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.