General Manager – Great Leisure Venue

Location: Derby

c£40,000 plus bonus

A high-activity, multi-use venue in Derby is seeking a strategic, operations-focused General Manager with strong leadership capability and a hands-on, entrepreneurial mindset. This is a role for someone who thrives in a dynamic environment, enjoys taking ownership, and is motivated by improving systems, growing engagement and elevating standards.

You’ll oversee day-to-day operations, lead a team, and play a central role in shaping the venue’s culture, customer experience and long-term performance.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead all aspects of daily operations across a busy, multifunctional venue, ensuring consistent delivery and smooth running at all times.
• Act as a visible leader on site — supporting staff, engaging with customers and ensuring high service standards.
• Drive operational excellence by refining processes, improving workflows, and implementing efficient systems.
• Manage, mentor and motivate the team to deliver results, ensuring clarity of expectations and a positive working culture.
• Take ownership of venue performance, working with the Operations Director to meet targets and identify growth opportunities.
• Lead on scheduling, resource planning and day-to-day problem-solving to keep the venue functioning seamlessly.
• Maintain exceptional standards of presentation, safety, compliance and overall venue experience.
• Introduce new initiatives, ideas and solutions that enhance customer engagement and venue activity.

Person Profile

• Demonstrable experience managing a multifaceted, customer-facing operation.
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to inspire and develop teams.
• Entrepreneurially minded — proactive, commercially aware and comfortable taking initiative.
• Confident decision-maker who thrives in environments where priorities shift quickly.
• Highly organised, detail-focused and capable of managing multiple operational streams at once.
• Excellent communicator who builds strong relationships with teams, customers and partners.
• Comfortable working in a hands-on capacity and stepping into operational tasks where required.
• Flexible approach to working hours, including occasional evenings and weekends.

What’s on Offer

• A senior leadership role with genuine autonomy and the opportunity to influence venue direction.
• Competitive salary with potential for performance incentives.
• A varied, high-energy working environment where no two days are the same.
• The chance to make a meaningful impact and drive growth within an established venue.
• Support from an experienced Operations Director while retaining significant local decision-making control.

Your recruiter for this role is Helen Horton, Account Director at Love Recruitment and can be contacted simply by applying for the role below. Helen and Love Recruitment specialise in recruitment for the whole fitness & leisure sector and work on a number of jobs in the fitness and leisure industry. If keen to be considered please ‘Apply Now’.