Sportspeople Recruitment

What Sportspeople Recruitment does

Sportspeople Recruitment is a privately held specialist recruitment and HR services agency exclusively focused on the sport, aquatics, recreation, and leisure sectors across Australia and New Zealand. Founded in 1996 by Craig Johns, a former sport management professional, the firm operates under the legal entity People Recruitment Group Pty Ltd with a team of 1-10 employees and is headquartered operationally in Stafford Heights, Queensland. The company runs a sister brand, Sportspeople Job Market, also founded in 1996, and has completed more than 220 CEO assignments for national and state sporting organisations over its 30-year history.

The core service platform comprises tiered recruitment products (Express shortlist, Start to Finish full-service with employment guarantee, Executive Search, CEO Expertise, Elite Performance Expertise, Interim CEO Bank, and Major Events/Bulk Recruitment for campaigns of 200+ staff), supported by a Talent Network candidate database and a proprietary suite of HR services (psychometric profiling, 360-degree performance appraisals via a bespoke online survey tool, salary benchmarking from 27+ years of pay data, engagement and exit surveys, and organisational/high-performance reviews). Distribution is direct and relationship-led, targeting HR coordinators, general managers, and CEOs of national and state sporting organisations, professional clubs, aquatic and recreation centres, major event operators, and adjacent local-government bodies, with industry association memberships (QSport, Sport NSW, Vicsport, SportWest, Sport SA, Women Sport Australia) and the active CEO Podcast (produced with NRG2Perform since May 2019) serving as credibility and lead-generation channels.

The business model is professional-services fee-for-engagement across recruitment retainers, shortlist fees, interim placement mark-ups, and HR advisory fees. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is quote-based per engagement tier. There is no institutional investment, venture capital, or private equity backing evident; the firm remains founder-owned and founder-led after three decades, with no disclosed acquisitions, funding rounds, or material leadership changes in the source data.

Name

Sportspeople Recruitment

Legal name

People Recruitment Group Pty Ltd

Website

https://sportspeoplerecruitment.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Executive Search and Recruitment Services

NAICS

Employment Placement Agencies (561311)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Media, Entertainment & Sports Leadership Search (BPACAAAH)

Keywords

• Sport sector recruitment
• Executive search services
• HR consulting
• Talent acquisition
• Psychometric assessments

Headquarters

HQ city

Brisbane

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Executive Search & Retained Recruitment: Full recruitment process management for senior executive roles including CEO, high performance directors, and national coaching positions. Premium service with employment guarantee included in Start to Finish tier.
2. Express Shortlist Service: Economical option managing early stages of recruitment to attract and screen candidates for client interview. Additional bolt-on services available for interview arrangements.
3. HR Services: Supplementary services including psychometric profiling, performance appraisals, salary benchmarking, satisfaction surveys, exit surveys, and organisational reviews. Provided as one-off or ongoing engagements.
4. Interim CEO Bank: Short-term caretaker CEO placement service for organisations requiring immediate leadership coverage.
5. Major Events & Bulk Recruitment: Large-scale recruitment campaigns including team builds of over 200+ staff for new venues and major events.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Sportspeople Recruitment is a specialist recruitment agency that places executive, operational, and frontline staff for sporting organisations, aquatic and recreation centres, and major events across Australia and New Zealand. The company offers tiered recruitment packages (Express shortlist, Start to Finish full-service) plus supplementary HR services including psychometric assessments, performance appraisals, salary benchmarking, and organisation reviews.

Product overview

Sportspeople Recruitment operates as a platform of recruitment and HR services with two primary divisions: executive search and general recruitment services, plus supplementary HR services. The core recruitment products include Express (economical shortlist service), Start to Finish (full-service recruitment with employment guarantee), CEO Expertise, Elite Performance Expertise, Executive Search, Interim CEO Bank, and Major Events & Bulk Recruitment. These are complemented by HR service add-ons including People Career Coaching, Employment Assessments, Performance Appraisals, Salary Benchmarking, Staff Satisfaction Surveys, Exit Surveys, and Organisation and High Performance Reviews. The Talent Network provides a candidate database for registration. Together these services cover the entire career spectrum from entry level to top-tier executive roles across sport, aquatics, recreation, and leisure sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sportspeople Job Market: Sister company to Sportspeople Recruitment, also founded in 1996 and marking its 30th anniversary in March 2026.

