Head of Racing – The Jockey Club
Jockey Club

About the role

We have a fantastic opportunity for aHead of Racing to join our Newmarket Racecourse team

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 course’s, millions of people every year enjoy the special experiences we offer through racing, music, food and entertainment on raceday’s 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 Head of Racing will

• Manage, motivate, develop, and lead the Newmarket racing teams to deliver outstanding service and results.
• Lead on and be the spokesperson on all equine matters relating to all racedays at Newmarket.
• Manage the communication with multiple industry bodies such as The Thoroughbred Group & The British Horseracing Authority
• Oversee excellent standards of turf husbandry and estate management.
• Identify and grow talent to ensure the right level and quality of resource is in place for current and future requirements.
• Work closely with the Senior Management Team to agree and implement a cost-effective business strategy for the racecourse that helps deliver the overall vision and strategic plan of The Jockey Club.
• Lead on the planning, implementation and management of all grounds and course projects.
• Oversee the recruitment and deployment of the Links, Weighing Room & Parade Ring casual staff.
• In conjunction with the Group Racing Director – plan and manage the Fixture List and race programme, prize money budget and SIS race fee budget.
• Ensure that Newmarket Racecourses programme strike a balance between the needs of the horse population and the commercial imperatives of the business. Endeavour to prosper through innovation in race programming.
• Define and implement an equine welfare strategy for Newmarket Racecourses focusing on minimizing risk, improving outcomes, and delivering facilities/processes that are industry leading.

About you

¨ An experienced Clerk of the Course with a recognised accreditation

¨ Proven experience of leading, motivating and developing a large ground staff team

¨ Extensive knowledge and understanding of the UK racing industry.

¨ Previous experience of working well with both racing and wider media

¨ Calm measured and resilient with the ability to make effective decisions under pressure.

¨ An excellent communicator able to manage a wide range of relevant stakeholders.

¨ Commercially acute with the ability and desire to collaboratively work as part of a senior management team.

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 19th June but we reserve the right to bring this forward if we have many applications.

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