Head of Operations - London

Min 1 day working in our Covent Garden office, 2-4 days working from London sites of your choosing, 0-1 day at home.

Reporting to Sophie Marsh, our COO.

Runway East creates flexible workspaces across London and the UK. Our mission is to be the best place for ambitious businesses to grow. We care deeply about service, detail and ownership. As a proud B Corp and a growing company, we're building something long-term - for our members and our team.

The Job

This role is the operational lead for our London portfolio, overseeing 8-10 sites, a team of General Managers and Community Associates, and the full P&L. Reporting to the COO, you’ll own everything from standards to member experience, team performance, and site profitability. You’ll be building a high‑performing ops machine and raising the bar across the board.

Who you are:

• You’re a natural cheerleader - you walk into a room and the energy shifts. You celebrate wins loudly, challenge low standards, and your team genuinely feels more motivated after time with you.
• You find energy in people.
• You have a proven ability to get people to follow you and you make the work fun.
• You've managed managers - ideally GMs, site leads or area managers - and you know how to lead that layer without doing the doing yourself.
• You've built your career in fast‑paced, multi‑site service businesses - hospitality, leisure, workspace, retail, or similar - the pace and standards mindset matters more than the sector.
• You've worked in founder‑led, owner‑operated or scale‑up environments where you had real autonomy and ran things like they were your own.
• You understand the commercial side - specifically how all operational pieces drive occupancy and the bottom line, how to manage a P&L, and how to make trade‑offs under pressure.
• You’re direct, intelligent, and decisive - you tackle problems head‑on and don’t wait to be told.

What you’ll be doing:

• Lead and develop the London team (GMs, Site Leads and managers) set expectations, build capability and hold people accountable.
• Own site standards across all London locations, keeping them showroom‑ready at all times.
• Drive member experience - from first impression to day‑to‑day service to retention.
• Manage site P&Ls and hit profitability targets.
• Build and maintain the systems, cadences and processes that build a service first culture, drive excellence and occupancy.
• Be the escalation point for London - spot issues early, take decisive action, fix things properly.
• Work with the senior team on longer‑term operational strategy as the portfolio grows.

Why join us

• Real ownership of London operations - the mandate, the team and the accountability to drive excellence.
• Direct access to the COO and exec team - you'll be heard and your decisions will matter.
• A fast-moving company where you can make your mark quickly, not wait years to have an impact.
• 31 days holiday including bank holidays, plus birthday off and an extra day per year of service.
• Private health and dental, half‑price gym, mental health support and bike‑to‑work scheme.
• Personal development budget and access to learning resources.
• Annual team trip (Barcelona, Rhodes, Vilnius, Malta - among others).

Our Commitment to Inclusivity

We celebrate diversity and believe it strengthens our community. We welcome people from all backgrounds, identities, and experiences. What matters most to us is your spirit and passion. If you need specific access support, let us know—we’re here to help.