Global Security Lead in London

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 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:

Global Security Lead is accountable for the on-site delivery and coordination of SailGP’s security, accreditation and access control operation at every event. The role turns the agreed security strategy into a repeatable, deliverable plan on the ground — managing suppliers, staffing, zone integrity and incident response across all host cities.

The Lead is the operational decision-maker at venue level and the single point of coordination between the local operator, appointed security provider, local authorities, Event Directors and internal functions. Strategic direction, formal sign-off, budget or resource uplifts, risk acceptance and serious incident escalation sit with the Head of Security.

Owned by the Security and Access Control Lead

• Day-to-day operational delivery of the security, accreditation and access control plan at each event.
• Deployment decisions within the approved staffing model, posture and budget envelope.
• Direction of contracted security providers on site, including redeployment and performance intervention.
• Initial incident command at venue level until escalation criteria are met or handover to authorities occurs.
• Control and issue of operating documentation, briefings and post-event records.

Escalated to the Head of Security

• Strategic sign-off of the Security Strategy, Concept of Operations and event posture.
• Budget or resource uplifts above or beyond the approved budget line.
• Acceptance of any residual risk graded High or above, or any deviation from agreed minimum standards.
• Serious incidents, injury, credential compromise, evacuation, or any event with regulatory, reputational or broadcast impact — escalated immediately per the escalation matrix.
• Contract award, supplier termination and any change to season-wide standards.

Key Responsibilities:

On-Site Delivery and Coordination

• Lead security, accreditation and access control delivery on site from build through race days to breakdown, working to the agreed Concept of Operations and posture framework.
• Run daily security coordination and briefing rhythm with the appointed provider, local operator, Event Directors and internal functions.
• Own venue zone and access point integrity — ingress flow, search and screening, zone segregation, VIP and athlete routes, and lock-down of restricted areas.
• Verify supplier staffing against contracted numbers each shift, and record variance, welfare compliance and performance issues at the time they occur.
• Coordinate with crowd safety, medical, traffic management, fire engineering and stewarding to ensure security measures do not compromise egress or emergency access.
• Provide the Head of Security with a consistent daily situation report from every venue.

Planning and Cross-Functional Coordination

• Translate the Security Strategy into event-specific operational plans, staffing models and access control designs for each host city.
• Lead onboarding, tasking and milestone tracking for Event Security Managers, ensuring alignment with the “One Event Plan” standard.
• Secure earlier influence over site design — access points, ingress lane provision, screening footprint and assembly areas — during venue planning rather than at build.
• Consolidate event-level risk assessments into a single global risk register, with consistent scoring and evidence grading across venues.
• Engage local authorities, police, fire and licensing bodies alongside the Head of Security to confirm conditions and approvals.

Policies, Procedures and Documentation Control

• Implement and enforce SailGP security policies, procedures and minimum operating standards consistently across all host cities and suppliers.
• Own the pre-event documentation set: Concept of Operations, security operating procedures, access control matrix, accreditation and zone plan, assignment instructions, briefing packs, and emergency and evacuation annexes.
• Own the post-event documentation set: incident and occurrence logs, patrol and briefing records, staffing reconciliation, debrief report, lessons learned and risk register update.
• Maintain version control, distribution lists and a controlled document register, so every venue works from the current approved version.
• Confirm supplier assignment instructions, licensing, right-to-work and vetting records are in place and auditable before deployment.
• Evidence compliance with GDPR and data privacy obligations for accreditation and access control data.

Incident Management and Escalation

• Maintain and rehearse the escalation matrix, defining what is handled locally and what goes immediately to the Head of Security and event leadership.
• Act as initial security incident commander on site, coordinating with medical, safety officers and emergency services.
• Ensure incidents, near misses and credential breaches are logged contemporaneously, investigated and closed out with corrective actions.
• Test contingency and fallback arrangements ahead of each event, including manual verification and logging when scanning technology fails.

Accreditation, Access Control and Systems

• Ensure accreditation permissions, zone logic and physical access control are aligned across every venue and system.
• Oversee pass production, VIP credential control, entry and exit scanning, and reconciliation of who is on site.
• Approve and maintain process manuals, user guides and briefing material for accreditation and access control systems.
• Identify system and process improvements — including digital patrol, briefing and audit records — and build the case for adoption.

Supplier, Commercial and Budget Management

• Manage procurement, tendering and contract performance for host-city security providers, with clear scopes, KPIs and remedies.
• Manage and interrogate budgets for Security, Accreditation and Access Control, including forecasting, reconciliation and cost control.
• Challenge supplier pricing, staffing assumptions and change requests, and present uplift requests to the Head of Security with evidence and options.
• Hold suppliers to a common operating standard across markets, with documented performance reviews after every event.

Reporting and Continuous Improvement

• Deliver post-event debriefs, KPI reporting and financial reconciliation within [X] working days of each event.
• Track performance trends across the season to drive consistency, cost efficiency and stakeholder satisfaction.
• Feed lessons learned into the following event and into season-wide standards, closing the loop on recurring issues.

Key Relationships

• Internal: Head of Security, Event Directors, Event Services, Accreditation, Athlete and Team Services, Commercial and Hospitality, Broadcast, Legal and Data Protection.
• External: local event operators, appointed security providers, police, fire and licensing authorities, venue owners, traffic management and stewarding contractors.

Performance Measures

• Zero critical security or access control failures; no unauthorised access to restricted or athlete areas.
• Ingress delivered within the agreed admission window at every venue.
• Full pre-event documentation approved and issued by the agreed milestone for 100% of events.
• Supplier staffing delivered to contract, with variance evidenced and recovered.
• Security and access control spend within approved budget, reconciled within [X] working days.
• Debrief actions closed out before the next event in the calendar.

Location:

London, UK HQ - with significant international travel (approx. [7] events per season with a minimum of 4 office days per month when not operational)

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