Places Leisure is part of Places for People Group, one of the UK's leading social enterprises. We operate leisure centres across the country with one clear purpose: to create active, healthy, and inclusive communities. Our mission is to help people live well through accessible fitness, wellbeing programmes, and community engagement. 

Our mission is to put people at the heart of everything we do delivering safe, high-quality facilities and innovative programmes that support local communities in achieving active lifestyles. We champion sustainability, safety, and outstanding customer experience, continually evolving our services to meet the changing needs of our customers. 

At Places Leisure, we believe that thriving communities are built through active participation, inclusion, and wellbeing. Our commitment to creating welcoming, supportive environments make us stand out, and we are passionate about making a positive impact on every individual and community we serve.  

Purpose of Role 

Following a recent review of our Group Board governance, we are establishing a new Board responsible for oversight of Places Leisure and we're seeking a Non‑Executive Board Chair to guide its direction, effectiveness, and integrity. 

We are excited to invite applications for the position of Non-Executive Board Chair at Places Leisure. This is a pivotal leadership opportunity for an accomplished individual with a strong record in executive roles, ideally with expertise in senior leadership in a large commercial organisation, ability to drive sustainable commercial growth, financial acumen, risk management and significant P&L experience.  

As our Chair, you will play a central role in shaping the strategic direction of Places Leisure, ensuring robust governance, and fostering a culture of openness, accountability, and positive impact. We are seeking someone who can quickly understand our complex group structure, bring energy and commitment to the Board, and help us deliver on our ambitions for sustainable growth, community wellbeing, and high standards of service. 

Places Leisure are looking for proven leaders with relevant skills and experience who can quickly get to grips with our complex group structure and bring commitment and enthusiasm to the board. 

Key Responsibilities 

As Chair, you will lead the Board in setting and developing strategic direction, ensuring effective governance, and building strong relationships inside and outside the business. You will foster open, constructive debate, champion our customers' voice, and be a visible ambassador for our 7,000 colleagues 

• Strategic leadership — shape, implement and evolve the Places Leisure strategy to maximise the success of the leisure business while contributing to the Group's overarching goals. 

• Governance — Ensure strong governance practices are followed, promoting transparency, accountability, and ethical standards across Board activities. 

• Culture & influence — Foster a culture of open, constructive debate and encourage all Board members to actively participate and contribute their expertise. Be a positive ambassador of our People and Customer promises. Visible leadership for our 7,000 Places Leisure Colleagues. Champion the customer voice and ensure it is heard at the highest level. 

• Support & challenge — Act as the main point of contact between the Board and the Managing Director, providing strategic support and challenge. Conduct the Managing Director's performance appraisal and provide feedback and guidance in line with PfP Group process and standards. 

• Board composition & effectiveness — lead Board recruitment, induction and succession planning; promote ongoing development; evaluate individual and collective Board performance annually and act on findings. 

• External representation — represent Places Leisure at key events and with stakeholders and media, safeguarding the reputation and integrity of Places for People. 

• Risk & safety — oversee risk management and compliance, with particular focus on health & safety across sites and customer safeguarding. 

• Collaboration — work closely with the Group Board and Committees, the PfP Executive and functional teams, adhering to relevant policies and standards. 

Person Specification 

All successful candidates will bring: 

Essential: 

• Board Director experience in Executive or Non-Executive capacity. 

• Strong understanding of the role of a Non-Executive Director and optimal functioning of a Board and relevant Governance standards; demonstrated through experience as a Non-Executive or Trustee in either a Board or Board Committee. 

• Experience of Executive / Leadership in a large successful consumer focused commercial organisation, typically retail, hospitality, leisure or similar. 

• Experience in driving sustainable commercial growth through diversification as well as organic growth. 

• Strong interest and understanding of the role of Leisure, Sport, Wellbeing in creating and maintaining healthy individuals, communities and society. This may manifest through leadership roles, volunteering or in another informal capacity. 

• Evidence of strong commercial acumen including financial fluency and risk management. 

Desirable:  

• Experience of Group organisations with matrixed management structure. 

• Experience of Chairing a Board or Committee in a corporate environment. 

• Significant P&L experience.  

• Experience of regional business 

Terms of Appointment: 

• Time commitment: 20 days per annum; initial three‑year term. 

• Remuneration: £31,112 plus reasonable expenses 

• Location: Quarterly Board meetings (online and in‑person) at Camberley head office or Kings Cross Group HQ; additional engagement at sites across the UK. 

• Selection process: Two‑stage interviews during April 2026 following initial HR screening. 

Our Commitment to Inclusion: 

Our company is for everyone. In our services, partnerships, and employment practices, our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion is absolute. We are determined to build a diverse Board and welcome interest from people who bring the broadest range of backgrounds and perspectives, including those from under‑represented groups. 

How to Apply 

To apply, please submit your CV and covering letter via our online recruitment platform. 

Closing date for applications is 31st March 2026 

What's next?

If you meet the criteria and are ready to make the next step in your career then apply following our simple 5 minute application process, upload a CV and a supporting statement which demonstrates how you meet the requirements of the role. If you have any questions please email the recruitment team recruitment@placesforpeople.co.uk 

As part of our commitment to diversity and inclusion, we offer a guaranteed interview to candidates who are disabled, neurodiverse, or have served in the Armed Forces, provided you meet the essential criteria for the role. If you would like to be considered under this scheme, please indicate this in your application. 

We are committed to creating an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. If you require any reasonable adjustments to support your application or interview experience, please let us know. We're happy to work with you to ensure you have the opportunity to perform at your best.

If you are a Places for People customer and you're looking for support with your application, please contact our skills and employment team on skillsemployment@placesforpeople.co.uk. 

Please note that we may bring the closing date forward, if we receive a large number of quality applications. If you are interested in this role we would advise applying immediately to avoid disappointment.

If you are using a mobile device such as an iPad then ensure your CV is stored in the cloud, we currently support Google Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox.

If you are a recruitment agency please note we operate a PSL and do not take cold calls.

Safeguarding

At Places for People, safeguarding is everyone's responsibility. We are committed to creating safe communities for our customers and colleagues by protecting children, young people, and adults at risk from harm, abuse, and neglect. 

We follow robust safeguarding policies and procedures, ensuring all employees, volunteers, and contractors uphold the highest standards of safeguarding and accountability. Our recruitment process includes pre-employment checks, including Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks where applicable, to promote a safe and secure working environment. 

By joining Places for People, you are expected to contribute to our safeguarding culture, following our policies and reporting concerns to protect those in our communities