Job Title Head of Centre, James’ Place Birmingham Salary £52,406 per annumStart Date Autumn 2025 About James’ PlaceSuicide is the leading cause of death of men under 35. Three quarters of those who die by suicide are men. James’ Place exists to save the lives of men in suicidal crisis through delivering clinical services. We currently have centres in Newcastle, Liverpool and London; and in early 2026 we will be opening our fourth centre in Birmingham. Our new centre in Birmingham will be there to support suicidal men living in the West Midlands. We offer men who are experiencing a suicidal crisis a brief, intensive, therapeutic intervention in a safe environment. Our trained, professional therapists deliver a proven clinical service in a warm and welcoming environment, ensuring that men are seen quickly at the point of crisis. We have so far treated over 3,100 men who might otherwise have been unable to access the support they so desperately need. Our proven, evidence-based service is designed for men who have arrived at a crisis point in response to predominantly social and psychological stressors, such as debt, bereavement, loneliness and relationship problems. We do not replicate or replace existing statutory services but instead work closely with the local NHS and wider services to ensure men who need our service can be referred quickly to us; we commit to seeing men within two working days of referral. The charity was set up by Clare Milford Haven and Nick Wentworth-Stanley in 2008 after their twenty-one-year-old son, James, died by suicide ten days after a minor operation. James had no history of mental illness or depression and had sought urgent help for anxiety and suicidal thoughts, but didn’t find it. We exist to make sure that men get help when they need it most. What makes us different· Treatment – Our treatment works. Men experience a clinically and statistically significant positive change following treatment and reduced levels of psychological distress1. · Time – We see men quickly with no waiting list. · People – All our therapists are trained professionals. Men have the same therapist throughout their treatment. · Place – We deliver our treatment in our safe, friendly and non-clinical centres. · Partners – We work alongside the NHS and other local support services, taking on clinical responsibility for the men we treat. The Role This is a new role and during their first months in post, the Head of Centre will work closely with the charity’s Expansion Manager and Clinical Lead to prepare for the successful launch of the new centre in Birmingham. This will include the development of referral partnerships with key services as well as involvement in the recruitment of the new Birmingham team. The successful candidate will receive intensive training in our suicide prevention model and during their induction, there will be a requirement to spend time in our existing centres in Liverpool, London and Newcastle to shadow our senior clinicians and deepen their understanding of the James’ Place ethos and culture. This is a key role in the organisation, leading our new James’ Place centre in Birmingham and taking overall responsibility for the clinical and operational management of the centre. The Head of Centre will lead a team of suicide prevention therapists and will take responsibility for the clinical oversight and governance of the Birmingham centre. The Head of Centre is the guardian of the ethos, culture and tone of James’ Place in Birmingham. The role will work alongside the Centre Manager, overseeing the day-to-day operations of the centre, managing budgets and HR, and ensuring the safe and effective delivery of our service. The Head of Centre is also responsible for managing and reporting on the results and caseload in Birmingham, ensuring these are communicated accurately and clearly. As the most senior clinician at James’ Place Birmingham, the Head of Centre will spend up to 20% of their time, delivering therapy and managing a caseload of men.The Head of Centre will also play a key role in raising the profile of James’ Place in Birmingham and the wider West Midlands and will work closely with our fundraising and communications teams to ensure that we are engaging with a wide range of local stakeholders and partners in order to drive referrals to the centre. They will work closely with our broad range of referral partners, including the NHS, community and charity partners. They will also work closely with our outreach team to ensure that men in crisis can reach us directly too. The role is expected to work highly collaboratively with our other Heads of Centre, our Clinical Lead and senior managers to work towards our strategic plan and meet our charitable objectives. Principal accountabilities Centre Launch · Support the recruitment and induction of the Birmingham centre team including the Centre Manager, Suicide Prevention Therapists and Administrator. · Work with the Expansion Manager and Clinical Lead to identify and develop key referral partnerships in the West Midlands. · Travel to other James’ Place centres and spend time shadowing the Heads of Centre. · Work with the Expansion Manager and Birmingham Centre Manager to manage the refurbishment and set-up of the new centre building. · Work alongside the Head Office team to support the successful launch of the new centre.Leadership and Management· Act as a senior leader in the organisation, building close working relationships across the charity, and ensuring a culture of excellence and improvement in all our work in Birmingham. · Work closely with clinical and non-clinical colleagues in the Birmingham centre and across the charity to further our mission to deliver urgent clinical services to men in suicidal crisis.· Develop and grow partnership and fundraising opportunities within the changing landscape of mental health provision locally.· Oversee management and maintenance of the building through management of the Centre Manager. · Lead and supervise the clinical team in Birmingham, ensuring that every man who comes to James’ Place receives first class treatment and support.· Maintain adequate staffing levels as guided by James’ Place policies and procedures e.g. sickness absence, performance management. · Ensure all staff members receive appropriate and adequate, internal and external supervision and that staff members receive appropriate PDRs and PDPs in line with the needs of the charity.· Develop new and existing engagement and referral pathways, ensuring high quality and informed referrals into the centre. Clinical · Be responsible for the clinical activity delivered at James’ Place in Birmingham, ensuring the safety of the men who use the service and their supporters. · Report on clinical outcomes for Birmingham, with oversight from our Clinical Lead, ensuring timely and accurate data collection and analysis. · Manage local clinical governance, including risk assessments, with support from the Senior Management Team (SMT). · Report on clinical metrics and wider progress across the Birmingham centre on a weekly and monthly basis. · Work closely with the clinical lead to manage evaluation and research, particularly around Birmingham data and outcomes. · Act as an expert user of our clinical information system. · Ensure appropriate care and management of all service users and their supporters.· Carry a clinical caseload (approximately 20 per cent of working time). · Create an environment in which confidentiality, privacy and dignity are respected and be clear with service users about limits of confidentiality.· Ensure that the whole team is aware of and proficient in avoiding stigma and promoting social inclusion, equality and diversity. · Ensure that all staff are trained appropriately in suicide prevention and in the James’ Place intervention model.· Ensure respect and sensitivity to service users' gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, age, background (including cultural, ethnic and religious background) and any disability.· Provide cover for other Heads of Centre if required.· Lead incident reviews and ensure appropriate safeguarding of men in our care. Represent the charity externally at local safeguarding and risk management forums.Fundraising and finance· Manage the Centre budget, and develop an effective working relationship with our finance team, with support from the senior management. · Maintain accurate and auditable budget records.· Represent James’ Place at a local level, establishing new relationships and continuing to foster established relationships with stakeholders.· Represent James’ Place in the media and at events, sharing learnings and promoting our work.· On occasion, represent James’ Place at a national level.· Work closely and effectively with our local fundraiser and wider fundraising team, to meet agreed targets and KPIs, offering leadership and guidance on a local basis
Job Title
Head of Centre