Gym Manager Job Description Explained

We’ll explore all areas of the gym manager job description as well as how you can make your ideal start on this career path!

This guide will cover the following:

• The Key Responsibilities Of A Gym Manager
• Key Skills Listed In A Gym Manager Job Description
• Qualifications Asked For In A Gym Manager Job Description
• Experience Asked For In A Gym Manager Job Description
• Working Hours Included In A Gym Manager Job Description
• How Much Can You Earn As A Gym Manager?

Before we discuss the gym club manager job description, one of the main ways to become the best gym manager is with a Level 4 Personal Trainer course, starting with our Level 4 Sports Nutrition Course.

You can help your staff by developing your knowledge, understanding the best way for them to help clients.

Discover more about the qualifications we offer by downloading our course prospectus.

The Key Responsibilities Of A Gym Manager

As with any managerial role, ensuring the smooth running of the business is the most important responsibility. 

The gym manager job description is no different, and encompasses a wide range of roles to keep everything efficient.

#1 - Motivating and Managing Staff Members

A gym club manager’s job description is similar to that of any other managerial position. This means being responsible for overseeing staff performance and ensuring duties are being completed.

It’s down to you to ensure disciplinary action is carried out whenever necessary and to set high standards for your staff’s performance. 

If your staff are becoming unfit themselves or being disrespectful to members of the gym, you must take the necessary action to improve this and resolve the issue.

As a gym manager, you must also confirm that all members of staff are qualified in the jobs they’re employed in, and are effectively trained to the highest level. 

For example, this job advertisement posted on Reed lists training and developing the team as part of the manager's responsibilities:

Being the manager of a gym means ensuring:

• Qualifications are up to date
• Conducting regular training classes
• Organising fitness assessments

The job description of a gym manager involves a significant amount of responsibility, as everyone who works at your company is essentially an extension of you.

Poor staff members are a reflection of you and the establishment you’re employed at. This is why it takes a dedicated individual to effectively manage a team of staff, ensuring they’re motivated enough to carry out their roles successfully.

#2 - Effectively Handling The Gym’s Finances

Depending on the size of the gym you manage, part of your fitness centre manager job description may involve dealing with finances.

It will be your job to ensure everyone is paid the correct wages at the right time. This means managing any adjustments, such as sick pay or staff absence, which will require more attention.

You will also have to keep track of customer payments, and budget for gym equipment if it gets damaged or needs replacing. 

Not purchasing new equipment could result in users injuring themselves, leading to further issues with your gym.

Other more general administrative duties that you’ll have to undertake to keep on top of the gym’s finances may include: 

• Keeping track of financial records
• Managing and balancing the gym’s budget
• Allocating funds to allow for special gym events and promotions

The extent of your responsibility will mostly depend on how large your team is. If there are a few administration staff members, these tasks will likely be delegated to them. However, you’ll still need to ensure this is done effectively and efficiently.

#3 - Organising Rotas To Optimise Staff Coverage

Part of the job description of a gym manager is organising work rotas to ensure staff work their available hours:

This can be a difficult task when you have to factor in various fluctuating factors, like:

• Annual leave
• Illness
• Unexpected absence

A fair rota ensures the smooth running of your business, and helps keep your staff content and happy in their roles.

It’s all part of your gym manager job description to keep your team working efficiently. This means creating a balanced rota that isn’t based on favouritism.

As gym manager, you should ensure all employees are treated equally by avoiding a rota that allocates favoured time to certain staff members, or continually changes working hours at the last minute.

Signs of a poorly constructed work rota include:

• Unbalanced workloads
• Staff shortages during peak gym times
• Same individuals constantly getting the toughest shifts

The last thing you want as a fitness centre manager is your staff believing you have favourites, and are constantly assigning others the best shifts.

Your role will be to distribute shifts evenly, providing each staff member with a mix of favourable and less favourable shifts.

