About MARI Group

MARI is a global events and experiences company powering world-defining live experiences. Our portfolio of premium live properties spans sports, art, and entertainment — including the Madrid and Miami Open tennis tournaments, Frieze (a leading voice in contemporary art), and Barrett-Jackson (the premium U.S. collector car auction company). MARI also includes TodayTix Group, the global e-commerce leader for cultural experiences, connecting millions of customers with the best in live entertainment.

About MARI Group

MARI is a global events and experiences company powering world-defining live experiences. Our portfolio of premium live properties spans sports, art, and entertainment — including the Madrid and Miami Open tennis tournaments, Frieze (a leading voice in contemporary art), and Barrett-Jackson (the premium U.S. collector car auction company). MARI also includes TodayTix Group, the global e-commerce leader for cultural experiences, connecting millions of customers with the best in live entertainment.

MARI is reshaping the live events landscape — building a growing portfolio of category-defining events and brands that set the standard for what's next, across sports, entertainment, art, and lifestyle.

At MARI, you'll work alongside people who are passionate, curious, and driven — people who believe that live experiences have the power to shape culture, and who care about the work, the mission, and each other. We welcome outstanding applicants of all backgrounds and encourage everyone to apply.

About the Role

We are seeking a strategic, hands-on Operations and Event Director to lead the end-to-end delivery of two of Australia's most iconic running events. The Nike Melbourne Marathon Festival, the country's largest marathon festival, draws tens of thousands of runners each October for a course that finishes with a lap of the MCG. The Great Ocean Road Running Festival is a two-day coastal event each May that takes runners along one of the world's most scenic roads, between Lorne and Apollo Bay. In this position, you will oversee a high-performing team responsible for developing, operating, and growing these events and MARI's broader commercial activities across Australia.

This role sits at the intersection of event leadership, operational excellence, commercial performance, and people management. You'll orchestrate the end-to-end delivery of complex, high-profile mass participation events, balancing exceptional event experiences with strong financial discipline and sustainable growth.





This is a full-time role and qualified candidates must be based in Melbourne or within a reasonable commuting distance.

What Success Looks Like

- Delivering safe, high-quality, commercially successful events that consistently meet or exceed operational and financial targets.
- Building a strong, collaborative, and high-performing team that delivers against MARI's strategic objectives.
- Developing trusted relationships with government, councils, commercial partners, suppliers, venues, media, and other key stakeholders.
- Identifying and delivering new commercial opportunities, event assets, and revenue streams across the Australian portfolio.
- Establishing a culture of operational excellence, accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement.
- Successfully balancing hands-on event leadership with longer-term strategic planning and portfolio growth.

What You Bring

- Significant experience leading and delivering complex events, ideally within sport, entertainment, or live experiences.
- Proven ability to develop, commercialise, and execute events in complex stakeholder environments.
- Strong commercial and financial acumen, with experience managing budgets and delivering against — or exceeding — profitability targets.
- Demonstrated experience developing new business opportunities, event assets, partnerships, or revenue streams.
- Strong people leadership experience, including leading teams within a matrixed organisation.
- Exceptional stakeholder management, communication, negotiation, and influencing skills.
- Strong project management, planning, and execution capabilities, with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-moving environment.
- Creative and commercially minded approach to identifying new opportunities and leveraging existing IP and relationships.
- Ability to remain adaptable and solutions-oriented when navigating complex or rapidly changing situations.
- High level of personal integrity, professionalism, and accountability.
- Qualifications or significant experience in event or project management.
- Knowledge of, experience in, or genuine interest in the running industry is desirable.

What You'll Own

- Event Leadership & Operations:



Lead the end-to-end planning and delivery of the Melbourne Marathon Festival, Outstanding Ocean Road Running Festival, and other MARI events in Australia, including operational planning, programming, staffing, stakeholder management, risk, safety, and event delivery.
- Stakeholder Management: Build and maintain strong relationships with government agencies, councils, venues, sponsors, media, suppliers, partners, and other key stakeholders. Manage the necessary permits, approvals, traffic management, and emergency planning required for successful events.
- Financial Management: Own event budgets and operational financial performance, ensuring procurement, cost management, and commercial decisions support profitability targets.
- Commercial Growth: Partner with sales and marketing teams to maximise revenue opportunities, optimise consumer performance, develop new commercial assets, and identify opportunities to expand MARI's event portfolio.
- People Leadership: Recruit, develop, coach, and retain a diverse and high-performing team. Create an environment that encourages collaboration, accountability, and professional growth.
- New Business & Portfolio Development: Identify and support the development of new events, assets, partnerships, and business opportunities in Australia and across the region.
- Strategy & Reporting: Develop and execute event strategies aligned with broader business objectives and provide clear reporting on financial performance, operational delivery, and new business activity.
- Industry Representation: Represent MARI with professionalism and integrity across the events, sports, government, commercial, and broader industry communities.

Benefits

- Pension match and access to a bespoke pension scheme
- Paid Parental Leave
- Employee Assistance Programme
- Enhanced gyms, wellness and financial wellbeing apps access via Wellhub
- Flexible Paid Time Off

MARI believes in the power of live experiences to unite people — and we know that can only be achieved when we reflect the full diversity of the world around us. As a global company that shapes culture across sports, art, and entertainment, we are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace and to practicing anti-discrimination across race, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, and beyond. We recognise that systemic inequality and discrimination remain challenges across the events and entertainment industry, and we are dedicated to driving meaningful progress — both within our own organisation and across the wider industry we are proud to be part of.

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📌 Operations and Event Director, Action Sports (Melbourne)
🏢 Mari
📍 Melbourne