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Release Counselling and Therapy for Women is entering an exciting new chapter.
Founded in Brighton and Hove in 2013, Release has grown from a small local charity into a financially robust organisation with a growing national reach. Under the leadership of our outgoing CEO, the charity has been transformed—moving from a challenging financial position to one with strong reserves, clear sustainability, and ambitious plans for growth.
We now provide affordable 1:1 online counselling to women across the UK, alongside specialist group programmes supporting maternal mental health and key life transitions. One-to-one counselling is a core offer and a vital income stream, enabling us to extend our reach while staying true to our values.
This period has also seen Release grow to working with over 20 dedicated volunteer counsellors, strengthening our capacity and community impact.
As our CEO steps down, Release is ready for its next phase—building on strong foundations, amplifying our national impact, and remaining firmly rooted in our purpose: being a charity that supports women’s mental health, run by women, for women.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Lloyds Bank Foundation
Head of Programme Design and Organisational Development
Starting Salary: £66,438 (if London-based); £61,872 (if not London-based)
Contract: Full-time, permanent contract (we are open to conversations about flexibility - so please ask)
Location: Remote role - can be based anywhere in England or Wales with an expectation of frequent travel across England and Wales
About Lloyds Bank Foundation
Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales is an independent charitable foundation, backed by Lloyds Banking Group and the people within it. We want everyone to be in a good place - personally, in a home that’s a good place to live, and in a community that’s a good place to belong.
We play our role by connecting and catalysing community-led change, providing the money, time, tools and connections that build organisations’ capacity and capability, to make people’s lives better and their communities stronger.
We back people and communities across England and Wales, to make that happen, because when you back brilliant people, brilliant things happen. Our communities are full of ambitious, energetic and determined people stepping up to make their neighbours’ lives better and their communities grow stronger. Day in, day out.
About the Role
This is a leadership opportunity to shape how the Foundation designs, delivers and strengthens its programmes across England and Wales.
As Head of Programme Design and Organisational Development, you will lead the Foundation’s approach to programme design, organisational development and volunteering, ensuring everything we do is high quality, evidence-informed and grounded in lived experience.
You will set the standards, frameworks and tools that underpin programme design across the organisation, working closely with Programme Leads to design new programmes and strengthen existing ones. You will also lead our organisational development offer, ensuring charities and partners are supported to become stronger, more resilient and better connected.
Alongside this, you will shape how volunteering contributes to our work, embedding it across programmes and ensuring it supports both community capacity and connection.
You will work across teams and directorates to ensure programme design, organisational development and volunteering are fully aligned and working together to deliver meaningful community-led change.
About You
We’re looking for an experienced and credible leader with a strong background in programme or service design, ideally in complex or multi-partner environments.
You will bring a deep understanding of how organisational development builds capacity and resilience, alongside experience of using evidence and insight to improve programmes and outcomes.
You will be confident developing frameworks, standards and approaches that ensure quality and consistency, while also enabling innovation and learning.
You will be a collaborative and relational leader, with strong partnership skills and the ability to work across internal teams and external organisations. A commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging is essential.
How to Apply
Please click ‘Apply’ to be redirected to our website, where you can download the Candidate Information Pack and find details of how to apply.
For an informal conversation about the role and application process, please contact our recruitment partner, Atkinson HR via the information in the candidate pack.
Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
We hold Disability Confident Employer status (Level 2) and are working towards full status by 2027. This means that if you're a disabled applicant and your CV and application answers clearly demonstrate that you meet the essential criteria for the role, we will invite you to interview.
More broadly, we are committed to building a diverse team that reflects the communities and people we work with. We believe that diversity of background, experience and perspective makes us stronger and helps us make better decisions. We actively welcome applications from people who are under-represented in the charity sector, including people from Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic communities, disabled people, and those with experience of the issues our funded charities work to address.
Key Dates
Closing Date: Thursday 28th May 2026
Optional Q&A Session: Wednesday 6th May 2026 at 09:00-10:00
First Interview: Tuesday 9th June 2026
Second Interview: Thursday 18th June 2026
Registered Charity
21 - 50
We support small, local and specialist charities across England and Wales.
