Club Manager

PADEL ATHLETIC
Founding Club Manager - Matraville, Sydney, NSW
Full Time  |  $85,000 - $105,000 + performance bonus  |  Open to global talent and can provide visa support 
About Padel Athletic
Padel is the fastest growing sport on the planet, and Australia is ready for takeoff. Padel Athletic exists to build clubs where people become players, fans and friends, on and off the court. Our first club opens in Matraville, in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs in late 2026. It won't be our last. We're building towards 20 clubs across Australia within five years. 
We hold one belief above all others: the clubs that win will go beyond renting out courts. They'll create communities, build relationships, and become a home away from home for our padel family. Every decision we make, from programming to fit-out to hiring, starts there. This is your chance to be there from day one. The person we hire won't inherit a playbook — they'll help write it. Your fingerprints will be all over how the club runs and how our brand comes to life. 
The role
From day one, the club is yours to run, on and off the court. You'll help build the team, set the bar for what members experience every time they walk through the door, grow membership and revenue, stand up the coaching program, and drive the social and competitive life of the club. 
Above all, you'll be the club's community builder in chief: the person who knows members by name, connects players to each other, and turns a facility into a place people belong. You'll work shoulder to shoulder with the founder on where the business goes and what it feels like to be part of it. We're looking for a builder, someone energised by creating something new rather than keeping an existing machine ticking over.
The autonomy is real, but you won't be doing it alone. You'll be partnered with the founder day to day, backed by a board of advisors spanning strategy, sports operations and brand, and surrounded by a rock star team who care about this place as much as you do.
You’ll be measured on more than the numbers. Membership, revenue and retention matter, but so does the first Padel Athletic wedding, and the first Padel Athletic baby. Harder to count. Every bit as important.
While this role is anchored to our first club, it doesn't end there. As we scale across Australia and New Zealand, there is a clear path for the right person to level up into senior leadership, overseeing multiple locations and helping shape the company itself.
What you'll be responsible for
Club operations

• General club operations: courts, F&B and retail.
• Leading and growing a team of 3-6, including a casual coach pool
• Owning the member experience, from a first casual visit through to long-term loyalty
• Hitting membership and revenue targets. Learning which levers to pull and when. 
• Managing bookings and scheduling
• Building strong supplier and vendor partnerships
• Keeping the facility maintained and presented to a standard you'd be proud to show off
• Reporting to the founder on the numbers that matter

Padel and Community

• Running everything that happens on and around the courts: coaching, bookings and community
• Building a clinic and coaching timetable that serves everyone, from beginners to advanced players.
• Creating intro sessions that turn first-timers into regulars, and regulars into members
• Deliver tournaments, social events and activations that bring people together and drive growth
• Building the rituals that make a club feel like home: club nights, regular socials, member milestones and the small touches people talk about
• Getting a junior program off the ground within six months of opening
• Flying the Padel Athletic flag at regional and national padel events

About you
You don't need a padel background; you'll fall for the sport as fast as everyone does. What matters is a real love of sport, fitness or hospitality, and an instinct for bringing people together. You spot the small stuff before a member ever has to mention it. You treat the program like a product: something to be designed, measured and improved. And you understand what we understand: courts get people in the door, community keeps them.

• 3+ years running a club, venue or sports operation as a General Manager, Club Manager or Operations Manager. Fitness, sport, hospitality and wellness backgrounds all welcome
• Commercial instincts: you know what drives revenue, protects margin and keeps members renewing
• Experience creating programs, events and communities from a standing start
• A natural relationship-builder with strong communication and leadership skills
• Comfort with the booking, POS or CRM platforms used to run a venue
• A fix-it-first attitude and personal standards you refuse to drop
• Availability to work non-conventional hours, such as (some) nights, weekends and other times a padel club comes alive

Highly desirable

• Coaching experience in racquet sports, with a recognized qualifications.
• Competitive playing history (any racquet sport)
• Time spent coaching juniors
• A record of running tournaments and competitive club events
• Global padel connections: international experience or languages that plug into the sport's worldwide network

Why join Padel Athletic

• Join the team in time to write your initials in the wet concrete; your fingerprints will be all over this place
• A runway into multi-site and senior leadership roles as we grow across ANZ
• A true partnership with the founder, an experienced board of advisors behind you, and a real say in culture and direction
• $85,000 to $105,000 with upside tied to performance
• A front-row seat to a sport about to take off in Australia
• The chance to introduce a generation of Australians to their new favourite sport
• A place you'll love working and playing

To Apply: Email james@padelathletic.com.au with your CV