Job title: Head Grounds Person

Based at: Haydock Park Racecourse

Contract type: Permanent

Hours: 40 hours per week

About the role

We have a fantastic opportunity for a Head Grounds Person to join our team at Haydock Park Racecourse.

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 Grounds Personwill

• Ensure delivery of the highest standards of presentation across the site at all times of the year.
• Lead the preparation, improvement & 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 & 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 estates (plants, root zone, grass seed, fertiliser, weed killer, birch) completing the Purchase Orders process.
• Manage the flower and planting scheme for the estate.
• Oversee the delivery of the Irrigation strategy, and frost covering strategy, as required, to achieve optimum ground for racing fixtures.
• 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
• Proven experience of turf management with an NVQ2 or above qualification in Turf Science/Management or similar qualification

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 28th May 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.