Managing Director in Newport, Wales

Meanwhile Creative is a founder-led business that transforms underutilised urban spaces into thriving creative communities built from shipping containers. Across the UK, we create affordable, characterful workspaces for makers, creatives, start-ups, entrepreneurs and independent businesses. Today we operate five sites, support around 1,000 tenants and generate more than £3m in annual revenue. But we’re only getting started.

With new locations launching, significant growth plans ahead and increasing demand for our model, we’re looking for a commercially minded Managing Director to help lead the next chapter.

This is a rare chance to join a successful founder-led business at the point where growth creates opportunity. Working directly alongside our Founder, you’ll become the operational and commercial engine behind the business. You’ll take ownership of day-to-day leadership, help deliver new site launches, strengthen operational performance, improve systems and processes, and play a central role in helping scale the business nationally. This is a hands-on leadership role.

What will you be doing?

• Leading the day-to-day operation of a growing multi-site business
• Supporting and developing operational leaders across the site portfolio
• Driving operational performance, occupancy, customer experience and commercial outcomes
• Improving systems, reporting, accountability and operational consistency
• Managing site expansion projects from approval through to launch
• Coordinating contractors, suppliers and delivery partners
• Supporting commercial decision making and growth initiatives
• Evaluating and helping execute new site opportunities
• Reducing founder dependency and increasing organisational scalability
• Helping create a high-performance, highly accountable culture

What will Success Look Like?

Within your first 12–18 months you will have:

• Successfully launched multiple new sites
• Reduced operational reliance on the Founder
• Improved visibility, reporting and accountability across the business
• Delivered projects on time and within budget
• Strengthened operational performance across the existing portfolio
• Created a more scalable operating platform for future growth

Most importantly: You’ll have helped put more containers on the ground and accelerated the growth of the business.

Who We’re Looking For:

We’re far more interested in capability and mindset than direct sector experience. You will have current or extensive experience in a scaling, multi-site environment. This could be from any of the below:

• Hospitality
• Coworking or flexible workspace
• Student accommodation
• Self-storage
• Facilities management
• Leisure
• Retail operations
• Logistics
• Franchise operations or any other complex environment

You’ll likely bring:

• Experience leading multi-site operations
• Strong commercial awareness and business judgement
• Experience managing managers and operational teams
• Budget and P&L responsibility
• Experience delivering projects, openings or site rollouts
• The ability to manage contractors, suppliers and external stakeholders
• A pragmatic, solutions-focused mindset
• Comfort operating within a fast-moving founder-led environment
• The confidence to make decisions and take ownership

Most importantly, you’ll be someone who enjoys building, improving and making things happen.

Why Join Meanwhile Creative?

This is a business with a clear identity, strong foundations and significant growth potential. You’ll receive:

• Significant autonomy and ownership
• Direct partnership with the Founder
• A genuine opportunity to shape the future of the business
• Exposure to growth strategy, expansion and commercial decision making
• Long-term progression potential
• Performance bonus
• Potential long-term incentive or equity participation
• A collaborative, entrepreneurial and non-corporate culture
• The opportunity to help build something genuinely different

For the right person, this is far more than a Managing Director role. It’s the opportunity to help scale a business with a unique proposition, strong commercial foundations and ambitious plans for growth. If the idea of building something rather than simply managing it excites you, we’d love to hear from you.