Overview
When it’s an extraordinary client experience, built around delivering Great Hair. Hair matters. Not just on the surface, but in deep confidence, in "this is who I am". When your hair feels right, you walk differently. You show up differently.
This iconic London hair and beauty brand understands that and has been obsessed with delivering ‘Great Hair’ for over three decades. Their reputation is built on expertise, creativity and a passion for giving clients hair that makes them feel amazing and in control.
From editorial shoots to celebrity clients, from red carpets to everyday Londoners who want to look their absolute best, they consistently deliver transformative results. These are more than hair salons, they are destinations. Not just places to get your hair done, but experiences where artistry meets service, where technical excellence combines with genuine care, and where every client leaves feeling more themselves than when they walked in.
A search of reviews today showed 4.8/5 across 1.4k reviews, with the most recent saying: "I continue my visits knowing that I walk out after my cut, feeling like a million dollars. I love the salon, not only for my hair but the staff who always care and make me feel so special. An amazing experience every time."
Now, as the business enters its next chapter under second-generation leadership, there\'s an opportunity to build on this strong foundation.
The CEO brings vision, passion and deep knowledge of the craft. What\'s needed now is someone to partner alongside him. Someone who can turn ambition into action, build the infrastructure for growth, and lead the team through the next phase of the journey.
If that could be you, then read on…
The Company
This private, family-owned hair salon group has built an enviable reputation and brand over 30+ years.
Currently with three top-end London locations and a team of 115 talented individuals to deliver extraordinary client experiences, the business generates c£9m in revenue through exceptional client service, creative brilliance and technical expertise.
Now led by the founder\'s son as CEO - himself a sought-after stylist regularly travelling for celebrity styling, fashion shoots and events - the business has grown and evolved into an iconic hair brand.
Successfully delivering such extraordinary client experience is operationally complex and complicated. The CEO excels at visionary thinking, brand building and exploring new opportunities for growth, so whilst he has led extremely well operationally, he recognises this is not his primary strength.
The brand reputation has never been stronger. The group also develops its own stream of new expert and creative talent through its in-house “Great Hair School”.
Now is the time to scale on that strong foundation.
Role and Leadership
To support that growth, we need the ideal 'Right Hand' as COO to lead, manage and grow this thriving company, alongside its creative and visionary CEO.
Core Values
* Fearless vision - Championing newness and innovation, always changing and learning, being the pioneers of hair and styling
* Limitless passion - Being enthusiastic about your craft, creating 'wow', always learning, thinking of this as a career
* Understated cool - Not being flashy, quietly individual, taking our jobs seriously but not ourselves, leading with humility
* An inclusive family vibe - Celebrating others\' successes, having each other's backs, taking responsibility, having empathy and kindness
What’s needed from this first COO hire?
You will take day-to-day operational leadership and management across all areas of the business, allowing the CEO to focus on vision, strategic direction, brand building and product development. You will act as a pragmatic 'filter' for strategy and plans, then work closely with the team to ensure effective execution.
Key focuses for the role
* Client experience – oversee people, service delivery, supply chain and logistics across three salons, maintaining exceptional client experience at every touchpoint, developing service systems, front-of-house, and operational resources
* Operational leadership and performance management – lead, manage and build accountability across all service delivery operations and head office functions, with the support of two experienced General Managers and a senior leadership team covering finance, HR, marketing and administration. Developing senior leaders to focus accountability as the business grows
* Growth - build revenue across existing locations through efficiency and service development, plus explore, plan, and project manage expansion and partnership opportunities. Introducing change and structure whilst protecting creativity and culture will be both a challenge and an opportunity
* People & culture – Inspire and motivate teams across all sites, build culture around core values, manage creative personalities, enable consistent internal communication, retain qualified stylists from the Great Hair School, and hire new talent as growth requires
* Collaborate with the CEO - filter and translate CEO\'s ideas into functional plans
* Financial and commercial management - P&L, budgeting, forecasting, reporting, track and analyse of performance, and identify opportunities for driving profit (with support from the Financial Controller)
* Strategy & planning - Deliver strategic execution, identify growth opportunities (significant potential within existing stores), explore new service offerings, sites and partnerships
* Technology & systems - Optimise existing digital systems (bookings, CRM, finance etc) and develop (or change) them as the business scales, without stifling the ethos of service excellence and creativity
* Regulatory & compliance – the role carries company-level accountability for H&S, safeguarding (e.g. apprentices), GDPR and employment law
The CEO has deep knowledge of the hair industry and his market, yet prefers data-driven decision-making to reliance on intuition. He's pragmatic and very open to evidence-based pushback that respects his expertise. He communicates directly and to the point – you’ll know where you stand with him, and he respects the same in return.
He wants to delegate day-to-day operational ownership, people management, P&L management, and project management of expansion opportunities.
You'll also need to keep in mind the family business heritage whilst building efficiency and accountability, communicate directly with data and evidence, and build trust through well-communicated plans and advice.
What kind of person might see this as a good fit?
* An Enabler of People and Champion of Processes - Great people deliver great experiences. We need you to enable the team with the infrastructure and culture to support them
* Open and communicative - a team player adept at coaching and supporting others to achieve their best work. You wield empathy not power
* Fast and efficient - clear focus on goals, moving forward systematically. You develop tested and documented processes to support excellent delivery. You don\'t 'flap' easily.
* Service oriented – you don\'t need to be expert in the hair salon industry (we have plenty of that expertise for you to learn from), but you must have a true understanding, affinity and experience of exceptional client service delivery – the details really count here (examples could be the beauty sector, hospitality or retail)
* Commercially astute – you can quickly analyse, understand and optimise key profit levers (pricing, margins, partnerships, revenue growth, cost optimisation etc)
* Holistic business experience in service delivery - you understand multi-site service businesses and have driven improvement across operations, financial management, and strategic business growth.
* GSD - get stuff done - a "completer finisher" who loves to see things through. You're okay with change and challenge, you keep focus and deliver
* Problem solver - comfortable with conflict, you face issues and resolve them practically and collaboratively
* Alert and curious - you think ahead, prioritise carefully, stay organised. At heart you are a problem solver
* Tech savvy - adept at optimising and developing service delivery and business systems (bookings, CRM and finance etc), and ensuring people are enabled to make the best of them, without stifling the ethos of service excellence and creativity
* A \'we\' thinker, high on empathy and low on ego - this is a second-in-command role in a family business. Not for big egos or ivory towers. You prefer to talk openly, plan solutions, and execute as a team
* You see the nitty-gritty as well as the big picture - overall responsibility for service delivery and operational development, but also key role in strategic thinking. You're 'the voice of reason' with big ideas too
* Growth mindset - ambitious for the company, team and clients. Confident encouraging everyone towards ambitious goals
* Comfortable with creative talent - you know how to build teams around core values, channelling creative energy and individual expertise productively and harmoniously
What’s in it for you?
* Newly created role in an ambitious, growing company - make it your own
* Partner alongside inspired CEO and dedicated team
* Excellent salary, benefits and profit-related rewards package
* Lead, grow and develop a skilled, motivated team
What Next?
* Please give me a head start by completing our brief “About You” questionnaire at: https://go.capability.consulting/COO-Hair-London
* Then, email a note via oliver@capability.consulting to share why this could be right for you.
Thank you,
Oliver Parker, Capability Consulting
By the way, I am a recruiter, though I am only interested in achieving a 'win/win' for you and the company I represent. I\'ve been paid, so only the right result matters - if you are a strong contender for this role, I will share all you need to decide if this is the opportunity for you. Warts and all. I won\'t waste your time, but I might help you into a role you\'ll love.
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