Event Readiness and Planning Manager

About: 

The Rolex SailGP Championship is the most exciting racing on water, where anything can happen in short, adrenaline-fueled battles between national teams at iconic stadium destinations worldwide. Top athletes fly in identical high-tech F50 catamarans faster than the wind, at speeds in excess of 100km/h (60mph). Founded in 2018, SailGP is one of the world’s fastest-growing sports and entertainment properties, now in its sixth season.

SailGP also races for a better future, championing a world powered by nature. Underpinning the organization’s purpose-driven agenda is a diversification of the league, with the goal of immediately progressing gender equity and inclusivity.

SailGP is a global organisation with defined values that shape the culture of its team – Deliver Quality and Consistency; Evolve with Focus; Make it Count; Stand Together and Strike a Balance.

Summary:

This is a unique opportunity to join SailGP’s Events Division at a pivotal point in its evolution. As the organisation continues to scale rapidly, we are strengthening the maturity, consistency, and rigour of our approach to event planning. This role will play a central part in driving that transition. Reporting to the Director of Event Planning & Readiness, the Event Planning Manager will lead the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of a new integrated event-planning framework, including associated project plans, processes, documentation, governance, and reporting. The role is highly influential, sitting at the centre of the Events Division and working across regional and delivery teams in a fast-paced global environment. The successful candidate will be confident engaging senior and operational stakeholders and capable of embedding new ways of working alongside the demands of live event delivery.

Key Responsibilities:

• Support the development, implementation, and ongoing improvement of an integrated event planning framework, including master project plans and programme-level governance


• Design, develop, and embed planning processes, templates, guidance, and governance structures to drive consistency and quality across all events


• Act as a central coordination point across multiple workstreams to ensure effective project planning, dependency identification and management, and milestone tracking


• Work closely with Regional Directors, Heads of Events, and operational delivery teams to drive understanding, adoption, and consistent application of planning standards


• Drive a coherent planning cadence, including milestone tracking, readiness checkpoints, and key project reviews


• Develop and deliver guidance, tools, and materials to upskill colleagues in project management standards and effective use of the integrated event-planning framework


• Develop and maintain clear, decision-focused reporting dashboards for senior leadership, providing visibility of progress, risks, and readiness


• Produce event-specific operational planning documentation and presentations


• Support change management activity, including stakeholder engagement, communications, and adoption of new ways of working


• Identify gaps, inefficiencies, and risks in current planning approaches and propose practical improvements


• Take full ownership for assigned workstreams, driving actions through to completion with minimal supervision


• Act as a trusted partner to senior stakeholders, balancing governance requirements with operational realities


• Provide high quality planning coordination and administration support where required


• Undertake other duties consistent with the responsibilities of the role

Key Expectations:

• Proven project management background, ideally within a centralised PMO or enterprise project management function


• Demonstrated delivery of change initiatives within complex, fast-paced environments


• Track record of working across multiple teams, functions, or business units simultaneously


• Background in designing, implementing, or embedding standardised processes


• Strong capability in management reporting, including development of senior-level dashboards


• Exposure to planning or delivering live events or operations strongly preferred


• Project management qualification (e.g. PRINCE2, PMP, MSP, Agile, etc.) preferred


• Proficiency in Google Suite tools and/or Monday.com desirable

About You:

• Highly organised, structured, and disciplined in approach


• Confident operating in a centralised role that cuts across many areas of the business


• Comfortable influencing without direct authority and working with stakeholders at all levels


• Pragmatic and delivery-focused, with sound judgement to balance governance with operational reality


• Resilient and effective in a busy, high-pressure environment with competing priorities


• Strong sense of ownership and accountability, with the ability to work independently


• Clear and credible communicator, able to translate complex planning concepts into practical actions


• Collaborative by nature, with the confidence to challenge constructively when required


• High level of accuracy and attention to detail


• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to build effective working relationships


• Adaptable, flexible, and proactive with a practical, can-do mindset

Location:

London, United Kingdom. Hybrid working model with a minimum of 3 days per week in the London Office.

SailGP is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace committed to building a team culture that celebrates diversity, equity and inclusion.