Support in Mind Scotland hopes the new faces will drive the organisation forward into a new era

One of the leading mental health charities in Scotland has unveiled an almost entirely new leadership team.

Support in Mind Scotland hopes the new faces will drive the organisation forward into a new era.

New positions created include a director of services, director of operations and director of fundraising and business development will provide strategic and operational leadership to the organisation.

Coleen Kelly heads up the director of services role following a stint as director of Crisis Skyline Edinburgh. Founder of Cultivate Aberdeen, George Bellamy, takes the director of operations role after leading the Police Care UK volunteer team across Scotland and north of England.

Jean Goodband becomes the director of fundraising and business development after coming from a varied background of supporting NGOs and third sector organisations to develop their fundraising abilities.

These new positions will join Nick Ward – who took over from Frances Simpson as CEO in November 2021 – and Jim Hume, whose remit as director of public affairs has been extended to include communications.

Support in Mind Scotland has also made a number of other key appointments to strengthen its various departments, with extra resource in communications, policy and public affairs, fundraising, operations and services.

Nick Ward, CEO at Support in Mind Scotland, said: “Our vision is that everyone in Scotland has access to the best support possible when experiencing mental health challenges or mental illness. We want to provide innovate services and reduce the stigma around mental illness. Our new leadership team and extra capacity will enable us to deliver on this vision and ensure that no one has to face mental illness alone.

“This is an incredibly exciting time at Support in Mind Scotland. We have a lot of changes and innovations planned with a fresh cohort of staff that will contribute towards the delivery of services, help us share the great work we do and advocate for people impacted by mental health as we provide more capacity for the organisation as it grows.

“This new era at Support at Mind Scotland will enable us to deliver the greatest impact possible and I cannot wait to see the incredible things that this organisation and its staff and supporters at all levels can accomplish.”