Director of Operations

Job description

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced Director of Operations to join a fast-growing, premium fitness business with an ambitious vision for growth. The Director of Operations will play a pivotal role in strengthening and scaling the UK operation, overseeing performance across multiple studios and developing the operational infrastructure required to support continued expansion. This is a commercially focused leadership role, combining strong financial and operational discipline with exceptional people leadership. The successful individual will work closely with the leadership team and General Managers to drive revenue, profitability, accountability and consistency across the business, while creating the systems and processes needed to scale without compromising the customer or brand experience. The Opportunity: This is an opportunity to join a business at an exciting stage of its growth journey. With multiple locations and further expansion ahead, the organisation is looking for a commercially minded operator who can bring structure, pace and accountability to a growing multi-site environment. The Director of Operations will have significant influence over how the business operates and scales. They will be trusted to understand the numbers, identify opportunities, challenge performance and coach the leadership team to deliver against clear objectives. A key part of the opportunity will be building a scalable operating model that enables the business to grow efficiently. This will include creating greater consistency between locations, improving processes, identifying economies of scale and ensuring that the operational platform is strong enough to support future UK and international expansion. The role will suit an individual who enjoys being close enough to the detail to understand what is really happening across the business, but who is equally comfortable stepping back to focus on strategy, performance and long-term growth. The Basics: ● Salary up to £80,000 (depending on experience) ● Full-time hours ● Operating across various Central London sites ● Opportunity to join small, dynamic UK team at the beginning of expansion! The Role: Commercial + Financial Leadership: Take ownership of operational performance and business metrics across multiple studios. Lead the development, implementation and ongoing review of meaningful KPIs, ensuring they are commercially relevant and aligned with business objectives. Take a proactive approach to P&L management, using financial data to identify opportunities, address underperformance and improve profitability. Work closely with finance and accounting partners to ensure accurate reporting, budgeting and forecasting. Analyse revenue streams across memberships, fitness services, retail, events and other commercial activity to identify opportunities for growth. Use data and insight to challenge assumptions, improve decision-making and drive sustainable profit growth. Develop a strong understanding of platforms including Mindbody and ClassPass, ensuring data is accurate, effectively managed and translated into actionable insight. Multi-site Operations: Provide strategic oversight across multiple studios, ensuring consistent operational standards and execution. Establish clear expectations and accountability for General Managers and their teams. Ensure the operational playbook is consistently implemented while allowing for the individual requirements of each studio. Identify recurring operational issues and implement sustainable solutions rather than relying on short-term fixes. Develop processes and systems that can be replicated as the business grows. Identify opportunities to improve efficiency and achieve economies of scale across the wider operation. Maintain brand consistency and a consistently high customer experience across locations. Visit studios regularly to understand performance, support teams and ensure standards are being maintained. Strategic + Hands-on Leadership: Provide the leadership team with clear reporting, insight and recommendations to support strategic decision-making. Take ownership of operational challenges and act decisively when issues arise. Be prepared to get hands-on when required, while maintaining the broader strategic perspective of the role. Reduce unnecessary owner involvement in day-to-day management by creating clear accountability and reliable operating rhythms. Continuously review how the business operates and identify opportunities to improve, simplify and scale. Help shape the operational strategy required to support the organisation's longer-term international ambitions. The Person: The successful candidate will be a commercially astute, highly capable operator with experience leading operations across multiple sites or locations. They will combine strong financial understanding with excellent people leadership and a genuine ability to translate strategy into consistent execution. They are likely to be someone who: Has significant experience in a multi-site operations, regional operations or senior operational leadership role. Has a strong track record of managing P&Ls and using financial information to drive commercial decisions. Is highly comfortable working with KPIs, performance data, budgets and forecasting. Understands how to translate numbers into practical actions that improve revenue and profitability. Has experience with Mindbody, ClassPass or comparable fitness, hospitality, leisure or consumer-facing platforms. Has exceptional people leadership skills and a proven ability to coach and develop General Managers. Is commercially driven and naturally focused on outcomes rather than activity. Can create structure and accountability without becoming overly bureaucratic or process-heavy. Is comfortable operating at both strategic and hands-on levels, knowing when each is required. Has experience implementing processes that can scale across multiple locations. Is confident challenging senior stakeholders and holding teams accountable. Is highly organised, analytical and comfortable working in a fast-moving, entrepreneurial environment. Understands the importance of brand consistency and customer experience within a premium consumer-facing business. Brings energy, resilience and a solutions-focused mindset, with the credibility to inspire confidence across the organisation. Above all, the individual will be a leader who can create clarity, raise standards and empower others to perform. They will bring the commercial rigour and operational maturity required to support the next stage of growth, while retaining the agility and hands-on approach needed in an evolving business. Your recruiter for this role is Izzy Roberts, Senior Recruitment Consultant at Jobs In. Fitness, and can be contacted simply by applying for this role below. Jobs In. Fitness are a fitness recruitment agency, specialising in hundreds of fitness jobs in the UK like these. If you are keen to be considered please ‘apply now’. Please note that only applicants matching the strict criteria above will be contacted as part of the recruitment process.