This means having enough staff on the floor covering the most popular classes, while only having the staff you need during quieter hours.

#4 - Designing & Implementing Optimal Class Schedules

A key aspect of the gym manager job description is to design the class schedule for gym goers:

Regardless of whether this is something done on an annual, quarterly, or monthly basis, it’s important to get right!

As a gym manager, you should optimise the class schedule by paying attention to popular times and trends. You can hold popular classes at certain times that more customers are free to attend or schedule the work rota so the best teachers can work during these hours.

An example of a typical gym class schedule may look something like this:

Something to keep in mind is peak gym times are usually considered to be early morning before people head off to work (7:30am to 10am) and in the evening after work (5:30pm to 8pm).

It’s pointless to have generally popular classes such as Zumba or indoor cycling scheduled during times people aren’t typically available. 

#5 - Maintaining a Presence On The Gym Floor

While this isn’t something you’ll likely do as a gym manager for a larger company, if your gym is small or still establishing itself, your fitness club job description may involve dividing your time between:

• Managerial roles
• Administrative duties
• Teaching classes if needed

An example of this is for Body Culture in Chorley where gym managers are required to run classes and membership programmes:

In more intimate settings, personal training experience is also considered valuable and will often be listed as either necessary or preferable:

This means that, while it’s unlikely you’ll have to take classes or lead personal training sessions, you may find you're the only one qualified to do so if another staff member is off sick, leading you to step in for them.

Even in a managerial role, this is a great opportunity to continue practising your skills and continue with your passion for fitness.

When working in a larger gym, you may also find you still want to create a welcoming environment by being ‘front of house’ in the reception area, and greeting members when they arrive.

#6 - Maintaining Cleanliness Levels Across The Gym

Although cleaning isn’t something that will necessarily fall within the gym operations manager job description, it’s still an important part of a successful establishment.

As a gym manager, everything is a reflection on you. A constantly untidy gym will create a negative experience for members, making them less likely to return.

Think of it this way - would you want to attend a gym with equipment left lying around like this all the time?

Probably not! 

This can also be hazardous to gym members. If they suffer an injury as a result of negligence, you will likely be forced to take accountability as manager, even if it wasn’t your fault.

Although it can be difficult to make gym members tidy up after themselves, you can leave signs around the gym to inform people about what you expect from them. 

These signs could include reminders to:

• Wipe down machines after using them
• Place weights back on rack
• Clean mats when finished

This at least shows new members you recognise certain issues beyond your control but have made some effort to reduce the mess.

While larger gyms may have the benefit of hiring a professional service to clean their establishment, smaller gyms may not have that luxury. 

This means staff will have to be trained by you to successfully disinfect the areas around the gym.

To successfully ensure the gym is clean for members, part of your gym club manager job description is to create and enforce a cleaning schedule for in-house cleaning teams.

Consider keeping a cleaning log such as on a whiteboard or attached to a clipboard so there’s a visual record that can be logged when the task is completed. This may involve informing them of areas around the gym that require more focus and need to be sanitised regularly.

#7 - Ensuring Customer Satisfaction

Customer satisfaction is the most important thing for having customers return and recommend you to people they know.

The main goal of any business is to have returning customers, meaning it’s part of your gym manager job description to ensure they have the best possible experience when attending your establishment.

As a gym manager, you will be expected to deal with customer complaints in a professional and sensitive way, both in person and online.

You should always be open to feedback and criticism, even if it may be difficult to hear. How you respond to feedback is important as a manager. 

Reacting negatively can reflect badly on your gym, especially if people leave online reviews or testimonials for your personal trainers or gym instructors.

For example, here’s a review for a gym in London regarding a lack of cleanliness:

Regardless of whether you’d agree whether this is accurate, ensuring you respond in the most professional way is crucial for keeping the business in a positive light.

Take a look at how the gym manager responded:

They respond by apologising for the issues, and offer an explanation as to why this shouldn’t have occurred. What’s key here is that the response was polite and didn’t try to deny there may have been an issue at the facility.

