Incident Commander

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:

The Incident Commander is the ultimate authority for the on-water safety, rescue and salvage lifecycle across the SailGP global circuit. This is a high-stakes leadership role requiring a seasoned professional capable of maintaining absolute "Command Presence" during high-pressure incidents involving high-tech racing craft. You will own the Incident Command System (ICS), lead forensic accident investigations, and bridge the gap between elite medical trauma response and high-performance maritime engineering.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Incident Command & Scene Management

Command Presence: Act as the Primary Incident Commander for all major on-water events, overseeing the deployment of safety assets, medical teams, and salvage operations in real-time.

ICS Implementation: Design and implement a standardized Incident Command System (ICS) across all global venues, ensuring seamless integration between SailGP teams, local emergency services, and multi-agency command centers (Police, Coast Guard, etc.).

Dynamic Risk Evaluation: Continuously assess on-water conditions and "race-live" data to support critical go/no-go safety decisions for racing and rescue operations.

Mass Casualty Management: Lead the strategic planning for Mass Casualty Incidents (MCI), ensuring trauma-informed response systems are optimised for the specific risks of high-speed foiling craft (e.g., carbon-fiber trauma, high-speed impact, and entrapment).

Forensic Accident Investigation & Root Cause Analysis

Scene of Accident (SOA) Protocols: Establish and lead formal forensic protocols for on-water accident scenes, ensuring the preservation of evidence for technical and legal review.

Incident Investigation: Lead the "Post-Incident Board," conducting deep-dive investigations into near-misses and major accidents. Utilise telemetry, video, and physical evidence to provide root-cause analysis reports to the CEO and broader Leadership.

Regulatory Liaison: Act as the primary point of contact for maritime accident investigation branches and insurance underwriters regarding incident data and safety compliance.

Safety Governance, Risk & Operational Assurance

Comprehensive Risk Frameworks: Lead the development and continuous evolution of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and Risk Assessments for all global on-water functions, including specialized areas such as Commercial Diving, salvage, and high-speed towing.

Safety Assurance Cases: Develop and maintain "Safety Assurance Cases" for critical PPE and rescue hardware, providing technical evidence that all equipment is fit for purpose in the extreme foiling environment.

Asset Lifecycle Management: Establish a rigorous Asset Audit & Tracking system for all on-water safety equipment. You will own the "ready-to-operate" status of the global safety fleet and medical hardware, ensuring 100% compliance with international maritime standards.

Athlete Safety Leadership: Chair the Athlete Safety Committee, acting as the primary conduit between the sailors and the Tech Team. You will be responsible for translating athlete feedback into actionable safety outputs and policy changes.

Quality Assurance & Performance Validation

Focused Safety Inspections: Move beyond training delivery to Performance Validation. You will conduct unannounced "on-water inspections" and testing to ensure that safety protocols are being followed in practice, not just on paper.

Integrated Emergency Drills: Design and lead high-stakes, multi-agency on-water drills in collaboration with the Global Medical Team, testing the limits of our response times and technical extraction capabilities.

Audit-Ready Documentation: Own the end-to-face documentation for the SailGP Risk Team, ensuring that all training logs, risk assessments, and incident reports are forensic-level and "audit-ready" for external regulators or insurers.

High-Tech Safety System Strategy (R&D)

Equipment Evolution: Provide strategic input for the development of high-tech safety gear, including pilot-grade tether systems, harness architecture, and impact-protection PFDs

Safety Engineering Interface: Partner with the SailGP Technologies division to ensure safety is "designed-in" to future boat modifications (e.g., cockpit protection, airbags, and crash bow modifications).

Asset Optimisation: Own the procurement strategy for the global safety fleet, ensuring the medical and rescue vessels are equipped with the latest trauma and salvage technology.

Training, Drills & Professionalization

Crisis Simulation: Design and lead "High-Fidelity" emergency drills for multi-disciplinary teams (Divers, Paramedics, Athletes), focusing on high-stress decision-making and rapid extraction from foiling boats.

Elite Training Programs: Oversee the certification and "Recency" programs for all Rescue Swimmers and HODs, ensuring a "Director-level" standard of competency across the fleet.

Education & Induction: Professionalize the safety onboarding for VIPs and athletes, moving from "check-box" training to a comprehensive risk-literacy program.

Budgetary & Stakeholder Leadership

Commercial Governance: Direct accountability for the Global Safety and Medical budget, focusing on "Programs, not To-Do Lists" to ensure long-term cost efficiency and asset maintenance.

Global Medical Integration: Partner with the Global Medical Director to ensure the "Chain of Survival" - from the water to the hospital - is seamless in every venue regardless of local infrastructure. 

About You:

The Commander Mindset: You have extensive experience as an Incident Commander, Scene Commander, or Senior Officer in a high-pressure environment (e.g., Military, Special Operations, Coast Guard, Ambulance, or Elite Search & Rescue).

Trauma & Technical Literacy: You possess a deep understanding of the physics of high-speed maritime incidents. You move beyond general safety theory to master the critical intersection of acute trauma medicine and carbon-fiber engineering.

Forensic Capability: You are experienced in accident investigation (ISO standards or similar) and can write a technical report that stands up to legal and board-level scrutiny.

Decisive Leader: You thrive in the "manic" energy of global events. You have the ability to calm a scene and make multi-million-pound safety decisions in seconds.

High-Tech Racing Knowledge: Experience with foiling technology or high-speed motorsport (F1, America’s Cup) is highly desirable. You understand that in our world, speed and safety are not mutually exclusive.

Location:

SailGP Office in 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.