Operations Manager

About the Castle 

The Castle offers a diverse and wide range of Climbing facilities to cater for all. Based in N4 between Finsbury Park and Stoke Newington, the Centre itself is a Grade II listed Victorian Water pumping station, with a Café, shop, outdoor boulders and community gardens. A friendly and enthusiastic team we are passionate in providing the highest quality facilities in a fun, motivated, and inclusive environment. Sustainability is an important part of the Centre’s vision and values and is integrated into every aspect of the business, especially within our Café, where we try to source a lot of our produce from the community gardens onsite. 

About the role: 

Are you looking for a real challenge that will place you at the heart of one the world’s most iconic indoor climbing centres? As the Operations Manager you will oversee the day-to-day operations of the centre, providing a reference point regarding the management of daily activities for staff and customers, while ensuring that safety is paramount, and our customers have the best time ever. You will be responsible for the line management of two the Front of House teams - Duty Managers & Reception – and for the day to day maintenance of the centre. You will work closely with other managers to inform decision making and provide effective troubleshooting, leveraging the technical skills across the business to support your overall management of centre operations. The primary function of the role is to drive customer service standards while supporting the Front of House teams in their specialist roles. 

What we’re looking for: 

Knowledge 

Essential:  

• Experience within a Climbing Centre or sports facility of a similar size, or transferrable experience and a professional qualification
• Good understanding of people management and functional/systems review and planning 
• Solid business understanding and awareness 
• Knowledge of working within Health & Safety legislation and/or a heavily regulated operating environment, in particular for customer facing activities 
• Good understanding of the characteristics and qualities that customers want from leisure/recreational and fitness facilities 
• Knowledge of CRM and Pont-of-Sale systems and data analysis 

Desirable:  

• Good knowledge of the indoor climbing industry  
• Up to date First Aid at Work qualification 
• A willingness to understand technical information e.g. IT, telephony, wifi  
• A skill for creative and resourceful solution finding 

Experience: 

Essential  

• A proven record of effective people Management through Leadership and good communications 
• Experience of achieving results and making a positive difference to customer experience 
• Efficient Planning and Operational management of a similar/related business 
• Previous management experience in customer service or leisure industries 
• Financial control responsibility, preparing, reporting on and delivering the financial results 
• Experience of maintaining facilities to operational standards whether by own direct input or using external contractors 

Desirable: 

• Experience with front-end Point of Sales systems 
• Experienced climber 

Benefits: 

The castle has an Employee Benefits Trust and is therefore part employee owned. We have a generous benefits package including a health care cash plan with Westfield Health and an Employee Assistance Programme with Health Assured. There are staff discounts in our shop and café, and wider spots sector partner discounts, and regular staff socials and annual group trips abroad. 

To Apply: 

Please make sure you view the job posting on our website here: https://www.castle-climbing.co.uk/ops-manager-23 

This has a full job description and personal spec, with information on how to apply.  

Your cover letter needs to outline 2 key things: How you fit the role and why you want to work at the Castle. Applications without a cover letter cannot be considered.  Any questions about your application please email us.