General Manager – Eddie's Doggy Daycare (Essex/Herts)
£38,000–£40,000 + profit-linked bonus
Eddie's Doggy Daycare is a well-established, profitable business , 12 years trading, a team of ten, a ten-van collection fleet serving West Essex and East London, currently operating across two centres with plans to consolidate into a single expanded operation.
This is a genuine General Manager role . The business is entering its next chapter: strengthening its management team and reshaping the operation for long-term growth.
You'll run the whole business with full delegated authority, people, operations, customer experience, and the P&L. Reporting to the owner through weekly KPIs and a monthly business review. You'll help shape what the next version of this business looks like, backed by fully documented systems (a complete operations manual, SOPs, and training programmes) and an owner who wants to delegate.
If you're an experienced manager who's been ready to run the show , this is that role.
What you'll own
- The team. Lead, develop, recruit, and hold accountable a team of ten, including site management. The full employee lifecycle sits with you, and building the management layer beneath you is your first major project. This is the heart of the role.
- The P&L. Budgets, revenue targets, pricing input, and cost control, working with our accounts team. Your bonus is tied directly to the profit you influence.
- The operation. Day-to-day running of the centres and the van collection fleet, delivered through your site teams. You lead the operation rather than being another pair of hands in it.
- Compliance and welfare. Full accountability for animal welfare licensing conditions, health and safety, and risk.
- The customer. Retention, service standards, complaint resolution, and working with our marketing partners to drive growth.
About you
- Solid management experience in a people-heavy operation — hospitality, childcare, leisure, retail, or animal care — where you've run a team and carried real responsibility for results. You may be a strong deputy, centre manager, or ops manager ready for the full GM seat.
- A genuine people leader: you build accountable teams, have the difficult conversations early, and develop the people under you.
- Hungry for real autonomy — you've delivered without close supervision before.
- Energised by building and improving, not just maintaining.
- Passionate about dogs and uncompromising on welfare standards.
- Full UK driving licence (occasional van cover in emergencies only).
- Level 3 Animal Management qualification a bonus, not a requirement.
What we offer
- Full operational control of a profitable, with 12 years of trading history and real growth headroom .
- £38,000–£40,000 base plus a profit-linked bonus.
- Free daycare for your own dog, and a team that genuinely loves the work.
To apply, send your CV along with short answers (a paragraph each is plenty) to the following four questions:
- Tell us about a time you ran an operation where the senior leadership wasn't present day-to-day. What did you change without being asked, and what happened?
- Describe the most difficult people-management situation you've handled — a underperformer, a conflict, or a formal process. How did you approach it, and how did it end?
- Give an example of a decision you made using numbers — costs, revenue, staffing levels, or margins. What did the data tell you, and what did you do about it?
- Why does running a business like this — dogs, vans, a small close-knit team — appeal to you at this point in your career?
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: £38,000.00-£40,000.00 per year
Experience:
- management: 2 years (required)
Licence/Certification:
- Driving Licence (required)
Work Location: In person
