Talent Acquisition Manager (Men's RWC 2027)

Closing date for applications is Monday 1 December 2025

Full time Fixed Term Contract start February 2026 until November 2027 Location: Sydney (Gadigal), Australia

The Rugby World Cup (RWC) Australia is proud to deliver one of the world’s most iconic sporting events — the Rugby World Cup 2027 (Men’s). More than a tournament, it’s a celebration of Rugby’s spirit, Australia’s culture, and the power of sport to unite and inspire communities around the world.

We are hiring a Talent Acquisition Manager to join our Sydney-based team! Reporting to the Senior Talent Acquisition Manager, in this role you will lead end-to-end recruitment, partnering with hiring managers to understand workforce needs and deliver an exceptional, candidate-focused experience from sourcing through to onboarding. You will actively engage talent across multiple channels, provide market insights to influence hiring decisions, maintain accurate ATS data and reporting, and support continuous improvement of recruitment processes. A key focus will be building and nurturing talent pipelines for future hiring, contributing to employer brand and recruitment marketing initiatives, and ensuring all offers, work rights checks and pre-employment screening meet compliance and DEI requirements. This role is ideal for an organised and influential recruiter with experience in fast-paced, high-volume or project-based environments, ideally with exposure to major events or seasonal workforce campaigns.

Recruitment Delivery 

• Manage the full recruitment lifecycle for allocated roles—from briefing, sourcing and screening through to offer and onboarding. 
• Work closely with hiring managers to understand workforce needs, role requirements and timelines. 
• Conduct sourcing activity across multiple channels, including LinkedIn, talent pools, referrals, and specialist platforms. 
• Deliver high-quality candidate experience, ensuring timely communication and professional engagement at every stage. 
• Support hiring managers with interview preparation, competency-based selection and assessment processes. 

Partnership & Stakeholder Engagement 

• Build strong, trusted relationships with hiring managers and internal HR partners. 
• Provide market insights, sourcing strategies and recommendations to influence hiring decisions. 
• Act as a first point of contact for recruitment queries, escalating complex matters to the Senior TA Manager where required. 

Process, Systems & Reporting 

• Maintain accurate ATS records, ensuring data integrity, compliance, and tracking of recruitment progress. 
• Contribute to recruitment reporting, dashboards and insights supporting data-led decision making. 
• Identify opportunities to streamline processes, improve templates, and enhance consistency in the recruitment experience. 

Pipeline & Employer Brand Support 

• Build and nurture talent pools for future hiring needs, particularly for repeat / high-demand roles. 
• Support recruitment marketing activity including social posts, careers page updates, referral programs and event engagement. 

Onboarding & Compliance 

• Ensure recruitment activity is compliant with legislation, policy, privacy and equal opportunity standards. 
• Manage offer and onboarding accuracy, including contracts, work rights checks, and pre-employment screening. 
• Uphold diversity, equity, and inclusion principles across sourcing and selection. 

• 3+ years of end-to-end recruitment experience (in-house or agency), preferably in a fast-paced or high-volume environment. 
• Strong stakeholder management skills with confidence influencing and advising hiring managers. 
• Proven ability to source talent proactively, not just rely on inbound applications. 
• Excellent written and verbal communication, professional and candidate-focused. 
• Highly organised, able to manage competing deadlines and multiple requisitions at once. 
• Experience using ATS and HR systems e.g. Success Factors 
• Knowledge of local employment legislation or visa/work-rights checks. 
• Ability to contribute to process improvement, reporting, or employer branding activities. 
• Maintain compliance standards and confidential information. 

Desirable 

• Experience in events or sports (advantageous) 
• Exposure to project-based, seasonal or large-scale recruitment campaigns. 
• Data-driven mindset with ability to interpret and discuss recruitment metrics. 

• Competitive salary – we know world-class talent deserves to be rewarded.
• Hybrid game plan: Work from home on Mondays and Fridays, with a 3-day in-office schedule (Tues–Thu), moving to full-time in-office in 2027 as the tournament approaches.
• Unbeatable location: A modern space across from Sydney’s Hyde Park, just a 5-minute walk from Town Hall, surrounded by public transport, great cafes, restaurants, and shops.
• Wellbeing first: Weekly fresh fruit, Lunch & Learns and a focus on keeping our team feeling their best on and off the field.
• Locker-room ready: Showers, fresh towels, and Dyson hair tools so you can reset and refresh any time.
• Team spirit: Weekly drinks and social catchups that celebrate wins big and small.
• Make your mark: Play a key role in bringing the third largest sporting event in the world to life right here in Australia!

Please submit your CV (maximum 3 pages) and a cover letter outlining your suitability based on the requirements for the role via the APPLY NOW link.

In setting expectations, there will be a 2-round interview process in the Sydney City office (Elizabeth Street).

All applicants need to be able to obtain their own working rights in Australia.

We do not accept unsolicited CVs from recruitment agencies and no fees will be payable. 

RWC Australia is committed to building a diverse workforce and therefore strongly encourages applications from underrepresented groups. We are committed to equality and inclusion and welcome applications from all individuals, regardless of their background and are happy to provide reasonable accommodations during the recruitment process. We strive to be a diverse and inclusive workplace, which reflects the global sport we want to be and where everyone can be themselves and feel they belong.  

World Rugby is the international federation responsible for the global development of rugby union. Its strategic mission is to accelerate the growth of rugby, inspiring more people to engage with the sport. Australia’s hosting of Rugby World Cups 2027 and 2029 are at the heart of that mission, representing an unparalleled growth opportunity for rugby in Australia, the region, and the global game more broadly.

Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027 is rugby union’s pinnacle event contested every four years by the world’s best nations. For six weeks from 1 October- 13 November 2027, Australia will welcome the world to a nationwide festival of rugby, celebrating its rich culture and heritage, and kicking off a new era of rugby that will have a positive impact for Australia, Oceania and the game globally.

With an expanded format contested by the world’s top 24 teams, Men’s RWC Australia 2027 will inspire an entire generation and break down barriers by making rugby even more accessible, relevant and inclusive, boosting rugby’s fanbase and participation globally.

All revenue generated by Men’s RWC 2027 will be reinvested in the sport, supporting World Rugby’s global growth ambition, its 133 member unions and six regional associations.

Rugby World Cup is one of the biggest sporting and entertainment brands in the world and the dual men’s and women’s hosting model creates a transformative opportunity to showcase the very best of rugby and Australia to an unprecedented global audience.

RWC 2027 tournament will be a nationwide celebration of the sport, its values and Australia’s cities, culture and people, engaging new audiences and inspiring a new generation of fans and players. In Australia, the tournament is expected to generate $1.3B in direct visitor expenditure across Australia from more than 250,000 international visitors and inject a further $80m into the Australia economy as a result of hosting in 2027 alone.

Whilst the LOC has carriage of both the 2027 and 2029 RWC’s, all roles are being recruited on the basis of working to deliver 2027, with a contract end date reflective of the successful conclusion of 2027. All roles within the LOC will be reviewed at the appropriate point in time to determine whether they will be extended to cover 2029 and to suit the needs of the business at that time.