and girl out there, that they belong on the
field or court just as much as anyone else.
What is Caitlin like?
What kind of environment do you thrive in?
An environment that moves at pace, but has fun while doing it.
An environment where the team is out for the team, and not for themselves.
When have you had to show resilience in your life or career?
As mentioned prior, a health issue once forced me into re-thinking my entire career, and I was steadfast in making sure that period of my life had a purpose. Though a difficult circumstance at the time, I must question whether I would have ever entered the sports industry without it having happened. Following this time, I reinvented my career and went back to square one to create a day-to-day existence that I loved and was proud of. None of it was easy - there is no question that the sports industry pushes you further than before - but here I am over 10 years later, having lived out my dream.
I am also in a current period of career and life resilience having been made redundant for the first time last year. Again, I am taking this opportunity to get back to what I love. I have been attempting to break into a new space within sport that I had always wanted to enter, and I am accepting nothing less. This hasn't been easy. In fact, it has come with a lot of difficult decisions and rejection, but I know that when the timing and opportunity is right, I will be successful.
What about Caitlin's interests outside of work?
What are your interests outside of work?
Spending time with my partner and boys, seeing the world again through their eyes.
I love experiencing everything about Melbourne - restaurants, sport, art, music, culture as well as restoring old furniture/products to save them from landfill.
What is your favourite sporting moment?
The first ever AFL Women's match in 2017 - a dream realised for my 10-year-old self that I never thought possible. I've never been a part of something so palpable with joy and I won't forget that feeling as long as I live.
What’s your ideal holiday?
A summertime trip to London to watch two weeks of Wimbledon in person.
If you had 30 minutes to pick the brain of anyone, who would it be and why?
Billie Jean King. Everything that Billie has achieved and stood for, for all these years, has led to where we are today. She’s never backed down from a fight worth fighting, and has paved the way – along with many other women – for the foundations of the women’s sport platform that we stand on today. Plus, I’d love to hear all her stories from the tour.
Additional details
Where in the world are you located, and where are you open to work?
Living in Melbourne and open to opportunities in Victoria
What is the most important consideration for you in your next role?
Being at an appropriate managerial level, a move into a different area of sport, an appropriate salary to match my experience, working with new people within a team that works together and not individually
What others say about Caitlin
From the Director of Communications at the Office of the Victorian Premier, "I found Caitlin to be a relentlessly calm, considered and positive presence.She brought her work ethic and commitment to creativity every day, while always treating people with respect and consideration in the process.
Put simply: not only is Caitlin a determined professional – she’s a thoroughly good human being."
From the AFLW Managing Editor at the AFL,"Caitlin has many strengths, which makes it difficult to single out a few. She is intelligent, hard-working, has high standards for her own work, she is a self-starter but also works well in teams. Caitlin ensures she has a full understanding of her role and uses her initiative to work things out, which means she is very easy to manage. Caitlin is also a wonderful person, she doesn’t engage in office politics and is a pleasure to have in a team."
What questions does Caitlin have for employers?
What is the biggest problem you are currently trying to solve, and how can I assist?
How open is your organisation to someone bringing a different background or perspective into a traditionally football-focused environment?
How to you see 'creativity' in a football environment? Whether that's on the field or in the offices, how do you value creativity?
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