Interim Head of Finance [APPLICATIONS NOW CLOSED]
£45,000-£50,000 (depending on experience)
Fixed term contract (9-12 months)
Deadline 16 Feb 2025
Details
Salary: £45,000-£50,000 (depending on experience)
Hours: 37.5 hours per week
Contract: Fixed term 9-12 months
Location: London, UK (Hybrid Working Environment) or remote
Application deadline: 23.59pm, 16th February 2025
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About SCN
At The Social Change Nest (SCN), we’re radically transforming the funding landscape and strengthening civil society. We remove the financial and administrative barriers – like bank accounts and legal structures – that often prevent communities, grassroots groups and informal movements from accessing funding and focusing on their core mission. We also work closely with funders, providing Grant Distribution and Fund Management services, enabling them to support social action with confidence and transparency.
The Social Change Hive is a new service providing an ethical payroll management service for activists and changemakers, keeping them at the heart of what we do.
We know that groups often reach a point where they need to hire paid staff to help achieve their purpose. It is important that when the work someone is doing for that group becomes a regular commitment, they have a means to be able to pay them. Through The Social Change Hive (SCH), we can offer joint employment for those staff so that they can get all the benefits of being employed whilst helping groups to drive positive social change.
To put it simply, The Social Change Hive allows groups to hire staff without becoming a registered charity or incorporated group. They can find who they want to hire for their team, and we’ll take care of the rest.
The Social Change Nest is part of The Social Change Group. We are a Disability Confident Employer, and an accredited Living Wage Employer. In addition, we were listed as one of the top social enterprises in the UK in the SE100 for the last three years.
How we work
You’ll be joining a close-knit team, supported and developed to be the best you can be. We believe that every member of our team brings a unique perspective from their experiences and abilities and we encourage everyone to be a curious soul about how we can improve everything we do, from how we interact as a team to how we deliver for our clients and communities.
Underpinned by our values of collaboration, curiosity, courage, and creativity, we work closely and with care with our partners because we believe relationships are the glue that hold us all together.
We’re a growing business and operate at pace to keep up with the challenges that the sector faces. We have established a lot, but as we grow, we’re still working some things out. The right person will thrive in this environment and feel a level of ownership to support the build out of things we need as we need them.
The ideal candidate will enjoy working within a fast-paced and evolving organisation, and have a natural curiosity about how we can do things differently to achieve our impact. You’ll thrive on problem-solving and will feel comfortable handling multiple priorities at once, always seeking collaborative solutions. You’ll be adaptable and able to shift focus quickly when things change, ensuring strong communication across the team and with clients to keep everything aligned.
Skills and experience
Requirements
Excellent knowledge of financial governance and systems: Proven experience in financial management and financial governance; Experience of embedding financial processes and reporting structures
Ability to think strategically: Demonstrated ability to support the implementation of a financial strategy. Forward thinking and able to suggest appropriate changes to SCN’s services to meet the changing needs of our clients.
Adaptability and Problem-Solving: Ability to work in a fast-paced, dynamic environment, comfortable with shifting priorities and emerging risks. Strong problem-solving skills and an agile mindset to approach development of systems and processes creatively. Experience within a fast-growing, start-up environment is not essential but would be ideal.
Stakeholder and Client Relationship Management: Excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to build and manage client and colleague relationships, clearly communicate financial information and the need for robust financial controls, and collaborate effectively with internal and external stakeholders. Relationship- based approach to supporting clients, with an ability to engage sensitively with diverse groups. Experience working with non-exec directors (or trustees) and presenting financial information to non-financial stakeholders is beneficial but not essential,
Strong Leadership skills Ability to lead, manage and work effectively both as a member of a team and on own initiative. Be well organised and remain calm under pressure.
Excellent technical skills Professional accounting qualification (e.g. ACCA, ACA, CIMA, CIPFA) or equivalent financial experience; Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and modelling financial information; IT literate and confident with technological change and using new software to improve financial processing. Experience in the not-for-profit sector would be helpful, but is not essential as would be knowledge of fundraising and grant management processes.
