Catering Operations Manager - Championships

Department

Championships

Reporting To

Head of Catering Operations - Championships

Direct Reports

1

Version

V4 11.09.2026

Job Purpose

To lead on the planning, and delivery of hospitality, catering and associated services for the AIG Women’s Open, Walker Cup and Curtis Cup (when staged within Great Britain and Ireland), collaborating with internal and a wide variety of external stakeholders. Support the delivery of specific projects for The Open when required.

Responsible for driving operational excellence, managing supplier and stakeholder relationships, and using data and insights to continually improve service standards and customer experience.

To fulfil a managerial role within the Championships department assisting with wider departmental projects and initiatives and communicating these to other members of the department.

Key Accountabilities

• Lead on the planning, scoping, and management of catering operational delivery of the AIG Women’s Open, over a 12–24-month period in liaison with a variety of internal and external stakeholders to deliver catering operations that lead the industry.
• Lead on the delivery of catering operations at The Walker Cup / Curtis Cup (when staged in Great Britain and Ireland), collaborating with colleagues in Amateur Championships and other internal stakeholders.
• Collaborate with the functional leaders within Catering, Player & Guest Services and Staging, having responsibility for the creation and design of internal operational layouts for the various structures, hospitality environments and catering facilities onsite.
• Lead on the appointment of caterers, when required, including oversee the management of tender processes and associated legal/contractual agreements, in line with organisational policies and ensuring compliance to relevant budgets.
• Oversee all staffing requirements pre, during and post Championship.
• Oversee all catering requirements and menu design, ensuring the catering provision supports the wider proposition and meets the requirements of the wide variety of Championships consumers, in line with departmental expectations and industry standards.
• Manage the appointment of external contractors to deliver the catering infrastructure and interiors build and de-rigging phases, in line with organisational policies and, with approval, scope new contractors, negotiating terms and scope of works when necessary.
• Work with the delivery team onsite at host venues to direct, oversee and supervise the extended catering and hospitality infrastructure build and de-rigging phases, and through effective collaboration and detailed planning ensure all contracted work is completed to the agreed schedule, on budget and in line with relevant Health and Safety and other legislation.
• Build and maintain close working relationships with stakeholders across the business, primarily but not limited to the Commercial Hospitality, Partnerships and Staging teams, external multi agency partners and host venues to ensure the coordinated delivery of the Championships’, catering and associated service requirements and the wider customer experience.
• Lead planning meetings with external suppliers/contractors/partners and internal stakeholders, where required and onsite at host venues throughout the planning phase, following up on resulting actions and preparing minutes / planning documents, for use by the wider team and senior management as required, ensuring alignment across catering and associated service workstreams.
• Be the point of escalation for catering operations issues at the Championships, where required, providing expertise and resolving simple to complex queries, escalating where appropriate to the Head of Catering Operations, internal or external stakeholders when required.
• Support line and senior management in the review and evaluation of, catering operational delivery, proactively identifying opportunities for continuous improvement, in liaison with internal and external stakeholders as appropriate. Provide relevant recommendations to contribute to the development of the long-term Championships department strategy, associated goals and operational plans.
• Support in the review and development of event catering operations, proactively identifying opportunities for continuous improvement to contribute to the development of the long-term departmental strategy, operational plans and wider customer experience.