Head of Area

As a Head of Area for Rethink Mental Illness, you will work as part of the Central Regional Services team. You’ll engage NHS Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) and Local Authorities, as well as engaging with government level strategic programmes, developing partnerships that align with our corporate strategy ‘working together to build communities that care’ You will ensure that we utilise the experience, expertise, and reputation of Rethink Mental Illness to help shape care and support services, change the way in which services are delivered through new partnerships and grow our service offer to improve the lives of people severely affected by mental illness in places we operate, and beyond.

The release of the NHS 10 Year Health Plan for England in 2025, titled ‘Fit For The Future,’ presents new opportunities to influence the government’s three major initiatives: transitioning care from hospitals to community settings, incorporating digital technology, and focusing on prevention rather than treatment. These objectives align with our Corporate Strategy and are pursued through our internal Mission Delivery Boards.

You’ll work with other people and agencies, in a joined-up way, so that people living with severe mental illness receive coordinated support. The improved outcomes we expect to see through the delivery of Communities that Care are focused on:

• Access to health and social care.
• Housing.
• Employment, education, training, and volunteering.
• Physical health.
• Social connectedness.
• Money.

Working in our Services Division, reporting into our Regional Associate Director Central, you’ll lead our Service Managers, Contract Managers, and Registered Managers in ensuring that our services are consistently delivering high-quality, safe, and person-centred care and support in line with contractual requirements – most importantly delivering great outcomes for people using our services. You’ll work with colleagues across the organisation to develop and grow our service offer.

Within your role, depending on what is commissioned locally, you will have responsibility for a variety of services, including but not limited to care navigation, criminal justice, carers support, community support services, crisis cafes, employment, helplines, housing services including CQC registered properties, peer support services, befriending and mentoring, suicide bereavement or prevention, and registered groups.

Responsibilities of the Role

• Provide leadership for the services in the Midlands as a member of the Services Division, developing and promoting Rethink Mental Illness strategy, service specific practice, and a culture in accordance with the Charity’s values and strategic plans.
• Ensure that we shape the delivery of care and support in line with national and local priorities across the Midlands.
• Ensure services are delivered to budget whilst promoting organisational efficiencies.
• Ensure services and contracts meet internal and external Key Performance Indicators and internal and external quality standards.
• Work in partnership with the Service Development and Fundraising Teams to identify opportunities to expand our services offer and grow our income streams.
• Ensure compliance with legal, regulatory, ethical, and social requirements, ensuring an effective organisational approach to health and safety, effectively mitigating risks, and that the promotion of equality of opportunity, diversity, and inclusion.
• Build Rethink Mental Illness’s profile and influence the commissioning landscape through establishing and sustaining collaborative relationships across the relevant public, private, and voluntary sectors that are appropriate for the development of the services you lead.
• Work across Rethink Mental Illness directorates to ensure that the experiences of people using our services are reflected in our campaigns and policy activity and similarly use our understanding of the external environment to ensure we are responding to emerging opportunities.
• Work with colleagues across the organisation to join up and test other forms of service delivery through a wider range of funders to address gaps in delivery and to join up our local and national offers.
• Ensure that appropriate policies and processes are in place and adhered to, so that services and contracts are well managed, deliver safe practices, and risk is appropriately managed.
• Ensure that services and contracts are using appropriate reporting and recording systems and gather data which supports informed decision making.
• Adopt a continuous improvement approach to the charity’s activities, identifying and supporting plans to improve/transform all elements of our work.
• Be a visible presence across the division, displaying positive leadership behaviours and promoting a positive culture which engages our workforce.
• Ensure all colleagues within your span of control have completed required mandatory training within the appropriate timescales of joining Rethink Mental Illness and then training is kept fully kept up to date.
• Strive for continuous improvement, ensuring that teams are always working to improve the quality of our services for people in need of our care and support.
• Implement HR processes for staff performance management and, when necessary, the initiation and following through of disciplinary and grievance procedures and the management of redundancies as appropriate.
• Participate in regular supervision and appraisals and ensure your teams do the same.
• Contribute effectively to the improvement of services through excellent working relationships with your team, our beneficiaries, external agencies, relatives, commissioners, regulatory bodies, and other departments/teams.
• Participate when required in a quarterly Regional Forum, an intelligence-sharing, decision-making setting made up of constituents of Rethink delivery and membership in the Central Region.