Jobs in Knebworth

On behalf of a well-established, ambitious professional sports club, McBride Sport is delighted to be engaged to find an outstanding General Manager & Head Padel Coach to launch and lead a brand-new padel venue from day one. Our client is a professional sports organisation with a clear strategic vision for growth. Their newest venture is a three-court padel venue opening in October 2026, positioned as a “club within a club” a genuine members’ community with its own identity, backed by the reach, facilities, and commercial network of a professional sports organisation. This is a rare opportunity to build and drive the growth of a padel club from the ground up, and to make your mark on a sport that’s growing fast across the UK. The role combines two equally important responsibilities: off court, you will run the club as General Manager taking ownership of membership growth and retention, programming, business development, day-to-day operations, commercial growth, and the P&L and on court, you will be the Head Padel Coach, coaching 10–15 hours a week, setting the standard for the club’s padel programme, and recruiting and developing first-class freelance coaches around you. We are looking for someone entrepreneurial, commercially minded, hands-on, and driven to build something exceptional. This is a great opportunity for an experienced padel coach who is ready to step up into a leadership and business role, or for a club/venue manager with a genuine passion for padel. This will include the successful candidate being engaged to:

Build a thriving, active padel membership community.

Sell memberships, court packages, and corporate bookings, owning the pipeline from enquiry through to renewal.

Build and manage member communication channels, including WhatsApp groups and social media.

Be the visible face of the club locally, at the venue, in the community, at events and across the regional padel community.

Take full responsibility for the club’s P&L, including revenue delivery, cost control, and monthly reporting to senior management.

Manage the booking system and drive court utilisation across off-peak as well as peak hours.

Bring in corporate groups, local businesses, and community organisations.

Manage retail, equipment and refreshment offers, including stock and supplier relationships.

Ensure the venue is always operated safely and to a high standard.

Additionally, we are looking for the successful candidate to personally deliver 10–15 hours of coaching per week initially, across individual lessons and group sessions to maximise coaching revenue. As well as this you will design and run the full club programme: leagues, tournaments, club nights and social play, develop junior padel, including holiday camps and after-school provision, develop women’s padel through dedicated sessions, coaching and social programming and recruit, induct and manage two to four additional freelance coaches, setting standards, rates and quality control.

To be considered you must be a motivated individual with a recognised padel coaching qualification, experience coaching padel, or a related racket sport, to a good standard and willing to undergo an enhanced DBS check and obtain a safeguarding certificate and a first aid qualification prior to commencement, if not already held. You will have enthusiasm for growing padel and building a genuine community around it. You will be comfortable taking ownership and using initiative, especially in a new environment where things are still being figured out.

This is a superb opportunity to join a thriving club community in an exciting new venture