General Manager - Project manager
Location: Midlands
Salary: A£80,000 - A£90,000+
The Opportunity
I am working with a new leisure destination ready to start construction, with planning underway and opening on the horizon. This is a pre-opening General Manager hire – someone who will take the site from construction to a fully operational, high‑performing venue. This is not a steady‑state role. The first 12‑18 months will be intense: building the team from scratch, creating systems and SOPs, managing contractors and suppliers, and leading the site through ground zero to launch into live operations. You'll work closely with ownership and must be equally comfortable shaping strategy and solving real‑time operational challenges on the ground.
What We're Looking For
* Experience in driving projects from start to completion and someone who has already done this – not someone learning on the job.
* Full P&L accountability across a complex, multi‑revenue operation. You've led the whole business, not just a function.
* You've taken a venue from 0 to 1 – hiring teams, building processes, dealing with contractors, writing SOPs and opening the doors yourself.
* You lead from the floor. You're visible, involved, and comfortable stepping into the detail when it matters.
* Experience managing peak demand, seasonality, and operational pressure in real time.
* You don't just manage people – you build teams that perform, stay, and grow.
* Experience in complex leisure, hospitality, or entertainment environments with high footfall.
* A track record of delivering under pressure in ambiguous, build‑phase environments.
Disclaimer
This is not a role for someone used to large corporate support structures or purely strategic oversight. I need a builder – someone comfortable with ambiguity, sleeves rolled up, taking full ownership of outcomes.
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