Talent Acquisition Manager

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

Job summary

We have created a new internal recruitment agency and need an experienced Talent Acquisition Manager to lead it and make it exceptional.This is an exciting opportunity to embed and develop a high-performing function that attracts diverse, high-quality candidates at pace, delivers an excellent candidate experience and positions Mental Health Matters (MHM) as an employer of choice.This is a role for someone who wants to lead, innovate and leave a lasting legacy.

Main duties of the job

As Talent Acquisition Manager, you will lead and develop our internal recruitment agency, ensuring it delivers real and measurable impact across MHM.You will take ownership of the end-to-end recruitment service, ensuring managers are provided with strong, well-matched and diverse candidates who are ready to interview. This will allow managers to focus on selecting the right people for their services while your team manages the wider recruitment journey.You will set clear standards and targets for the function, including time to hire, vacancy gap reduction, quality of hire, diversity outcomes, agency spend and candidate experience. You will use data and insight to understand what is working, identify challenges and continually improve our approach.This will be a visible and hands-on role. You will be expected to travel regularly to MHM services across the country to understand how they operate, build strong relationships with managers and teams, and gain a genuine understanding of the roles and people needed to deliver excellent services. You will use this insight to develop tailored recruitment approaches and provide practical support where recruitment challenges exist.

About us

Mental Health Matters is a national charity delivering vital mental health services across the country. We work in partnership with NHS trusts, local authorities and community organisations to support people when they need us most.Our people are central to the quality of the services we provide. We have established a dedicated Talent Acquisition function that operates as an internal recruitment agency, providing a more proactive and effective approach to attracting, engaging and appointing people across MHM.The function focuses on providing hiring managers with high-quality candidates, reducing the administrative burden of recruitment and creating a seamless, professional and inclusive experience.A key part of our approach is ensuring our workforce better reflects the diversity of the communities we serve, widening access to opportunities and creating inclusive pathways into employment.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Talent Acquisition Manager Hours: 37.5 hours per week Salary: £54,323 - £60,421 Location: This is a hybrid role, with the base location to be discussed with the successful candidate. Regular travel to MHM services across the country will be an important part of the role.

Make a difference where it really matters Lead the function. Set the standard. Transform how we recruit. We have created a new internal recruitment agency and need an experienced Talent Acquisition Manager to lead it and make it exceptional. This is an exciting opportunity to embed and develop a high-performing function that attracts diverse, high-quality candidates at pace, delivers an excellent candidate experience and positions Mental Health Matters (MHM) as an employer of choice. This is a role for someone who wants to lead, innovate and leave a lasting legacy. About Mental Health Matters Mental Health Matters is a national charity delivering vital mental health services across the country. We work in partnership with NHS trusts, local authorities and community organisations to support people when they need us most. Our people are central to the quality of the services we provide. We have established a dedicated Talent Acquisition function that operates as an internal recruitment agency, providing a more proactive and effective approach to attracting, engaging and appointing people across MHM. The function focuses on providing hiring managers with high-quality candidates, reducing the administrative burden of recruitment and creating a seamless, professional and inclusive experience. A key part of our approach is ensuring our workforce better reflects the diversity of the communities we serve, widening access to opportunities and creating inclusive pathways into employment.

The role As Talent Acquisition Manager, you will lead and develop our internal recruitment agency, ensuring it delivers real and measurable impact across MHM. You will take ownership of the end-to-end recruitment service, ensuring managers are provided with strong, well-matched and diverse candidates who are ready to interview. This will allow managers to focus on selecting the right people for their services while your team manages the wider recruitment journey. You will set clear standards and targets for the function, including time to hire, vacancy gap reduction, quality of hire, diversity outcomes, agency spend and candidate experience. You will use data and insight to understand what is working, identify challenges and continually improve our approach. This will be a visible and hands on role. You will be expected to travel regularly to MHM services across the country to understand how they operate, build strong relationships with managers and teams, and gain a genuine understanding of the roles and people needed to deliver excellent services. You will use this insight to develop tailored recruitment approaches and provide practical support where recruitment challenges exist. You will: 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 our direct sourcing capability.Work closely with hiring managers to understand their services, workforce needs and recruitment challenges.Ensure managers receive high-quality, well-matched and diverse candidate shortlists.Create an excellent candidate experience from first contact through to appointment and onboarding.Strengthen our employer brand and bring the MHM story to life across all recruitment channels.Embed consistent, inclusive and compliant safer recruitment practices.Lead, develop and inspire the Talent Acquisition team, creating a strong focus on service, pace, quality and continuous improvement. We are looking for someone who can combine strategic thinking with practical delivery. You will need the credibility to influence senior leaders and managers, the energy to drive a new function forward and the determination to deliver consistently high standards. This is a hybrid role, with the base location to be discussed with the successful candidate. Regular travel to MHM services across the country will be an important part of the role. CLOSING DATE: Tuesday 6th October 2026 (please note this is a guide, and may close earlier depending on the number of applications we receive) INTERVIEW DATE: Friday 16th October 2026