Products and services

• Express Shortlist service managing early stages of recruitment to attract, communicate with, and refer qualified screened candidates for client interview. Economical option with optional bolt-on services for interview arrangements.
• Start to Finish (S2F) Premier full-service recruitment package where Sportspeople Recruitment manages the entire process from candidate attraction through screening, interviews, and final selection, including the Sportspeople Recruitment Employment Guarantee.
• CEO Expertise Specialised recruitment service placing Chief Executive and executive leadership roles for sport sector organisations, with over 200 CEO assignments completed since 1996.
• Elite Performance Expertise Recruitment service for High Performance Directors, National Coaching Directors, and other high performance roles at all levels across sports.
• Executive Search Highly confidential, non-public recruitment process for senior executives, leveraging the company's Talent Network of candidates from the sport sector and related industries.
• Interim CEO Bank Provides short-term, caretaker CEOs from a pool of highly qualified, experienced, and job-ready executives available for immediate placement.
• Major Events & Bulk Recruitment Large-scale recruitment campaigns including team builds of over 200+ staff for new venues, major events, and international search projects.
• People Career Coaching Personalised 1:1 career coaching provided by Robert McMurtrie, offering tailored guidance for defining career goals and navigating the sport sector job market, drawing from four decades of sports recruitment experience.
• Employment Assessments Psychometric profiling including personality assessments, cognitive ability tests, aptitude tests, and skills assessments to identify candidates best suited for specific roles.
• Performance Appraisals 360-degree performance appraisals measuring employees against factors defining top performers, delivered through a bespoke online survey tool.
• Salary Benchmarking Remuneration benchmarking service based on 27+ years of data relating to pay practices across sport, fitness, aquatic, coaching, venues, events, leisure, and lifestyle sectors.
• Staff Satisfaction - Engagement Surveys Survey service enabling organisations to diagnose current employee engagement levels and identify factors driving employee attitudes and opinions.
• Exit Surveys Employee exit surveys and interviews based on over 50 years of research into why people leave organisations, with custom question options.
• Organisation and High Performance Reviews Sporting Organisation Reviews and High Performance System Reviews provided to local, regional, state, national, or international sport organisations.
• Talent Network Candidate registration database allowing job seekers to lodge CVs for sport sector roles across Australia and/or New Zealand.

Quantifiable outcome

• 220+ CEO assignments completed since 1996

Named customers20 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• NRG2PerformcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 May 2019Partnership to produce the active CEO Podcast and Video Series launching May 2019. Monthly podcast and video content featuring sport CEO leadership stories, distributed across multiple podcast platforms including iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn, Spotify, Castbox, Android and Google Podcast.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Robert Walters: International recruitment firm with sport, media, and executive search practices operating across ANZ and Asia. Overlaps with Sportspeople Recruitment on sport executive search and senior operational roles, but within a much wider industry footprint.
• Korn Ferry: Global executive search and organisational consulting firm with a dedicated sport practice. Competes at the senior-executive end of the market (CEOs, chairs, high-performance directors) for major NSO and federation mandates, with deeper international reach than Sportspeople Recruitment.
• Michael Page: Global specialist recruitment group operating across ANZ with sport, leisure, and hospitality practices. Directly competitive on operational and mid-senior sport-sector roles, though without Sportspeople Recruitment's depth of CEO/high-performance specialisation.
• Hays: Global generalist recruitment firm with a dedicated sport sector practice across Australia and New Zealand. Competes for sport-sector executive and operational placements but as part of a much broader multi-sector portfolio, not a pure-play specialist.
• Hudson: ANZ-focused recruitment and talent solutions provider with sport and leisure sector capability. Competes for sport executive and operational hiring, particularly in state-level organisations and venues, though as part of a broader multi-sector practice.

Direct peers

• Sportspeople Job Market: Sister company of Sportspeople Recruitment, also founded in 1996 and celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2026. Operates as a sport-sector job board and candidate marketplace, sharing brand and candidate network with Sportspeople Recruitment while addressing entry- to mid-level roles.
• SRi (Sport Recruitment International): Global specialist executive search firm dedicated to sport, sport business, and entertainment, with offices across the UK, US, and APAC. Directly comparable to Sportspeople Recruitment in its specialist sport-sector executive search focus, with overlapping client base across national federations, leagues, and governing bodies.

Emerging players

• Sportspeople International: International sport-sector recruitment specialist serving federations, leagues, and venues with operational and management placements. Adjacent peer addressing a similar candidate profile in different geographies, particularly North America.
• Aspire (Sport Recruitment): Specialist sport-sector recruitment firm focused on operational and management roles in the UK and selected international markets. Comparable in niche specialism to Sportspeople Recruitment, though typically serving a different geographic customer base and skewing to mid-market roles.

Regional players

• Engage Sport: New Zealand-based sport sector recruitment firm servicing NSOs, SSOs, and clubs across NZ and Australia. Closest geographic peer to Sportspeople Recruitment in the NZ market, with comparable focus on sport-sector operational and executive placements.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sportpplrecruit
• Facebookfacebook.com/sportspeoplerecruitment
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sportspeoplerecruitment

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sportspeople Recruitment