Head of Internal Talent Acquisition

Mental Health Matters; Sunderland; Hybrid; GBP 54,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

Mental Health Matters in Sunderland is recruiting an experienced Talent Acquisition Manager to lead a new internal recruitment agency, embedding a high-performing function that attracts diverse, high-quality candidates and delivers an excellent candidate experience. The role is hybrid with regular travel to MHM services across the country.

You will set standards, monitor time to hire, reduce vacancy gaps and partner with managers to align workforce needs while your team handles the wider

Qualifications

• Significant experience leading a recruitment or talent acquisition function within a multi-site organisation.
• Proven track record of delivering end-to-end recruitment at scale, including volume and specialist roles.
• Experience building proactive talent pipelines rather than relying solely on reactive advertising.
• Experience reducing agency reliance through direct sourcing strategies.
• Experience partnering with senior stakeholders on workforce planning and vacancy governance.
• Experience setting and managing recruitment KPIs and performance standards.
• Experience implementing or operating safer recruitment practices within a regulated environment.
• Experience using recruitment systems and producing data driven insight.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop an effective, responsive and high-performing Talent Acquisition function.
• Embed clear ways of working, service standards and performance expectations across the internal recruitment agency.
• Develop proactive and inclusive talent pipelines through direct sourcing, community engagement, partnerships and outreach.
• Attract candidates from a wide range of backgrounds, particularly those currently underrepresented within our workforce.
• Reduce reliance on recruitment agencies by strengthening direct sourcing capability.
• Work closely with hiring managers to understand services, workforce needs and recruitment challenges.

Skills

End-to-end recruitment

Staff development

Data-driven insight

Diversity recruitment

KPIs & performance standards

Agency reduction via direct sourcing

Tools

Recruitment systems

Job description

Mental Health Matters in Sunderland is recruiting an experienced Talent Acquisition Manager to lead a new internal recruitment agency, embedding a high-performing function that attracts diverse, high-quality candidates and delivers an excellent candidate experience. The role is hybrid with regular travel to MHM services across the country.

You will set standards, monitor time to hire, reduce vacancy gaps and partner with managers to align workforce needs while your team handles the wider