Bring extraordinary outdoor experiences to life

Highlander Adventure Australia is part of Spartan Oceania’s family of endurance and outdoor brands, creating immersive multi-day hiking experiences built around adventure, challenge and community.

We’re looking for an experienced Race Director, Highlander Adventure Australia to take ownership of our Australian events from concept through to delivery.

This is a genuine end-to-end event role. You’ll help drive the growth strategy, shape the events and course, build the operational plan, manage stakeholders and suppliers, contribute to sales and marketing activity, control costs and commercial performance, and ultimately lead delivery on the ground.

Just as importantly, this is not a role where you simply coordinate others to make the event happen. You’ll be expected to personally get involved in driving growth and registrations, reaching out to community groups, corporate partners and other relevant networks, supported by outbound sales activity and working closely with the Digital Content & Marketing Specialist to drive B2C sales. You’ll also be hands-on through event preparation, build, live delivery and pack-down, moving comfortably between driving demand, planning the event and being onsite doing whatever is required to deliver it safely and successfully.

What you’ll be doing

You’ll lead the planning, delivery and continuous improvement of Highlander Adventure Australia events, including:

- Leading end-to-end event planning from concept through to delivery

- Designing and refining event formats, course layouts and participant flow

- Developing detailed operational plans, production timelines, run sheets and logistics requirements

- Acting as the accountable on-site event lead through build, live event operations and pack-down

- Taking a hands-on role in site setup, course readiness, signage, participant flow, supplier coordination, troubleshooting and pack-down

- Coordinating suppliers, contractors, volunteers, crew leads and operational teams

- Managing landowners, councils, venues, tourism organisations and other external stakeholders

- Leading event risk management,



permitting, emergency planning and operational safety

- Working closely with Sales and Marketing to develop and implement event sales and marketing plans

- Monitoring registrations, commercial performance and event results and adjusting activity where required

- Identifying and supporting sponsorship, tourism and partnership opportunities

- Managing event budgets, expenditure and operational efficiencies

- Recruiting and leading event-based teams and creating a safety-first, solutions-focused culture

- Leading post-event reviews and turning learnings into improvements for future events

- Helping develop current Highlander locations, formats and a scalable event model for future growth

What you’ll bring

You’ll be an experienced event operator who is comfortable taking genuine ownership for an event and its outcomes.

Ideally, you’ll bring:

- Senior event leadership experience across sport, outdoor recreation, endurance events, adventure tourism, festivals or other complex live event environments

- Demonstrated experience delivering events end-to-end, from location and course planning through to live operations and post-event review

- Strong operational capability across logistics, infrastructure, participant flow, suppliers, contractors and field operations

- Experience working in outdoor, regional or remote environments and confidence operating under pressure when conditions change

- A strong understanding of event safety, risk management, emergency planning, permits and compliance

- Strong stakeholder management skills, including experience working with landowners, councils, venues, government or tourism bodies

- Commercial awareness and experience managing budgets, costs, revenue targets or event profitability





- The ability to work effectively across sales, marketing, operations and external partners

- A calm, practical and decisive approach to solving problems

- A willingness to roll up your sleeves and get involved in the physical and practical aspects of event delivery

First aid, wilderness safety, outdoor leadership, risk management or related qualifications would be highly regarded. Relevant tertiary qualifications are desirable but not essential.

A current driver’s licence and the ability to travel extensively and work weekends and extended hours around events are essential.

The role

This is a 0.8 FTE role outside event deployment periods, with a full-time operational commitment required during event build, delivery and pack-down.

The role is based from our Melbourne Airport West office, with work-from-home arrangements by agreement, and requires regular travel to event locations across Australia, with potential travel across New Zealand and Fiji.

Why join us?

This is an opportunity to take real ownership of a growing event product and help shape how Highlander develops in Australia.

You’ll have the scope to influence everything from locations and event design through to participant experience, partnerships, operational delivery and commercial outcomes. while being part of the broader Spartan Oceania business and its portfolio of endurance and fitness brands.

If you’re an experienced event leader who combines strategic thinking with a willingness to roll up your sleeves and get things done in the field, we’d love to hear from you.

About Spartan

Spartan is the world’s largest obstacle race and endurance brand, with a mission to help people live without limits.

Our portfolio spans obstacle racing, functional fitness, trail running and hiking through brands including Spartan Race, Tough Mudder, DEKA, Spartan Kids, Highlander, Extreme Endurance and Spartan Trail.

Across Oceania, we’re continuing to grow this multi-brand platform and create transformative experiences for athletes, adventurers and communities across the region.

📌 Race Director, Highlander Adventure Australia (Melbourne)
🏢 Spartan AUS 3.0
📍 Melbourne