Group Head of Food & Beverage

Job title

Group Head of Food & Beverage

Based at

Location flexible

Contract type

Permanent

Hours

37.5 hours per week

About the role

We have a fantastic opportunity for a Group Head of Food & Beverage to join our Operations team Reporting directly into the Group Operations Director, this newly created role will develop, define and steer the long‑term strategic vision for all F&B operations across all Jockey Club venues and events, playing a key part in shaping the broader business direction by aligning F&B initiatives with JCR overall long‑term strategic aims.

About The Jockey Club

The Jockey Club stages thrilling sporting occasions and live events nationwide including The Grand National, The Cheltenham Festival & The Derby. Owning & operating 15 courses, millions of people every year enjoy the special experiences we offer through racing, music, food and entertainment on racedays and beyond.

As the largest commercial group in British racing, we are guided by our mission to act for the long term good of the sport. Every penny we make goes back into racing to promote excellence within Britain’s second biggest spectator sport. Our people are what makes this possible

At The Jockey Club people are at the heart of what we do and drive our success. We are inclusive and actively seek to attract people with unique backgrounds and perspectives. Diverse, collaborative teams are pivotal to our success and support the potential and growth of all our people.

The Group Head of Food & Beverage will

• Lead and deliver a forward‑looking, multi‑year F&B strategy, driving product innovation, guest experience excellence and sustainable profit growth across all venues and events
• Own end‑to‑end F&B operations 365 days a year across JCR venues and racecourses, covering planning, mobilisation, live delivery and demobilisation
• Manage and optimise third‑party F&B partners, ensuring legislative compliance, brand protection and consistently high contract delivery standards
• Control and maximise budgets and profitability, applying rigorous cost controls, sales optimisation and clear cost‑benefit analysis across all F&B activity
• Oversee F&B delivery for major events, leading project planning, timelines, risk mitigation and partner coordination to ensure flawless execution
• Implement and manage robust KPI and SLA frameworks, objectively monitoring partner performance and driving continuous improvement
• Provide clear, insightful reporting, including operational, financial and performance updates, with regular board‑level presentations and recommendations
• Champion quality, innovation and best practice, ensuring exceptional food, beverage and service standards while fostering a collaborative one‑team culture

About you

• Proven leadership of large‑scale, multi‑venue F&B operations across major UK and/or international events, ideally within sport or live events
• Experience leading high‑profile, multi‑disciplinary teams to deliver complex events against fixed, non‑negotiable deadlines
• Strong multi‑project management capability, developing and delivering complex F&B operational and service solutions
• Demonstrable experience managing multi‑site F&B budgets, including cost control, service specifications and multi‑million‑pound financial responsibility
• Track record of managing third‑party F&B partners, including contract delivery, commercial negotiation and performance management
• Confident operating in highly scrutinised environments, producing high‑quality written reports and presentations for multiple stakeholders
• Collaborative, approachable and resilient, with the confidence to operate autonomously and take accountability for decisions
• A credible influencer and communicator, able to build strong relationships and foster a one‑team culture across diverse stakeholders

What we offer in return

• All colleagues can go along to any of our race day or music events free of charge – along with 3 friends or family with our TeamPass Ticket scheme.
• An award‑winning pension scheme provider with a generous employer contribution
• A healthcare cash back plan enabling you to claim money back on health & wellbeing services.
• 25 days annual leave
• Access to a suite of Learning & Development training resources from renowned providers
• A whole host of other benefits including free eyecare vouchers, a ride to work cycle scheme & discounts across varying retailers & services.

If you think you have everything we’re looking for and more, then we’d love to hear from you. Don’t hang around, our closing date for this vacancy is 2 nd February but we reserve the right to bring this forward if we have many applications.

This role may be subject to a criminal record check, standard or enhanced DBS check or BHA Suitability Check. By applying you confirm that you are happy for these checks to be carried out.