Head of Support Services
Lead a growing portfolio of support services making a real difference to people affected by gambling harm.
At Betknowmore UK, we work to prevent and reduce gambling-related harm through support, education, training and community engagement, embracing the insight and knowledge of 'Experts by Experience' alongside evidence-based approaches. As our Head of Support Services, you'll provide strategic and operational leadership across our Triage, Peer Aid, New Beginnings and Affected Other teams, and lead the development of a strong, sustainable London-based service offer that establishes our presence and reach across the capital.
Reporting to the Director of Services and leading a team of service managers, you'll ensure our services are safe, effective, person-centred and delivered to a consistently high standard, while strengthening pathways into and through support and ensuring services meet their contractual, quality and impact objectives.
What you'll be doing
- Providing operational oversight and leadership across our peer support services, with effective line management of service managers and direct reports
- Maintaining oversight of service demand, capacity, waiting times and service user pathways, and addressing operational risks and barriers to delivery
- Monitoring service performance, quality and outcomes, using data and feedback to drive continuous improvement
- Ensuring safeguarding and risk management procedures are understood and consistently applied, and that trauma-informed, person-centred principles are embedded in practice
- Ensuring staff and volunteers receive effective induction, supervision, training and development, and promoting a psychologically informed culture that supports the wellbeing of a lived-experience workforce
- Building and maintaining relationships with commissioners, treatment providers and referral partners, and representing Betknowmore UK at external meetings and partnership forums
- Managing delegated service budgets and resources, and contributing to service planning, forecasting and funding bids
- Championing lived experience and co-production, and promoting equality, diversity, inclusion and equitable access to support
What we're looking for
- We're interested in hearing from candidates who have:
- Lived experience of addiction-related harms, either directly or as an affected other
- Significant management experience within mental health, social care, addiction, recovery, peer support or a related field
- Experience leading complex support services and managing service managers or multidisciplinary teams
- Strong experience of performance management, service improvement and workforce leadership
- A good understanding of safeguarding, risk management and safe service delivery
- Experience working within commissioned or contract-funded services
- The ability to use data and evidence to improve performance and outcomes
- Strong communication, leadership and partnership-working skills, with a commitment to lived experience-led and person-centred practice
A degree-level qualification (or equivalent professional qualification) and substantial senior leadership experience in a relevant field such as mental health, public health or social care is essential. Lived experience of gambling harms, management experience within gambling harms services, experience within NHS or statutory commissioning, and knowledge of NICE guidance, CQC standards or comparable quality frameworks would all be advantageous.
Why join us?
You'll be joining a growing charity making a real difference to people's lives. This is a rare opportunity to shape the future of our support services, build our presence across London, and lead a talented, lived-experience-informed team delivering life-changing support to people affected by gambling harm.
How to apply
Please submit an up-to-date CV and covering letter explaining how your skills and experience meet the Person Specification.
Closing date: 5pm Thursday 27th August 2026
We support and provide information to those harmed by gambling, whilst raising awareness of gambling’s potential harms through education and training