National Careers Week

Ben Senior

Operations Manager, Rotherham Leisure Complex

I started back in 2016 as a multi-skilled apprentice through a programme set up through lifetime, giving me a scope of all areas of the business right away.

I then undertook a 30-hour contract under my apprenticeship covering the gym floor, and the pool as a lifeguard as well as undertaken reception tasks and administrative duties to help the swimming co-ordinator at the time.

Following this I was then offered an opportunity to move to the sales side of the business, after a probationary period I was then offered the role full time.

From here I took part in Marketing roles on secondments, and moved across to Graves Health and Sports Centre where I spent a year learning the management side of the business, I then saw an opportunity arise for Placemaker Manager at Maltby, I applied and was successful after a brief support period at Rotherham Leisure Complex

Following this I decided it was time to move back into operations in order to ensure the progression route to General Manager was more available, after speaking with Rich he kindly ensured I was supported to develop further.

I am now the operations manager at Rotherham Leisure Complex the flag ship site in the contract, I must thank the team that have supported me to gain my qualifications and develop me as much as they have

I look forward to my future with places leisure!

Chris Marshall

Contract Fitness Manager, Wandsworth Contract

I gained my level 2 fitness qualification in 2005, after deciding to make a career change, whilst working in a toy shop. I took my first role in the fitness industry, in sales for Fitness First, in 2007.

After 6 months in sales an opportunity arose at Nuffield Health in Fulham as a Fitness instructor. I started this role in January 2008, a great way to start the new year! After a few months I began studying for my level 3 Personal Training qualification, as an NVQ, and passed in February 2009.  I remember after I completed my first ever PT session, I walked down the stairs and two of my colleagues were at the bottom cheering and clapping.

I continued to work at Nuffield until I saw a vacancy for ‘Assistant Fitness Manager’ at Putney Leisure Centre. After a successful application, I started my career with Places Leisure in 2011, as Assistant Fitness Manager. Having come from a Private members health club, a leisure centre was quite different; busier, wider range of clientele and offering a different range of services.

About 6 months after I started, my manager had decided to hand in her notice so an opportunity to step up had opened and the company were looking at restructuring fitness. Putney was to be the first site to launch a new personal training model and a new staffing structure. Having been successful in my application for the Fitness Manager, I was now going to launch a new model and help restructure the way the company delivered personal training.

During my time as Fitness Manager, I helped the centre through two gym refurbishments, delivered a company leading PT programme, installed a Queenax frame and developed a successful small group training programme.

After 7 years of leading the fitness team at Putney, I decided to look for the next chapter. This led me to apply for a General Manager position at Roehampton Sport and Fitness Centre. It was perfect for me to gain some valuable experience as a General Manager.

I started as the General Manager in January 2019. Having had a difficult 3 years at Roehampton, I wanted to move on, in January 2022, I became Contract Fitness Manager for the Wandsworth Contract. My role here is to support the General Managers and fitness teams. I also lead on our COVID recovery programme.

Whilst it is early days, I am enjoying my new role more and hope that I am making a difference within our contract

Raj Kahlwan

General Manager, Sparkhill Pool and Fitness Centre

I have always had a passion for fitness and started my career as a leisure attendant with Derby City Council, as there are numerous avenues available for anyone who wants to develop within this dynamic industry. I developed my skills within reception, sales, events, lifeguarding, duty management and progressed to the role of Operations Manager.

I am passionate about seeing the great impact we have on our Community and I truly believe in the importance of an active lifestyle for physical and mental wellbeing. 

I re-located to Wolverhampton, where I joined Places Leisure as a Duty Manager. I left to go on maternity leave and had a beautiful baby boy and was nominated for the ‘Rising Stars’ programme in my absence.

The opportunity arose for a promotion to the role of General Manager of a brand-new centre, and the learning curve has been vast. I am exceptionally proud of our team of 92 staff members. The success of our centre is down to the efforts of each and every one of them, day in day out, with key milestones including achieving Quest ‘Excellent’ accreditation, hosting a BBC ‘Get Inspired’ documentary showcasing the importance of female participation in swimming, interviewing with Ankur Desai on BBC Radio Asian Network to raise awareness of the importance of water safety, and forming a key partnership with the RLSS to support Project Diversification- Ruth Lee Commitment Social Fund.  

The development journey continues, having recently completed the Company’s ‘Lead with SPIRIT’ programme, but in all honesty, I am still learning something new every day, with the support of my line manager and mentor. I am extremely proud of my role as General Manager at Sparkhill Pool and Fitness Centre, and I am grateful for the support and opportunities that I have been given since working here. I look forward to continuing to play a valued role in the site and Company’s evolution. 

I started working for Places Leisure in December 2011 when we were still DC Leisure. The first centre I worked at was Sam Jones, now Places Gym Sheffield, as a part time Personal Trainer, within my first year I was successfully appointed as the Senior Personal Trainer and became full time.

This new job role gave me a greater insight into leisure management and gave me the desire to progress within the management structure. As Places Gym Sheffield is a dry site and isn’t ran on behalf of a local authority it soon became apparent that to achieve this, I would need to gain experience in wet side operations and improve my understanding of the relationship between Places Leisure and their local client. As a result of this I moved to Aston cum Aughton Leisure Centre within the Rotherham contract where I was given the opportunity to gain my NPLQ and pick up a lifeguarding contract while still continuing with my personal training. I was also given the chance to become a casual Duty Manager and gain my PPO.

In April 2016 I was appointment Fitness Manager at Wath upon Dearne Leisure Centre. This role gave me the chance gain the much-needed experience required to become a manager and leader.

It was also during my time within this role that I set my career goal on becoming a General Manager. I worked closely with the centre manager, reviewing P&L, completing business reviews and learning new ways in which to motivate and direct my team to achieve the required success to continue to support and grow the business.

In July 2017 I took an opportunity to become a Duty Manager at Rotherham Leisure Complex. During my time at Rotherham, I was fortunate enough to be put forward to the company’s Rising Stars Programme, which took place over a 6 months period. During this time, I also had a short secondment working within the sales team due to a change in staff.

In October 2018 I returned to Wath upon Dearne leisure Centre as General Manager, transferred back to Aston cum Aughton leisure centre in April 2021 as General Manager and final moving to Maltby Leisure Centre in January 2022.

Fitness has always been a passion for me, but my motivation really elevated after I had my little ones. I am a mum of four and I wanted to keep my energy high, feel strong, and not get tired so easily. After accessing the Places Leisure site, I asked whether there were any job opportunities as I loved the environment. I started as a casual receptionist, and absolutely loved interacting with the members. I gained further skills by working in sales and enjoyed encouraging more people to get active.

I gained a multitude of fitness and group exercise qualifications and I really enjoyed getting more active and helping all of the diverse customers to achieve their goals. It’s genuinely rewarding to help people open up, talk about taboo topics in fitness such as returning to fitness after motherhood, and to share our journeys and get stronger together.

I am proud to say that I have now progressed to the role of Fitness Manager, and I Love my team and keeping everyone motivated. I am a firm believer of self love. To love yourself is to love your health- which allows you to spread positivity to others.  

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