Global Security Lead

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)

We value an engaged workforce, powered by in-office collaboration – as such, employees are expected to work primarily from this space plus other SailGP locations, including SailGP Technologies in Southampton, when required.

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