Senior Manager - Hospitality & Experiences - McLaren Endurance Racing in Woking

At McLaren Racing, we’re not just here to try to take the chequered flag. We’re here to excite our fans, inspire our people and deliver for our partners. And we’re also committed to evolving our sport, our industry, and our technology, too.

Purpose of the Role: We are seeking a highly experienced, dynamic, and fluent French-speaking Senior Manager to lead the operational planning and execution of McLaren Racing’s fan and brand activation portfolio specific to the World Endurance Championship (WEC), with a key focus on the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This role will be instrumental in bringing the McLaren brand to life for our passionate fanbase and partners across the WEC calendar, delivering unforgettable, high-impact experiences that drive engagement and reinforce our brand values in the championship.

Role Dimensions: This is a full-time role dedicated to the operational implementation of hospitality and wider brand activations for WEC. French language would be beneficial but not vital to manage key stakeholders, suppliers, and venue operations as well as guests, with a large delivery programme in Le Mans. It will require extensive global travel for recces and event delivery, including weekends and unsociable hours, inherent to the WEC calendar. The role may focus on delivering fan and client track experiences off-track (city-centre activations, Fan Zones), bringing the racing closer to the community. Work is generally performed within an office environment when not traveling. This role will not have immediate direct line reports but is responsible for building and leading a project-based working group using internal team members (shared resources), external freelancers, and agency support at the outset.

Principal Accountabilities:

• WEC & Le Mans Project Management & Delivery: Lead the end-to-end planning, development, and execution of major McLaren Racing brand experience events across the global WEC calendar, with specialist focus on the demanding logistics of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Manage the selection, deployment, and logistics of physical brand assets (show cars, simulators, installations) required to deliver the WEC event portfolio in conjunction with the centralised team. Ensure all WEC brand experience initiatives are integrated seamlessly and deliver on the broader commercial, communication, and race team objectives. Work closely with key commercial partners to develop impactful WEC experiences that meet contractual obligations and exceed partner expectations, demonstrating clear ROI.
• Project & Resource Management (Matrix Leadership): Act as the project manager responsible for scoping, building, and managing the Brand Experience project group required for each WEC activation. Build business cases for, and manage the utilization of, shared internal resources, including design, marketing, and logistics teams. Identify, onboard, and manage external freelancers, consultants, and agencies required to scale operations, ensuring clear briefs, quality delivery, and adherence to budget. Effectively delegate tasks and manage complex workloads across non-dedicated resources and external suppliers across multiple simultaneous WEC projects. Serve as the primary operational liaison for Le Mans with all French-speaking venue managers, and local suppliers, leveraging fluent French to facilitate permits, contracts, and on-site issue resolution.
• Financial Management & Reporting: Accountable for the Brand Experience P&L for the WEC portfolio, including meticulous budget planning, forecasting, cost control, and financial reporting. Develop and present comprehensive post-event reports, analyzing KPIs, customer engagement (NPS), partner value, and financial outcomes specifically for WEC activations. Build comprehensive surveys and utilize data and feedback to continuously refine and improve future WEC brand experience activation strategies and execution.

Job requirements

Knowledge, Skills and Experience:

• Essential Language: Fluent use of English and French Language (verbal and written) is required.
• Experiential Expertise: Proven experience leading and delivering large-scale experiential marketing or live events, with a deep operational knowledge of motorsport events, specifically sports car or endurance racing (WEC/Le Mans) or with a strong experiential agency background.
• Matrix Leadership: Experience in leading and motivating project groups composed of internal, external, and non-direct reports.
• Global Exposure: Demonstrable experience working in and understanding diverse global markets and cultural nuances, inclusive of international permitting, freight and contracting.
• Financial Acumen: Proven ability to manage complex budgets and P&L responsibility.
• Agency Management: Strong track record of successfully managing and collaborating with external agencies and suppliers.
• Detail-Oriented: Meticulous attention to detail in planning, execution, and reporting.
• Public Speaking: Confident public speaker who can create and deliver compelling presentations, business cases and engage a wide range of audiences.

Desirable

• Proficiency in other languages (e.g., German, Italian, Japanese).
• Experience in delivering sustainable events and guiding best practice.
• Experience with project management software (e.g., Smartsheet) and CRM platforms (e.g., Salesforce).

Personal Attributes:

• Confident and inspiring leader, capable of motivating a project-based team and influencing senior stakeholders without relying on formal line management structure.
• Proactive, solutions-oriented, and able to thrive in the fast-paced, high-pressure environment of endurance racing.
• High degree of flexibility and adaptability, willing to undertake extensive international travel.
• Thoughtful decision maker who can operate under intense pressure, demonstrating confidence to challenge the status quo.

What can McLaren offer? We constantly strive to be better tomorrow than we are today. Our ambition is to be the most pioneering and exhilarating racing team in the world, and our collective task is to set the standards for high performance in sport. We show up every day with energy and enthusiasm, ready to play our part. We encourage and support diversity, equity and inclusion. We will actively promote a culture that values difference and eliminates discrimination in our workplace. McLaren Racing is based at the iconic McLaren Technology Centre (MTC) near Woking. Here at McLaren, we offer hybrid working with 3 days a week based in the MTC. Our state of the art, sustainable campus offers many facilities including a gym, restaurant and indoor and outdoor break-out areas, as well as direct access to park and common land. The MTC is connected to Woking mainline station via regular shuttle buses, from which London Waterloo is a 30 minute train ride. We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including private healthcare, car schemes, life insurance and generous pension contributions.