Collingwood is pleased to announce the appointment of Jess Burger as General Manager of Women’s Football.
An experienced manager who has spent over eight years in high performance sport, Burger joined Collingwood in 2016 as a Performance Analyst and has quickly positioned herself to oversee the Club’s AFLW and VFLW programs.
In her role, Burger will continue to develop and execute the strategy of the Women’s Football programs while continuing her role in analytics and match-day strategy within the Club’s AFL program where she is highly valued. The newly created role will take a seat with the Club’s Executive leadership team.
“I’m grateful for this new role and the ongoing development I have had at Collingwood, and I thank everyone internally at the Club and across the industry for their ongoing support and mentorship across my football journey,” GM of Women’s Football Jess Burger said.
“I value the opportunity I have to maintain a unique role across football programs and the wider business, and I thank Jeff, Ned and the Club Board for this opportunity.
“This Club has a strong commitment in driving a high-performance environment across all football programs and I am eager to continue to contribute to this and let our actions across the industry do the talking.”
Since 2021 Burger has assumed the role of Head of Women’s Football as well as AFLW List Manager, which she was promoted to in 2018.
The 30-year-old has established herself as a leading AFLW administrator across the league recognised through various development programs – Women in Leadership (2019) and Accelerate Emerging Executive (2022) both facilitated by Andi Pert, and most recently the AFL’s Women in Football Talent Program (2022 / 23) where she was one of five emerging female leaders from the AFL industry to increase representation and strengthen pathways for women into AFL men’s football departments. Jess has also been a member of the AFLW Competition Committee since 2021.
CEO Craig Kelly said:
“We congratulate Jess for becoming the Club’s General Manager of Women’s Football.
“Jess has established herself as a strong administrator in the women’s football space to not only advance our Club but contribute to the overall development and promotion of the game.
“As a Club we went through a process with Jess and as a collective the Club’s Board, Executive Team and senior AFL staff unanimously agreed that Jess was the best candidate for this role.
“Her expertise in high-performance administration, coupled with her strong leadership qualities, and football credibility, ensure the Club’s women’s football program is in strong stead for the future.
“As a Club we continue to invest in our women’s football programs but there is work to be done to continue to develop this program to elite standards on and off the field, and we have great confidence in Jess to see out the Club’s strategic vision.
AFL Executive General Manager Football Laura Kane said:
“It is fantastic to see Jess take on an Executive role at a Club, having worked across both men’s and women’s football programs she is a great example of how you can progress through our elite pathway system.
“I work closely with her and she has one of the best football minds in our game.
“I also know Sam Wright very well through his time as a player at North Melbourne and I have no doubt they will make a terrific team at Collingwood.”
