General Manager

Job Title

General Manager

Location

Andover, Hampshire, GB, SP10 1

Post Date

2026-10-15

Closing Date

2026-11-13T00:48:03.817

Job Description

Places Leisure is part of the Places for People Group, we're changing lives by creating active places and healthier people for communities to thrive. As one of the UK's leading Social Enterprises, Places for People believes it's people who make a community, which is why we build homes, deliver services and create opportunities that help communities flourish.

At Places for People, we hire People, not numbers. We're looking for individuals who share our values, do the right thing, support their communities and are motivated to grow. We apply the same philosophy to our colleagues as we do to our communities, ensuring everyone feels valued, supported and empowered to succeed. Here, you're more than just a colleague, you're part of our cause. Join a community that cares about you.

So, what are you waiting for? Join a community that cares about you!

More about your role

As General Manager, you will lead your leisure centre and take overall responsibility for its financial, commercial and operational performance. You will empower your site leadership team to deliver an outstanding customer experience, achieve membership and revenue objectives and maintain high operational standards. You will develop your people, use performance data to guide decisions and build productive relationships with clients, community groups and health and wellbeing partners. You will also help create an accessible community hub that supports active, healthy and thriving communities.

Essential criteria

• Previous experience as a General Manager in a Leisure Centre.
• Demonstrable experience of leading and developing a multidisciplinary operational team, including managers or heads of department.
• Evidence of delivering financial, revenue or other commercial objectives with responsibility for managing a site or operational budget.
• Experience of using commercial and operational performance measures to identify priorities and improve results.
• A track record of improving customer service, membership performance or customer retention within a service-led environment.
• Experience of managing client, partner or stakeholder relationships and delivering against agreed contractual or service objectives.

More about you

You will be an inspiring and results-focused leader who can balance commercial priorities with excellent customer service. You will be confident managing a multifunctional operation, interpreting financial and performance information and turning insight into effective action. You will enjoy developing others, encouraging managers to make effective decisions and creating an inclusive environment where colleagues can perform at their best. You will also bring a collaborative approach to working with clients, partners and local communities, together with a commitment to safeguarding, health and safety and data protection.

Benefits

We are a large diverse and ambitious business, which will give you all the challenge you could wish for. We know that there's always more we can do to make you smile, that's why we offer a comprehensive benefits package with each role, yours will include:

• We pay the Real Living Wage as a minimum
• Pension with matched contributions up to 7%
• Bonus scheme for colleagues at 2%
• Option to buy or sell annual leave days
• Healthcare cashback plan for everyday medical costs, with private GP and health support services available
• Comprehensive wellbeing support including counselling, flu jabs, our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) and access to our Wellbeing Hub, supporting your mental, physical and financial wellbeing
• Access to Our Place Rewards, offering discounts and savings on groceries, travel, shopping, home products and other lifestyle purchases
• Ongoing training, professional qualifications, internal development programmes and career progression opportunities
• Recognition programmes including Star Awards and Colleague Awards, celebrating achievements and recognising great work
• Strong focus on inclusion, wellbeing and colleague engagement
• Free membership to Places Gyms
• Life Assurance to provide financial security for your loved ones, alongside access to will writing services to help you plan for the future with confidence

What's next?

If you meet the criteria and are ready to make the next step in your career then click apply. You will be redirected to our careers site where you can discover more about the role, read a full job description and apply directly to us.

At Places for People, safeguarding is everyone's responsibility. We are committed to creating safe communities for our customers and colleagues by protecting children, young people, and adults at risk from harm, abuse, and neglect. We follow robust safeguarding policies and procedures, ensuring all employees, volunteers, and contractors uphold the highest standards of safeguarding and accountability. Our recruitment process includes pre-employment checks, including Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks where applicable, to promote a safe and secure working environment. By joining Places for People, you are expected to contribute to our safeguarding culture, following our policies and reporting concerns to protect those in our communities.

#s1-Gen

Essential criteria Previous experience as a General Manager in a Leisure Centre. Demonstrable experience of leading and developing a multidisciplinary operational team, including managers or heads of department. Evidence of delivering financial, revenue or other commercial objectives with responsibility for managing a site or operational budget. Experience of using commercial and operational performance measures to identify priorities and improve results. A track record of improving customer service, membership performance or customer retention within a service-led environment. Experience of managing client, partner or stakeholder relationships and delivering against agreed contractual or service objectives. More about you You will be an inspiring and results-focused leader who can balance commercial priorities with excellent customer service. You will be confident managing a multifunctional operation, interpreting financial and performance information and turning insight into effective action. You will enjoy developing others, encouraging managers to make effective decisions and creating an inclusive environment where colleagues can perform at their best. You will also bring a collaborative approach to working with clients, partners and local communities, together with a commitment to safeguarding, health and safety and data protection.

Places Leisure is part of the Places for People Group, we're changing lives by creating active places and healthier people for communities to thrive. As one of the UK's leading Social Enterprises, Places for People believes it's people who make a community, which is why we build homes, deliver services and create opportunities that help communities flourish. At Places for People, we hire People, not numbers. We're looking for individuals who share our values, do the right thing, support their communities and are motivated to grow. We apply the same philosophy to our colleagues as we do to our communities, ensuring everyone feels valued, supported and empowered to succeed. Here, you're more than just a colleague, you're part of our cause. Join a community that cares about you. So, what are you waiting for? Join a community that cares about you! More about your role As General Manager, you will lead your leisure centre and take overall responsibility for its financial, commercial and operational performance. You will empower your site leadership team to deliver an outstanding customer experience, achieve membership and revenue objectives and maintain high operational standards. You will develop your people, use performance data to guide decisions and build productive relationships with clients, community groups and health and wellbeing partners. You will also help create an accessible community hub that supports active, healthy and thriving communities.

Benefits We are a large diverse and ambitious business, which will give you all the challenge you could wish for. We know that there's always more we can do to make you smile, that's why we offer a comprehensive benefits package with each role, yours will include:

• We pay the Real Living Wage as a minimum
• Pension with matched contributions up to 7%
• Bonus scheme for colleagues at 2%
• Option to buy or sell annual leave days
• Healthcare cashback plan for everyday medical costs, with private GP and health support services available
• Comprehensive wellbeing support including counselling, flu jabs, our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) and access to our Wellbeing Hub, supporting your mental, physical and financial wellbeing
• Access to Our Place Rewards, offering discounts and savings on groceries, travel, shopping, home products and other lifestyle purchases
• Ongoing training, professional qualifications, internal development programmes and career progression opportunities
• Recognition programmes including Star Awards and Colleague Awards, celebrating achievements and recognising great work
• Strong focus on inclusion, wellbeing and colleague engagement
• Free membership to Places Gyms
• Life Assurance to provide financial security for your loved ones, alongside access to will writing services to help you plan for the future with confidence
What's next? If you meet the criteria and are ready to make the next step in your career then click apply. You will be redirected to our careers site where you can discover more about the role, read a full job description and apply directly to us. At Places for People, safeguarding is everyone's responsibility. We are committed to creating safe communities for our customers and colleagues by protecting children, young people, and adults at risk from harm, abuse, and neglect. We follow robust safeguarding policies and procedures, ensuring all employees, volunteers, and contractors uphold the highest standards of safeguarding and accountability. Our recruitment process includes pre-employment checks, including Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks where applicable, to promote a safe and secure working environment. By joining Places for People, you are expected to contribute to our safeguarding culture, following our policies and reporting concerns to protect those in our communities.