As a way to continue to improve the gym, you may ask members to leave online reviews as a way to inform others about their experience using your services.

With the rise of customers leaving online reviews, this makes it even more crucial to ensure visitors to the gym you manage have a good experience. 

Reviews really can determine the continued success of a business!

#8 - Leading Impactful Marketing Projects

If you manage a growing business, your fitness club manager job description is likely to involve coming up with creative ways to help your gym appeal to potential customers.

Gym marketing strategies can help give you an idea of successful ways to appeal to the community as you may be spearheading these projects as part of your role as is the case with this job for Anytime Fitness:

Other marketing duties may include:

• Creating an inviting environment and community culture which appeals to new members
• Establishing business and corporate partnerships to solidify your presence in the community
• Managing general marketing duties such as the staff responsible for social media, leaflets, posters, and bulletins.

If you’re employed to manage a large gym or one that’s part of a chain, it’s less likely you’ll have to spend as much time marketing it to the public. These tasks can also be assigned to others, with you still having the final say on these projects.

#9 - Providing Guidance & Effective Leadership

It takes a certain kind of person to fit the gym manager job description as one of the biggest qualities in any managerial role is to be an effective leader. 

This may even be specified in the gym manager job description such as for this position in Warrington:

A great leader is one who ensures and encourages their team to work at the highest possible standard.

A good gym manager also has a strong understanding of the staff they oversee and are able to identify their strengths and weaknesses to keep the establishment running effectively.

Your team will look to you to make informed decisions and decide the best course of action to take during challenging situations, such as a fire, or severe injury where first aid is necessary.

This means you must have confidence in your ability to lead, and ensure the choices you make are the right ones.

There’s more to being a successful leader than simply telling people what to do and ordering them around. It’s down to you to take accountability when you recognise issues to be the result of your actions.

#10 - Managing Gym Events & Seasonal Promotions

Continuing from the marketing projects role above, part of your job description as a gym manager will be to oversee the running of the events or promotions you advertise to the community:

As these events will be a reflection of you and the establishment you manage, it’s crucial they’re successful and run smoothly to gain new customers.

Managing a smaller gym means overseeing every detail of a particular marketing event, from the creation process to the hosting of it. For example, you may be tasked with hosting a charity fitness event or a celebrity guest appearance at your gym.

Successful events and promotions can generate lots of positive publicity and if you have had close involvement from the creation of the idea to the event itself, this will reflect very well on you.

Other general tasks regarding the managing of gym events may include:

• Conducting and responding to feedback from surveys
• Creating and distributing promotion materials for events
• Incentivising staff and gym members with programmes, discounts, and events

These are all important to increase the flow of new members to your gym as well as keeping current ones.

#11 - Completing or Delegating Administrative Duties

General administrative duties of a gym include:

• Managing check ins or front desk operations
• Completing payroll, new hire paperwork, deposits, and business reports
• Managing maintenance issues with the building and equipment, inventory,  communicating with property management and nearby tenants 
• Keeping records and inputting data regarding gym memberships and payments

Once again, this will depend entirely on the size of the gym. Smaller gyms likely won’t have the capacity to give these tasks to a dedicated member of staff.

Although, while tasks can be assigned to other staff members in a large gym, you’ll still be expected to have an understanding about many of these duties.

Key Skills Listed In A Gym Manager Job Description

#1 - Exceptional Organisational Skills

As it takes a lot of work to be an effective gym manager, being organised is essential for success.

A major part of any fitness club manager job description consists of:

• Managing Rotas
• Organising the Payroll
• Keeping track of finances 

It's a position that requires a reliable person to keep the gym running smoothly, and it’s down to you as manager to ensure the most important responsibilities are prioritised and completed first. 

This keeps the business running smoothly as the role requires a level-headed person who understands exactly what needs to be done and when.