Job description

Talent Acquisition Manager Hours: 37.5 hours per week Salary: £54,323 - £60,421 Location: This is a hybrid role, with the base location to be discussed with the successful candidate. Regular travel to MHM services across the country will be an important part of the role. Make a difference where it really matters Lead the function. Set the standard. Transform how we recruit. We have created a new internal recruitment agency and need an experienced Talent Acquisition Manager to lead it and make it exceptional. This is an exciting opportunity to embed and develop a high-performing function that attracts diverse, high-quality candidates at pace, delivers an excellent candidate experience and positions Mental Health Matters (MHM) as an employer of choice. This is a role for someone who wants to lead, innovate and leave a lasting legacy. About Mental Health Matters Mental Health Matters is a national charity delivering vital mental health services across the country. We work in partnership with NHS trusts, local authorities and community organisations to support people when they need us most. Our people are central to the quality of the services we provide. We have established a dedicated Talent Acquisition function that operates as an internal recruitment agency, providing a more proactive and effective approach to attracting, engaging and appointing people across MHM. The function focuses on providing hiring managers with high-quality candidates, reducing the administrative burden of recruitment and creating a seamless, professional and inclusive experience. A key part of our approach is ensuring our workforce better reflects the diversity of the communities we serve, widening access to opportunities and creating inclusive pathways into employment. The role As Talent Acquisition Manager, you will lead and develop our internal recruitment agency, ensuring it delivers real and measurable impact across MHM. You will take ownership of the end-to-end recruitment service, ensuring managers are provided with strong, well-matched and diverse candidates who are ready to interview. This will allow managers to focus on selecting the right people for their services while your team manages the wider recruitment journey. You will set clear standards and targets for the function, including time to hire, vacancy gap reduction, quality of hire, diversity outcomes, agency spend and candidate experience. You will use data and insight to understand what is working, identify challenges and continually improve our approach. This will be a visible and hands on role. You will be expected to travel regularly to MHM services across the country to understand how they operate, build strong relationships with managers and teams, and gain a genuine understanding of the roles and people needed to deliver excellent services. You will use this insight to develop tailored recruitment approaches and provide practical support where recruitment challenges exist. You will: 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 our direct sourcing capability.Work closely with hiring managers to understand their services, workforce needs and recruitment challenges.Ensure managers receive high-quality, well-matched and diverse candidate shortlists.Create an excellent candidate experience from first contact through to appointment and onboarding.Strengthen our employer brand and bring the MHM story to life across all recruitment channels.Embed consistent, inclusive and compliant safer recruitment practices.Lead, develop and inspire the Talent Acquisition team, creating a strong focus on service, pace, quality and continuous improvement. We are looking for someone who can combine strategic thinking with practical delivery. You will need the credibility to influence senior leaders and managers, the energy to drive a new function forward and the determination to deliver consistently high standards. This is a hybrid role, with the base location to be discussed with the successful candidate. Regular travel to MHM services across the country will be an important part of the role. CLOSING DATE: Tuesday 6th October 2026 (please note this is a guide, and may close earlier depending on the number of applications we receive) INTERVIEW DATE: Friday 16th October 2026

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Please see attached job description.

Experience

Essential

• * Significant experience leading a recruitment or talent acquisition
• function within a multi site organisation
• * Experience managing and developing recruitment or resourcing
• teams
• * 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

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Please see attached job description.

Experience

Essential

• * Significant experience leading a recruitment or talent acquisition
• function within a multi site organisation
• * Experience managing and developing recruitment or resourcing
• teams
• * 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

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Employer details

Employer name

Mental Health Matters

Address

Waterside House, Sunderland Enterprise Park, Sunderland SR5 2TZ Sunderland SR5 2TZ United Kingdom

Employer's website