Chief Executive Officer - The Brain Charity
Location: Liverpool-based - occasional travel across Merseyside and the UK
Salary: circa £65,000 (+ 10% company pension on successful completion of probation)
Contract: permanent, full-time
Are you ready to lead a values-driven charity that supports people affected by neurological conditions and their families across Merseyside and nationally?
The Brain Charity is a Liverpool-based national charity supporting adults, children and their families affected by any of more than 600 neurological and related conditions. Since our roots in Merseyside community neurology (1992) we have grown a centre-based offer, hospital liaison roles and a national information, training and support service - from practical welfare and legal advice, counselling and rehabilitation (Neuro Gym) to peer connection via The Brain Food Café and employer/school training. We put lived experience, co-production and neuro-inclusive practice at the heart of everything we do.
As our next Chief Executive, you will:
- Strategic leadership: Develop and deliver a 5-year strategy and an operational plan with clear priorities that secures the charity’s long-term impact and sustainable growth.
- Values leadership: Model and embed the charity’s person-centred, inclusive and co-productive values across services and culture.
- Growth & income diversification: Lead development of diverse income streams - fundraising, legacies and commercial activity - to strengthen financial resilience.
- Partnerships & advocacy: Strengthen senior relationships with NHS partners, local authorities, commissioners and wider stakeholders; amplify the charity’s voice in neuro-health and community settings.
- Service quality & impact: Embed rigorous outcome measurement, quality assurance and contract compliance so our impact drives commissioning and service development.
- People leadership: Stabilise staff morale, lead and develop a high-performing Senior Leadership Team, and promote wellbeing and inclusive working practices.
- Governance & financial stewardship: Provide timely, high-quality reporting to the Board; oversee budgeting, forecasting and risk management to safeguard financial sustainability.
Who you are:
- An experienced Chief Executive or senior director with a minimum of three years’ experience at CEO or equivalent level.
- Proven track record of winning and managing commissioned contracts and delivering against local authority or health contracts.
- Skilled at building strategic partnerships and commanding credibility with senior stakeholders across health, local government and the voluntary sector.
- Confident at leading turnaround and financial sustainability work - experienced in budgeting, forecasting and making difficult decisions when needed.
- A values-led, collaborative leader with high emotional intelligence, resilience and a commitment to co-production and inclusion.
Why The Brain Charity?
- Lead a respected, person-centred organisation with a unique, wide-ranging offer across advice, emotional support, rehabilitation, social connection and national training.
- A high-impact role where you can stabilise the organisation, professionalise fundraising and scale services strategically.
- Liverpool-based centre with hybrid working and national reach - a chance to influence neuro-health practice and commissioning across the UK.
Please see the attached Recruitment Brief with details on how to apply.
Closing date for applications: 9am, Monday 10th November 2025
As leading charity recruitment specialists and a certified B Corp, Harris Hill is committed to high and ever-improving standards of equitable and inclusive recruitment. We actively welcome applications from all sections of the community regardless of age, disability, gender, race, religion, sexuality and other protected characteristics.
Are you passionate about using evidence to drive change? Do you want to help shape services that save lives? Join Samaritans as our new Impact and Evaluation Officer and play a vital role in embedding an evidence-based culture across the organisation.
As part of our Research and Evaluation Team you’ll support and deliver high-quality evaluation and impact measurement initiatives. You’ll help us understand what works, why it works, and how we can do better, ensuring our services are grounded in insight and learning.
You’ll work closely with colleagues across Samaritans, as well as academics, consultants, and people with lived experience, to build robust frameworks, develop theories of change, and communicate the difference our work makes.
Contract
- £35,000 per annum plus benefits
- Full Time (35hrs per week)
- 12-month fixed term contract
- Hybrid – Linked to our Ewell (Surrey) office, with an option to work from a shared office space in London Bridge
- In-person working: Meeting in person and working collaboratively are things we value.As part of the Performance and Insights team, you will join three in-person retreats per quarter. Participation to other in-person meetings will depend on need
- We are passionate about flexible working, talk to us about your preferences
What you’ll do
- Support the design and delivery of impact and evaluation projects
- Conduct evidence reviews and develop monitoring frameworks
- Facilitate theories of change for services and interventions
- Collaborate on ethical, high-quality data collection
- Build internal capacity through training and resources
- Contribute to our annual Impact Report and other communications
- Champion the voices of people with lived experience in all we do
- Ensure all research is conducted in line with our policies
What you’ll bring
- Strong knowledge of research and evaluation methods
- Skilled in both qualitative and quantitative analysis
- Experience using analysis software packages (e.g. NVivo, R, SPSS, Excel)
- Experience designing and applying theories of change and log frames
- Great communication and collaboration skills
- Project management skills and ability to meet deadlines
- Excellent problem-solving skills with a solutions-focused mindset
- Experience in the third sector or a service delivery organisation (desirable)
- Postgraduate degree in a relevant discipline (desirable)
- Interest in Social Return on Investment (SROI) (desirable)
Job Description and Person Specification attached.
Why Samaritans?
At Samaritans, you’ll be part of a people-first organisation deeply committed to inclusion, compassion and learning. You’ll contribute to a team where your voice matters, your expertise makes a difference, and your work helps save lives.
We welcome applications from individuals with lived experience and encourage those from underrepresented communities to apply. We are committed to creating an environment where all our people feel seen, heard and supported.
You’ll join a values-led organisation with a powerful mission and a collaborative culture. We offer flexible hybrid working, excellent benefits, and the chance to make a tangible difference in suicide prevention across the UK and Ireland.
For further information about Samaritans, including our charity structure, values, employee benefits, and application process, please read our recruitment brochure. You can also visit our careers website to access this.
We recognise the enormous benefits and the social justice imperatives of ensuring diversity at every level of our organisation. Samaritans is wholly committed to inclusion and diversity and to building a culture and environment where everyone is appreciated for the unique person they are. To ensure Samaritans is representative of those we support and who support us, we particularly welcome applications from disabled, racialised minority and LGBTQ+ candidates, as these people are under-represented at Samaritans.
Apply now
If this sounds like the opportunity for you, please apply. You’ll be asked to upload your CV and answer some application questions.
We kindly ask that you don’t rely on AI tools for your application answers, or to generate interview answers. We want to see your own unique ideas and writing skills. We want your application to stand out from the rest and showcase your own strengths.
Applications close: 30th October 2025 at 09:00am
Interviews: Friday 14th November 2025
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.