Job Vacancy: Head grounds person, The Jockey Club- Aintree Racecourse
Job title: Head Grounds Person
Based at: Aintree Racecourse
Contract type: Permanent
Hours: 40 hours per week
Click here to apply directly on the company site
About the role
We have a fantastic opportunity for a Head Grounds Person to join the team at our iconic Aintree Racecourse. This role plays a crucial part in leading the Grounds team to prepare and maintain the course and Estates for all racing and non-racing events including the Randox Grand National.
With a global television audience of up to 600 million people, the Randox Grand National really is the race the world stops to watch.
Now The Jockey Club is looking to recruit a talented Head Grounds Person at Aintree Racecourse to play a crucial role in staging one of Britain’s most iconic events and be responsible for some of the most famous turf in sport.
Working alongside Sulekha Varma, who as Head of Racing and Clerk of the Course was recently named the 12th most influential woman in world sport by the Daily Telegraph, you would play a crucial role in leading a high performing and driven team.
About The Jockey Club
The Jockey Club stages thrilling sporting occasions and live events nationwide including The Grand National, The Cheltenham Festival and The Derby. Millions of people every year enjoy the special experiences we offer at our 15 racecourses through racing, music, food and entertainment on racedays and beyond.
As the largest commercial group in British racing, we are governed by Royal Charter and 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 Grounds Person will
- Ensure delivery of the highest standards of presentation across the site at all times of the year.
- Lead the preparation, improvement and maintenance of the turf for all race meetings.
- Co-ordinate the resource levels of all grounds team for both racedays and non-racedays in line with regulations and budgets supervising activity.
- Partner with the Head of Racing to lead on the talent management of the Grounds team including recruitment, appraisals, learning and development.
- Ensure that all machinery and equipment is serviced and maintained in good, safe, working order, organising repairs, servicing and replacement parts as necessary, to a pre-determined budget and timetable.
- Order all sundries for the racetrack and golf course (plants, root zone, grass seed, fertiliser, weed killer, birch) completing the Purchase Orders process.
- Plan the budgetary requirements, in conjunction with the Head of Racing, and to monitor monthly expenditure.
- Work with the Operations Team to manage the maintenance of the gardens, parade ring and adjoining areas for non-raceday events.
- Maintain accurate and up-to-date records for all machinery/equipment repairs and maintenance, COSHH, rainfall, weather, and all track maintenance operations (fertiliser, spray, harrowing, watering, irrigation, etc).
- Ensure compliance with the British Horseracing Authority’s Rules of Racing and General Instructions, liaising with the BHA Course Inspector as required.
About you
- A positive approach to the workplace, comfortable solving problems and contributing to results.
- Experienced in leading and developing a multi-skilled team.
- Passionate about turf management and site presentation with eagerness to learn and develop new and innovative techniques.
- Takes pride in delivering across all areas of estate management and presentation with excellent attention to detail.
- Comfortable working under pressure with ability to make sound decisions.
- Well organised with strong administration skills and experience of managing a budget.
- Proven experience of turf management with an NVQ2 or above qualification in Turf Science/Management.
What we offer in return
- All colleagues can go along to any of our racedays 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 and wellbeing services.
- 25 days annual leave.
- Access to a suite of Learning and Development training resources from renowned providers.
- A whole host of other benefits including free eyecare vouchers, a ride to work cycle scheme and discounts across varying retailers and 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 February, but we reserve the right to bring this forward if we have a high volume of 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