Leisure Centre Manager in Walsall

Lift Rawlett Leisure Centre is a thriving community facility based within Lift Rawlett School in Tamworth. The centre provides high-quality indoor and outdoor spaces for sports clubs, fitness groups, community organisations and local events, playing a key role in supporting health, wellbeing and community engagement.

As part of Lift Schools, a national multi-academy trust of 59 schools, the leisure centre benefits from strong operational support, excellent professional development opportunities and a commitment to high standards.

We are now seeking an ambitious, commercially minded Leisure Centre Manager to lead the centre's operations, grow its community impact, and strengthen its relationship with the school.

Your new role:

As Leisure Centre Manager, you will take full responsibility for the day-to-day running and strategic development of the centre. You will ensure a high-quality customer experience, drive income generation and lead a small team to deliver safe, efficient and welcoming services. A key focus of the role will be building strong, positive relationships with the school and wider community, ensuring the leisure centre operates in harmony with the school's priorities.

Key responsibilities include:

• Leading the daily operations of the leisure centre, ensuring facilities are safe, clean and fully operational
• Developing and delivering a strategic plan to grow usage, income and community engagement
• Managing budgets, financial performance and pricing strategies to ensure profitability
• Creating and implementing marketing initiatives to increase bookings and participation
• Building strong relationships with school stakeholders, community groups and customers
• Recruiting, managing and developing a team of leisure centre staff
• Managing bookings, rotas and the effective use of facilities
• Ensuring compliance with health & safety, safeguarding and operational policies
• Acting as the main point of contact for the centre, including handling customer feedback and resolving issues

This role requires flexibility, including evenings and weekends, to meet the centre's operational needs.

What you'll need to succeed:

We are looking for a confident, proactive and commercially aware individual who can balance business performance with the needs of an educational environment. You will:

• Have experience in a leisure centre or facilities management
• Be a strong communicator, able to build relationships with a wide range of stakeholders
• Demonstrate a customer-focused mindset and commitment to high standards
• Have experience in financial management, budgeting and income generation
• Be organised, adaptable and able to work under pressure
• Have a good understanding of health and safety within a leisure environment
• Be confident using IT systems and booking platforms
• A GCSE in Maths and English (Grade 4 or equivalent) is essential.

What sets this role apart:

This is a unique opportunity to lead a community-focused leisure facility within a school environment. You will have the chance to:

• Shape the future direction of the leisure centre
• Strengthen the relationship between the school and the leisure centre
• Deliver a balance between commercial success and community impact
• Benefit from a strong benefits package not typically found in the private leisure sector.

We offer you:

• Comprehensive training: Access a wide range of developmental training to boost your career.
• Generous benefits: From your pension plan to healthcare and financial support, we've got you covered.
• Lifestyle perks: Enjoy discounted gym memberships and travel deals.

Ready to take the next step? Submit your application today - we look forward to receiving it.

Closing date: 8th May 2026. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early should we receive an overwhelming response. All candidates are advised to refer to the job description and person specification before making an application.

Lift Schools are committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our pupils, and we expect all our people and volunteers to share this commitment. We adopt a fair and consistent recruitment process which is in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance. This includes online checks for shortlisted candidates. All offers of employment are subject to an Enhanced DBS check, references, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check.

Lift Schools embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. Job share, part-time and flexible working opportunities will be considered. We are a Disability Confident Employer and there is a guaranteed interview scheme for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.