#2 - Excellent Communication, Both Verbal and Nonverbal

A successful gym manager not only needs great verbal and written English but also needs to be skillful when dealing with people.

The key to any establishment is clear communication between staff and customers. This isn’t just about talking to people, but knowing the best way to communicate in potentially difficult situations, such as with customer complaints or staff disciplinary meetings.

customers and staff want a gym manager who is approachable and sensitive to certain topics, and who can provide guidance and advice on their next steps. 

The last thing customers and staff members want is someone they feel anxious approaching or a manager who thinks the only way to communicate effectively is by shouting.

#3 - Strong Leadership Qualities

Being an excellent leader is crucial if you want to fit the job description of a gym manager. Depending on the size of the establishment you find employment at, it’s likely you’ll be in charge of a team of fitness professionals.

This may also mean having to teach classes or engage in group personal training if you’re the manager of a smaller gym.

It takes a good leader to go through the process of effectively recruiting, training, and supervising new members of staff. 

This also means being confident and firm when taking disciplinary action or dealing with certain customers.

#4 - Adept At Performance Management

When it comes to managerial responsibilities, the job description of a gym manager is no different to the general role of other managers. 

This involves monitoring, maintaining, and improving employee performance, alongside ensuring it keeps in line with the objectives of the establishment.

As gym manager, you will be responsible for setting both individual and group goals which are in line with the wider goals of the company. 

This will mean annual meetings to discuss various strategies and points, including:

• Employee progress and performance
• Areas for improvement 
• Opportunities to develop skills through reviews and assessments

Progress reviews can be a sensitive topic for some employees, meaning it takes the right gym manager to address certain situations in a sensitive and respectful manner. This can also involve disciplinary action, meaning you’ll need to know the best way to handle this.

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#5 - Proficient with Finances and Budget Management

Every gym manager wants their establishment to be popular, especially those working in independent ones. 

Plenty of customers will mean more responsibility as there will be a lot of finances to organise and keep track of.

Various financial duties you may be expected to undertake may include:

• Analyse financial reports and create strategic responses to findings that support the business
• Manage all aspects of financial management and reporting, including invoices, refunds, credits, closeouts, and bank deposits.
• Manage the studio budget, including reporting and responsible spending
• Continually reach monthly revenue and sales goals

While you’re not expected to have a background in mathematics, you should have some level of proficiency when dealing with finances.

When handling the employee payroll or managing the finances of gym members, you need to be able to budget and record payments effectively. 

Mismanaging this can reflect badly on your company, and may lead others to lack confidence in your ability as a gym manager.

#6 - Keen Ability To Recognise Opportunities For Business Growth

Although this may not be the first thing you think of when looking at a fitness centre manager job description, it’s still crucial to have a good understanding of business.

While the establishment is unlikely to be owned by you personally, the growth of the business is still a major part of your role.

Once again, depending on the size of the establishment, it’s likely you will work closely with marketing and sales managers to find creative ways to drive sales and increase gym revenue and its popularity.

#7 - Open & Responsive to Feedback

As gym manager, being open to feedback and criticism is essential if you want to be an effective leader. This feedback may come from the owner of the gym or even another employee who wants to discuss certain issues or concerns either about yourself or the company.

Every manager should lead by example! Although the gym manager job description may state you’ll be the one providing feedback to employers, this means you should listen and respect it if they provide you with it.

A good manager will listen to feedback, reflect on their attitude or the situation, and take necessary action to improve your behaviour in the workplace. 

The worst thing you can do after receiving feedback is to create a hostile work environment as a way to assert your authority. 

Being open to criticism and responding by changing your behaviour or addressing an issue shows you respect the opinion of your employees.

#8 - A Good Understanding of Marketing Strategies

A manager needs to understand the best way to grow a business and this is done by applying the right marketing strategies to help your gym thrive.

