Now Hiring! Director of Business Operations.

Job type: Exempt/Full-Time.

Salary: $125k-$165k.

Location: Miami, FL, with travel required up to 50%.

Who Are We? www.rocketyouth.com

About Rocket Youth

Rocket Youth owns and operates a growing portfolio of youth sports, enrichment, and after-school businesses across the United States. Our platform is intentionally multi-brand and multi-location, with each business maintaining its unique identity and local market focus.

We are highly acquisitive, completing approximately 10–15 acquisitions per year. Most of our companies are founder-led, with experienced local operators managing day-to-day operations.

Rocket Youth provides operational leadership and support services to improve performance and scale. These services span marketing, CRM, analytics, M&A, and De Novo expansion, accounting, finance, HR, capital, and more.

Summary:

As Director, Business Operations, you will own the performance of a portfolio of recreational businesses, initially focused on gymnastics and swimming schools, with the opportunity to expand into other divisions based on your performance.

You will not manage daily operations at the individual locations. You will set direction, diagnose issues, drive execution through local leaders, and be accountable for results.

You will have authority to make changes, but that authority should be used with judgment, because many of our local operators are founders and partners in their respective businesses – a core tenet of our partnership model.

What’s in it for you?

Competitive salary.
Remote may be considered.
401(k).
Health, dental, and vision insurance.
Life and disability insurance.
Employee discounts.
PTO and more.

What You’ll Do:

Portfolio Oversight

Manage an initial portfolio of ~5 businesses, scaling to 10–15 in steady state.
Oversee a mix of single- and multi-location operators with varying systems and maturity levels.

Own Business Performance

Hold full P&L responsibility across your portfolio.
Set strategic priorities and roadmap (locally and portfolio-wide).
Identify underperformance and business risks early and take corrective action.
Run monthly operating reviews with partners and the executive team.

Grow Enrollment & Revenue

Increase enrollment volume without compromising safety or customer experience.
Improve class utilization and schedule efficiency.
Own pricing and promotional strategy.
Introduce new programs, formats, and SKUs as appropriate.
Lead new location launches from planning through post-opening performance.
Partner weekly with marketing to ensure effective execution.

Improve Lead Conversion

Increase speed-to-lead and follow-up discipline.
Improve lead → trial → enrollment conversion.
Strengthen local sales processes and accountability.
Ensure marketing demand converts into enrollments.

Reduce Churn & Increase Lifetime Value

Identify root causes of customer attrition.
Improve onboarding and early engagement.
Implement retention and “save” strategies.
Reactivate churned customers.
Cross-sell additional programs.

Labor & Organizational Effectiveness

Redesign org structures when needed.
Clarify roles across coaches, admin, and leadership.
Align staffing with schedules and enrollment demand.
Improve labor productivity without compromising culture or safety.
Hire, replace, or upgrade local leadership when necessary.

Lead Turnarounds

Diagnose root causes of underperformance (leadership, pricing, funnel, labor, etc.).
Develop and execute turnaround plans.
Drive execution through local leaders.
Step in decisively when needed, without assuming daily operations.

Integration, Safety & Corporate Interface

Support M&A integration of newly acquired businesses.
Implement HQ systems and processes across portfolio (e.g., UKG, Ramp, GHL).
Enforce safety standards and compliance.
Serve as primary liaison between operators and HQ.
Manage vendor, landlord, and CMS provider relationships.
Standardize and improve CMS usage.

Performance Metrics

Enrollment Growth.
Revenue Growth.
EBITDA Growth.
Lead Conversion.
Retention & Churn.
Reactivation.
Class Utilization & Schedule Efficiency.
Labor Productivity.

Requirements:

Experience

Experience leading multi-unit, brick-and-mortar businesses.
Preferred: Experience operating gymnastics businesses.
Alternatively: Experience running service-based, youth/family-oriented retail, sports, education, or entertainment businesses.
Experience with membership, subscription, or class-based business models preferred.
Demonstrated history of driving growth through volume (not just pricing).
Experience operating in SMB environments with imperfect systems.

Work Environment Expectations

Comfortable working with founder-led businesses and strong personalities.
Ability to operate in non-standardized systems.
Willingness to support peak demand periods (after school, evenings, weekends).
Commitment to safety and customer experience as non-negotiables.
Execution-focused mindset.

Skills & Knowledge

Business & Financial Acumen

Strong P&L ownership and operational management.
Understanding of enrollment-driven and capacity-constrained business models.
Knowledge of pricing strategy, promotional planning, and revenue optimization.
Labor planning and productivity optimization.

Leadership & Execution

High emotional intelligence (EQ).
Strong judgment and bias for action.
Ability to influence and overcome strong opinions.
Skilled at driving results through others (not acting as an external advisor).
Comfortably making firm decisions when necessary.

Operational & Systems Knowledge

Experience with non-standardized or developing systems.
Familiarity with CMS platforms and operational software.
Ability to improve processes and drive standardization.
Strong turnaround and change-management capability.

RY is an equal opportunity employer, considering all applicants for employment regardless of race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, marital status, physical disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by state or federal law.

Rocket Youth

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Director of Business Operations