How Rosyln Fazulla built a career she never planned at Greyhound Racing Victoria
Summary
- Ros Fazulla joined Greyhound Racing Victoria (GRV) in a part-time data entry role with no expectation of a long-term career in the sport
- Over 16 years, she progressed through five distinct roles, from judge to casual steward, full-time steward, Senior Steward and now Deputy Chief Steward
- GRV supported her growth through capability-based development, mentoring and real responsibility, even in a historically male-dominated environment
- Her advice: stay curious, back yourself, and take the next step even when the path is not obvious
Ros was nursing and needed a part-time job. A data entry role at her local greyhound racing track was practical. It paid. It fitted around her schedule. That was meant to be the whole story.
Sixteen years later, she holds one of the most senior integrity roles in Victorian greyhound racing.
“I became interested in how much work happens behind the scenes to run a race meeting,” Ros says. “That first role gave me an entry point into an industry I had not planned for, but ended up building a career in.”
Her story is about what happens when curiosity meets opportunity, and when an employer backs you to grow.
Start where you are
Ros’ first role at GRV involved data entry and helping organise functions at her local track. Entry-level. Unglamorous. Completely outside her professional background.
But she paid attention. She watched how race meetings ran. She asked questions. She learned from the people around her.
“As I learned more, I started to see the complexity behind race meetings, integrity, welfare and participant support. I realised there was an opportunity to make a positive difference.”
That curiosity became her career driver. Her next step was training as a judge. Then a casual steward role. Then full-time. Each move came not from a structured plan, but from noticing what she could learn next.
Five roles, one through-line
Ros’ progression tells its own story: data entry, judge, casual steward, full-time steward, Senior Steward for the Northern Region, and now Deputy Chief Steward.
Each role taught her something different. The early years gave her a practical foundation in how race meetings actually work. The stewarding roles taught her how decisions affect people, and how much consistency matters in integrity work.
GRV offers coaching and mentoring programs, training, educational support, and more to all employees.
“I did not just learn the rules, I learned how race meetings operate, how decisions affect people, and how important consistency and fairness are in stewarding.”
That depth shows in how she describes her current role: variety, responsibility, people leadership and integrity work, often in the same week. No two days are the same.
The moment she knew she belonged
There was a point in Ros’ career when something shifted.
It came when GRV trusted her to move from casual stewarding into a full-time steward role. She had been learning the work, building her knowledge, proving she could apply it under pressure. And then, instead of being observed a little longer or eased in more gradually, she was simply trusted to step up.
“I realised I was in the right place when the people around me did not just teach me the technical side of the role,” she says. “They trusted me to apply it.”
– Rosyln Fazulla
That distinction matters. Being taught a skill is one thing. Being trusted with it is another entirely. For Ros, that moment reframed everything. She was not filling a vacancy. She was building a career, and the people around her could see it too.
That trust, she says, was built on capability. Not in the absence of challenges — greyhound racing has historically been male-dominated, and that was the reality she worked in — but on GRV’s willingness to work through those challenges rather than use them as a ceiling.
“Where there were practical challenges, those challenges were worked through without treating them as limits on what I could achieve.”
Senior leaders gave her room to learn, ask questions, and build confidence at each stage. She was challenged and supported at the same time. For Ros, that combination is what a genuinely inclusive workplace actually feels like in practice.
Back yourself
Ros is now the kind of visible leader she might have needed when she started. She is deliberate about what that means.
“By being visible in this role, I can help other women see a future for themselves in racing,” she says.
Her advice to other women considering an unexpected industry or a non-linear path is direct: do not rule yourself out.
“You do not have to start with a perfect career plan. Sometimes you just need to stay curious, work hard and be open to the next opportunity. You may build a career you never expected, but are very proud of.”
Ros’ story is proof that the career you are most proud of is often the one you never mapped out. It starts with a first step, and an employer willing to back you through every one that follows.
