Chief Executive Director

About the role

Some of the most important conversations happen where people feel they belong.
On the sidelines. After training. In classrooms. Among teammates and friends.

At Brave Mind, we believe mental fitness matters every bit as much as physical fitness. We are an ambitious charity using sport to break down stigma, build confidence and help young people feel able to talk, seek support and look after one another.

Our psychologist-led, evidence-based programmes reach schools, colleges, sports clubs and communities. We create safe, welcoming spaces for honest conversations before problems reach crisis point. Our specialist psychology team is central to what makes Brave Mind different.

For further information or to apply, please contact @Ian Pope at ian@veritysearch.uk.

Born from our founder’s experiences and rooted in rugby, Brave Mind is growing into something with much wider potential. We are now extending our work across the wider sporting community, with the ambition to reach many more young people and the adults around them.

An opportunity to make your mark.
We are looking for a Chief Executive Officer with the ambition, empathy and determination to lead our next chapter. This is a chance to shape an agile, purposeful charity that has established programmes, a committed team and real momentum behind it.

You will win trust, deepen relationships and inspire funders and partners to get behind our work. You will strengthen income across grants, corporate partnerships and community support, while looking after the people who already back us.

Just as importantly, you will make things happen. We need someone who can take a promising idea or new partnership and turn it into a properly planned, well-resourced programme, managing people, budgets, deadlines and delivery commitments. Someone who can think strategically, make decisions and roll up their sleeves when needed.
You will not be doing that alone. You will work with an engaged, entrepreneurial Board, a dedicated Programmes Delivery Manager, our Lead Psychologist and a specialist network of practitioners. You will be accountable for the quality and delivery of our commitments, while clinical work remains in specialist hands.
 
What you will bring.
You do not need to have been a CEO before. You might already run a charity, or you might be a senior fundraising, partnerships or charity leader in a larger organisation who is ready to lead something of your own.

What matters is evidence: funding you have secured, relationships you have sustained, teams you have led and projects you have taken from plan to delivery. You understand how to build a sustainable income pipeline, set priorities when resources are tight and communicate openly with colleagues and trustees.

We want someone who leads with empathy, shows resilience when things get difficult and combines ambition with sound judgement. Above all, someone who genuinely cares about creating better conversations and support around young people’s mental health.

Why Brave Mind? Why now?
Brave Mind enters this next chapter from a position of momentum. We doubled our income in 2025. That year, we delivered more than 25 mental health programmes, reaching over 800 young sportspeople, coaches and parents.
Our work is grounded in evidence, developed with young people and supported by a growing range of funders and partners. We are also working with The Royal Foundation, reflecting the reach of the relationships we are building. We have strong ambitions to continue growing, extending beyond rugby while staying true to our mission.

This is an opportunity to build on what already works, bring more supporters into the story and turn income and partnerships into lasting impact.

Come and be part of Brave Mind

If you believe sport can be a powerful force for good, and you have the leadership, fundraising and delivery experience to help a small charity grow responsibly, we would like to hear from you. Your route to this point need not have been conventional.

Brave Mind welcomes applications from people of all backgrounds and is committed to an inclusive, accessible recruitment process, including reasonable adjustments where needed.