General Manager

Padel Social House; Northampton; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 40,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus up to £5k

28 days holidays

Friends & Family discount

On-site parking

Maternity/Paternity pay

Career development

Job summary

Padel Social House in Brackmills, Northampton, seeks an experienced General Manager to lead our first Northants club (12 courts, 45,000 sq ft) since April 2026. You’ll oversee non‑padel activities, especially food & beverage, and partner with senior management to deliver exceptional visitor experiences.

You will manage a small team, drive guest satisfaction, ensure safety compliance, and develop the club’s commercial and operational strategy to grow participation and revenue.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years in a leadership role within sports/leisure.
• Experience managing multi-department teams.
• Strong financial and commercial management including budgeting.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Experience with supplier management (5+ suppliers).
• Driving license and health & safety qualifications.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic direction and vision for the club.
• Lead, motivate, and develop a high-performing team.
• Oversee daily operations, including food, beverage, events, and retail.
• Ensure KPI targets and guest experience improvements.
• Oversee health and safety compliance and risk assessments.
• Manage budget and financial targets.
• Develop menus, pricing, inventory for F&B.
• Liaise with suppliers and partners.

Skills

Leadership

Customer service

Budgeting

Forecasting

Team management

Communication

Supplier management

Food & beverage

Health & safety

Driving license

Tools

Revolut POS

Playtomic

Job description

Job purpose: Deliver commercial success by overseeing all Facility operations & lead a dynamic team of 10 people.

Deliver exceptional customer service standards leading at the front with a smile & desire to over-deliver to our customers whilst promoting Padel as an inclusive, fun & family-friendly activity. Strive to improve the lives of others through the power of sport, wellbeing & exercise. Excite the local community to play and return back as regular visitors.

Reporting: To CEO

Based: Brackmills, Northampton (+ local travel)

Salary: Up to £40,000 per annum

The Role

Padel Social House are seeking a dynamic, friendly, sociable and experienced General Manager to lead our very first club in Northants which opened in April 2026 as a 12 Court, 45,000 sq ft facility.

Responsible for overseeing and managing all non Padel activity operations especially food & drink services closely with Senior Management. This broad, dynamic role involves ensuring the smooth running of the Club and delivering exceptional experiences for all visitors to the facility of the world’s fastest growing sport!

Responsibilities

Management, Team Leadership + Performance Monitoring

• Provide constant strategic direction and vision for the club with a continuous improvement mindset in tandem with Management, demonstrating the goals and objectives aligned with the overall company mission and values.
• Lead, motivate, and develop a high-performing small team, fostering a fun, positive and collaborative social working environment.
• Oversee daily operations, ensuring efficient and cost-effective management of all areas of the facility including coaching, rentals, events, food & beverage, car-park and retail.
• Ensure KPI targets are hit & reviewed on a regular basis with the entire team. Provide recommendations to further develop a better guest experience within the facility.

Health and Safety

• Take ownership of all health and safety matters within the facility.
• Ensure all risk assessments are up to date and specific to the site.
• Follow up all accidents/incidents and near misses within 48hrs and update risk assessments, policies and procedures. Adhere to any changes from the health & safety executive.
• Use safety system to manage all relevant tasks, risk assessments, reviews, policies, and procedures.
• Manage the monthly operating budget closely with Management, monitoring financial performance and implementing strategic + tactical ideas to achieve the financial targets.
• Oversee the inventory management liaising closely with all suppliers & partners of the Club including Club Shop, Cafe + Racket rentals.
• Ensure compliance with all relevant legal, financial and regulatory requirements.

Guest Experience

• Develop and implement strategies to attract and retain players, fostering a strong sense of belonging, community and loyalty.
• Oversee the end-to-end player experience, ensuring a positive and welcoming experience for all players and guests.
• Manage and resolve player concerns and complaints in a professional and timely manner with an honest + transparent mindset.
• Oversee the food & beverage and Club Ship operations, ensuring local, sustainable, high-quality products and services are available to all players and guests. Deliver a friendly and compelling customer experience that encourages a authentic social experience that leads to a growing pre + post-match spending.
• Develop and manage menus, pricing strategies, and inventory management for the food & beverage program on the chosen POS system.
• Manage the selection and purchasing of merchandise for the Club shop using local + sustainable suppliers.
• Input into the Marketing direction + delivery particularly across the social + wider Comms channels by working closely with the part-time Marketing function.

Experience & Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of experience in a leadership role within the sports/leisure or similar industry.
• Proven experience in managing a multi-departmental group of people.
• Natural passion for sports and a strong understanding of delivering dynamic guest needs and expectations.
• Strong financial and commercial management skills, including budgeting, forecasting, promotions and cost control.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal and conflict-resolution skills. Strong organisational skills with a high attention to detail including managing a dynamic Rota.
• Managing 5+ suppliers including activation requests at our large community event.
• Customer-obsessed with an ongoing continuous improvement mindset to achieve and spread excellence day in day out. Possess a natural desire of continuous improvement to improve all aspects of the facility.
• Experience in attracting new leisure guests across a wide demographic range & also retaining existing customers.
• Experience in the food & beverage/hospitality or Retail sectors.
• Ability to use their initiative on decision-making to ensure an agile, responsive working & to promote a social, warm and welcoming premium Padel culture.
• Experience of working with Revolut POS & Playtomic.
• Full Driving license.
• First Aid trained/qualification.
• IOSH – Health & Safety.
• Health and Safety qualification.

Benefits and Perks

• Up to £40,000 salary.
• Bonus (up to £5k per annum – more details available at the interview).
• 28 days holidays (equivalent of 5.6 weeks of holiday).
• 50% Friends & Family Club discount.
• Sponsor perks including 9% BYD vehicle discounts, discounted CoffeeB products & discounted trips to Barcelona.
• Opportunity to work in a fun, fulfilling, dynamic and high-growth racket industry within a start-up environment.
• Be part of a passionate and supportive friendly working culture.
• Make a positive impact on the lives of players by further building a culture of health, fitness & positive wellbeing.
• Career development opportunities in-line with the growth of the business.
• Free on-site parking.
• 16 weeks full maternity pay & 6 weeks full paternity pay.
• Child-friendly working environment & culture.