These marketing strategies can aid in key gym initiatives, such as:

• Growing the customer base by driving sales
• Building awareness of the gym you manage
• Expanding the company into other branches

Gym managers need to continually find creative ways to attract more customers and spark their interest. Some of these business strategies may include:

• Business Cards
• Social Media
• Referral Schemes
• Websites
• Paid Advertising

Driving these sales and having people coming back is what will make not only your gym successful, but also you as gym manager.

Qualifications Asked For In A Gym Manager Job Description

Now you know what’s in a gym manager job description, it’s time to find out what you need to become one!

Complete A Personal Training Diploma To Excel As A Gym Manager

If you’re yet to complete a Level 2 Gym Instructor Course, you may find a personal training diploma to be the ideal first step in becoming a gym manager.

This course will provide you with necessary knowledge and the skills you need to be successful in the industry.

This qualification is the gateway for you to become a personal trainer and, most importantly, the manager of a gym! 

Having this knowledge is crucial for you to fit the criteria of a gym manager job description and have an advantage over others in the industry as you will be armed with the necessary skills to find success in the industry.

Many establishments will also expect you to have at least some form of a qualification in fitness instructing or personal training.

For example, this fitness club manager job description lists a Level 2 Fitness Instructor qualification as a requirement and a Level 3 Personal Training qualification as ‘preferred’.

By completing the Personal Trainer Diploma, you will have both, allowing you to apply for this and similar roles.

Although a qualification in personal training isn’t listed as a requirement, having one would certainly put you at an advantage over others competing for the same job. 

As a gym manager, people will expect you to have a great deal of knowledge about fitness and personal training. 

This means it’s vital you equip yourself with enough information to effectively manage both a gym and team of other fitness professionals.

Insure Yourself & Staff As Gym Manager

As a gym manager, it’s important you have insurance to cover your establishment if any unexpected incidents occur such as:

• Customer injuries
• Injuries to yourself
• Theft
• Loss of equipment or covering damages

The reason you need this insurance is to protect both yourself and the gym you’re employed at. For instance, if a customer is injured during a class or as a result of faulty equipment, they could claim compensation from you.

Insure4Sport offers Specialist Gym Insurance to ensure protection for both you and the gym, something you should check the owners of the gym have.

This specialist insurance covers:

• Buildings: Protect your facility from damage and any repairs
• Contents: Protects your contents such as ground maintenance equipment from theft, loss, or accidental damage
• Public Liability: Protects coaches and players from third party injury and property damage
• Equipment Cover: Protect gym equipment from theft, loss, or accidental damage
• Employers Liability: Protect employees even if they’re volunteers
• Business Interruption: Cover loss of gross revenue or profit as a result of property damage

As a gym manager, if you have people working for or under you, it’s a legal requirement to have Employers Liability insurance. This is a requirement whether you have 2 or 200 people working in your establishment.

First Aid Certification To Protect Your Gym

Although providing first aid isn’t in the gym manager job description, it’s still a valuable thing to have.

By law, all gyms and fitness clubs are required by law to have at least one qualified first aid professional on site at all times. 

Some job advertisements may ask for it, such as for this fitness club manager position with Anytime Fitness:

Although it doesn’t necessarily have to be the manager who is qualified in first aid, if you’re responsible for running the gym, this knowledge is important in the event of an emergency.

Common first aid providers include the British Red Cross and St John Ambulance. These courses often take only a couple days to complete and you’ll receive an accredited certificate by the end of it!

Taking these courses can reassure members around the gym that you know what to do in the case of an emergency. It can also increase your employment prospects further as a gym manager.

Management Degree For Success As A Gym Manager

While you don’t necessarily need a degree in business management to become a manager, you may find this to be a valuable academic qualification.

The skills you gain while studying for a business management degree will enable you to have a positive and effective impact on the establishment you go onto manage.

