Head of Centre, London

Job Title: Head of Centre 
Salary: £52,406 per annum, plus 15% ILW
Hours: Full time, 37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday, 9:30am to 5:30pm 
Contract Type: 16 month fixed term contract
Location: London
Reports to: Director of Clinical Services 
 
THE CHARITY 

Suicide is the leading cause of death of men under 35 and 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 are a charity currently offering free, life-saving therapy to suicidal men at our centres in Liverpool, London and Newcastle. 
 
James’ Place 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.    
 
James' Place was set up to make the experience of finding help as easy as possible. We offer men who are experiencing a suicidal crisis a brief, intensive, therapeutic intervention in a safe environment. Men who walk through the door at James’ Place will be in a space where they feel valued and respected.  We provide a calm and peaceful environment both inside the centres and in our outside spaces, accessible to men who visit us as well as their friends and families. We have so far treated over 5,100 men who might otherwise have been unable to access the support they desperately need.
 
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.
 
THE OPPORTUNITY 
 
We are seeking an experienced clinician to join us on a Fixed Term Contract to cover a period of maternity leave.
This is a key role in the organisation, leading our James’ Place centre in London and taking overall responsibility for the clinical and operational management of the center. The Head of Centre will lead a team of suicide prevention therapists and will take responsibility for clinical oversight and governance. The Head of Centre is the guardian of ethos, culture and tone of James’ Place. 
 
The role will work alongside the centre manager, overseeing the day-to-day operations, 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 London, ensuring these are communicated accurately and clearly. As the most senior clinician at James’ Place London, we expect you to be responsible for managing your own caseload which may involve up to 20% of your time.
 
The Head of Centre plays a key role in raising the profile of James’ Place London and will work closely with our fundraising and communications team to ensure that we are engaging with a wide range of local stakeholders and partners to drive referrals to the centre.
 
They will work closely with our broad range of referrals 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.
The role is expected to work highly collaboratively with other Heads of Centre and senior managers to work towards our strategic plan and meet our charitable objectives.
 
The post-holder will be expected to travel to other James’ Place sites to assist in addressing issues as requested.
 
The post holder must have a clear understanding of performance management of teams and individuals in teams and be able to ensure delivery from those they line manage. This will include ensuring that all suicide prevention therapists have minimal caseloads and achieve high quality outcomes.
 
They will also, in collaboration with others, build effective pipelines and networks with local acute trusts, integrated care boards and services in primary care including mental health crisis teams. There will also be an expectation to lead on projects as directed by the Director of Clinical Services. 
 
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES 
 
Leadership and Management 

• Act as a senior leader in the organisation, building close working relationships across charity, and ensuring a culture of excellence and improvement in all our work in London.  
• Work closely with clinical and non-clinical colleagues in the London 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 London, 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 in the centre.  

 
Clinical  

• Be responsible for the clinical activity delivered at James’ Place in London, ensuring the safety of the men who use the service and their supporters.  
• Report on clinical outcomes for London, ensuring timely and accurate data collection and analysis.  
• Manage local clinical governance, including risk assessments, with support from the Director of Clinical Services.
• Report on clinical metrics and wider progress across the London centre on a weekly and monthly basis.  
• Work closely with the Director of Clinical Services to manage evaluation and research, particularly around London for 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 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 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 

 
James’ Place Charity  

• Work closely with the Director of Clinical Services and other Executive Leadership Team members to deliver against the business plan and meet our charitable objectives.  
• Promote the value and importance of service evaluation and support the London team to contribute towards the ongoing development of James’ Place. 
• Work with the team to further our understanding of men and suicidal crisis.  
• Work with the Director of Clinical Services to devise and deliver specific identified projects to support the wider aims and mission of the charity. This will include providing leadership to clinical quality groups.

 
PERSON SPECIFICATION
 
Essential

• Clinician with HCPC/Social Work England / BACP qualification/NMC/UCKP or equivalent – i.e. psychotherapy, psychology, OT, mental health background 
• Demonstrable experience of being accountable for the delivery of care / support for people accessing mental health or therapy services 
• Experience delivering expert structured care in a mental health or therapy setting.   
• Demonstrable experience of effective management of clinical and non-clinical staff 
• Able to plan and deliver therapy sessions
• Ability to devise and deliver high quality presentations to stakeholders, funders, potential funders and academic partners 
• Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the local health economy and be able to identify and break down barriers to the implementation of James’ Place 
• Experience of working with academic partners to enable evaluation and research  
• Ability to demonstrate resilience in challenging situations 
• Knowledge and understanding of suicide prevention  
• Open to innovation and new ways of working  
• Constructive and collaborative attitude 
• Demonstrable awareness of possible variations in the presentation of mental health problems in service users of different genders, ages, cultural, ethnic, and religious or other diverse backgrounds 
• Demonstrable experience of project management 
• Ability to devise and deliver plans to address organisational priorities including remedial action when necessary 

 
Desirable

• Experience of managing a Mental Health / clinical team    
• Deep understanding of the impact of mental health/suicide  
• Project management qualification 

 
WE OFFER

• A 7% employer contributory pension scheme
• Family friendly policies
• Death in service insurance scheme 
• 25 days plus bank holidays leave entitlement (FTE), including enhanced holiday allowance with incremental rises after qualifying period

 
LEARN MORE
 
If you would like to learn more about working for James' Place, sign up to our online recruitment information session on Wednesday 8th April at 6:30pm - 7:15pm
 
HOW TO APPLY
 
To apply, please use the online application system to submit your CV detailing your experience, roles and responsibilities, and answer the screening questions relating to the knowledge and skills you hold for this role. Please note, you do not need to upload a cover letter for this role. 
 
Closing date: Friday 17th April, 12 noon.
 
First round interviews are expected to be held on Friday 24th April. 
 
James’ Place is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive community. Our aim is that no job applicant, temporary worker or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of age, disability, gender and transgender status, race and ethnicity, religion and belief (including no belief), marriage or civil partnership status or sexual orientation.
 
If you have a disability or health conditions which means you'd benefit from any adjustments to the interview process to help you perform at your best, please do let us know in advance.
 
Any job offers made are subject to the receipt of two relevant satisfactory employment references. We expect this to include one from your most recent or current employer. Any job offers made are also subject to a satisfactory DBS check and a Right to Work in the UK check.
 
REF-227 788