A degree in business management allows you to develop a broad understanding of business organisations. It also provides you with knowledge in specific areas, such as:

• Finance
• Customers
• Communication
• Marketing
• Business Policy & Strategy
• Operations

You’ll likely gain other transferable skills such as:

• The ability to research, interpret, and use business and financial data
• A creative approach to problem solving
• Analytical and critical thinking
• Persuasive written and oral communication
• An understanding of organisational structure and behaviour
• Understanding of how economic and other external changes can impact and influence business

The majority of managerial roles, especially those in a gym, don’t actually require degrees in business management. 

Most of the time, practical experience in a particular job role like this can often be more sought after than academic study.

Experience Asked For In A Gym Manager Job Description

Depending on which gym manager job description you read, experience requirements will vary between establishments. 

Popular gyms located in cities will require a manager with a few years of experience in a relevant field, such as:

• Personal Training
• Assistant Management
• Management work in the fitness and leisure industry
• Sales Management 
• Group Exercise

For example, take a look at this gym club manager job description for Total Fitness in Wakefield. The job advertisement states a preference for 3 years experience in People Management and 1 year in General Management.

While this experience is ‘preferred’, those who are more experienced will have a clear advantage over those who aren’t. It also doesn’t factor in for any fitness experience, which may require personal training experience in addition to this.

Even gyms in smaller towns will likely be looking for managers with at least a couple years of experience. 

For example, while this gym manager job description in St Helens doesn’t require managerial experience, it still states a preference for at least 2 years of personal training experience.

This means for any fitness manager job description you read, it’s likely they’ll require a form of experience in some area of the fitness industry.

Working Hours Included In A Gym Manager Job Description

In the majority of gym manager job descriptions, these are usually advertised as full-time positions, requiring you to work at least 40 hours per week. This may also involve working evenings and weekends.

Even in a gym general manager job description, you’ll be expected to work at least 40 hours a week:

Weekend hours may vary as certain gyms close slightly earlier than they do during the week. However, you will still be expected to be available on weekends as many gyms remain open on these days.

For example, Village Gym run classes even on weekend evenings:

While this doesn’t mean as gym manager you’d be running these classes yourself, you may still be expected to be present during these times while the establishment is open.

This will increase in busier months such as January. Gyms are most popular during this time as a result of many people starting a fitness routine in the new year.

It’s likely classes will be held more frequently and working hours may extend during the evenings and weekends.

How Much Can You Earn As A Gym Manager?

According to over 500 salaries reported on Indeed as of 2023, the average salary for a fitness manager in the UK is £26,878.

Glassdoor challenges this salary, with an average base pay of £30,785.

Although this is based on only 72 salaries, it still gives you an idea of your earning potential as a gym manager.

However, there are a few factors that will determine salary, such as:

• Location
• Experience
• Independent or chain business
• Size of the establishment

A popular gym in a city that is part of a chain such as PureGym is likely to advertise a higher salary in their gym manager job description than an independent gym in a small town. 

An example of this is London, where people typically earn more as the cost of living is higher. For instance, take a look at these two job advertisements posted on Indeed:

The salary advertised for the gym manager job description with Nuffield Health in London is far greater than both the averages listed above. 

However, the salary for the gym manager job with Body Culture in the small Lancashire town of Chorley is below the listed salaries.

The location, popularity of the gyms, and experience are all relevant factors for the differences in salaries between these two establishments.

With over 113 Nuffield Health Fitness and Wellbeing Centres, they’re clearly looking for experienced managers to be the face of their brand. 

The popularity of these centres means the job will be more competitive, and the salary will therefore reflect this.

While you may start on the lower end of the salary spectrum, the earning potential can be more than £45,000! 

Gaining experience and working your way up to more prestigious establishments is the route you will have to take to increase your earnings in this career.

Before You Go!

Now you know the job description of a gym manager, it’s time to go out and get started on your journey.

To ensure you fit the gym club manager job description even further, check out our range of personal trainer courses, including our Level 4 Master Courses!

Want to find out more? Download our complete course prospectus or enter your details below.