Strong Organisational Skills: Exceptional attention to detail with the ability to manage financial planning and reporting accurately while juggling multiple priorities. Highly organised and proactive in managing and delegating tasks and responsibilities.
Commitment to Social Impact and Innovation: Demonstrable interest in social change, community engagement, and innovative approaches to governance and compliance. An understanding of power dynamics and community trauma is beneficial for acting as an empathetic link between SCN and its partners.
About the role
We are seeking an excellent, multi-faceted Interim Head of Finance to join our team, initially on an interim basis while we align our financial systems and processes with our recent growth and shape the finance function ready for SCN’s next strategic period. This role is crucial for ensuring our organisation’s financial health and compliance, enabling us to maximise our impact on social change initiatives. The Interim Head of Finance will be responsible for delivering the next stages of our Financial Strategy, including implementing a robust financial governance framework, developing our business modelling and implementing a cash management policy, as well as overseeing the day to day operations of the finance function and supporting client finance management where required.
You will work closely with the Director of Operations and Finance, members of the senior management team across Business Development, Delivery, Operations and Governance and the other members of the finance team.
Key responsibilities
Strategic Financial Management
- Work with the Director of Operations and Finance to develop and implement SCN’s financial strategy.
- Provide financial insights to the senior management team to guide decision-making and resource allocation.
- Ensure robust business models of all SCN services are developed
- Monitor and forecast financial performance, identifying risks and opportunities
- Lead on the preparation of the annual budget, ensuring alignment with the business’s strategic objectives.
- Develop and improve financial controls to ensure safeguarding of client and SCN’s funds
Day to Day Financial Duties
- Oversee all financial processes, including accounts payable & receivable, payroll and banking.
- Oversee preparation of accurate and timely monthly management accounts and cashflow forecasts
- Ensure compliance with all statutory requirements, including VAT and Corporation Tax.
- Oversee the preparation of year-end accounts and liaise with external auditors.
- Maintain and update financial systems, ensuring robust controls are in place.
Client Finance Management and Engagement
- Ensure accurate records are maintained of client funds
- Ensure the Delivery team have the tools and knowledge to support day to day client financial management
- Support the Finance and Delivery teams with client financial management
- Dealing directly with clients on more complex finance queries escalated by the team
Leadership & Collaboration
- Leading the Finance team – supporting the team to plan and prioritise their projects and day-to-day delivery
- Present financial reports at senior management, board and committee meetings, explaining complex financial data in an accessible way.
- Work closely with Business Development to align financial plans with organisational objectives.
- Provide mentorship and support to other finance staff, as applicable.
Other Duties
- To undertake other duties as required commensurate with this post.
- To attend monthly management team meetings in person in London.
Terms and benefits
Terms: Fixed term contract (9-12 months)/Full time 37.5 hours per week (although part-time will be considered.) We will also consider well-structured JobShare applications. As we often work with volunteers occasional evening and weekend work will be required and compensated through TOIL. Occasional but limited UK or European travel will be required (by arrangement).
We are open to exploring flexible working arrangements and supporting you to meet commitments you may have.
Salary: £45,000-£50,000 (depending on experience)
Location: You must be based inside the UK. We have an office in Kings Cross, London which London-based staff are in 3 times a week or more, but if you are based out of London you will be home based.
We hold quarterly all-staff strategy meetings and annual away days which you will be required to attend in person which we will cover the cost of your travel. You will be required to come together with the team occasionally and these travel costs will not be covered, we try our best to keep these to when only necessary.
Language skills & visa status: Candidates must be fluent in English. You must have the right to work in the UK independently, as we are unable to provide visa sponsorship.
Holiday: 22 days plus bank holidays. We close the office in the days between Christmas and New Years – this time is paid for all staff and is in addition to your annual leave entitlement.
Employer pension contribution: We offer a 3% employer pension contribution, that you will auto enrol for after 3 months of employment with The Social Change Nest.
Additional Paid Time Off: We offer 2 days of paid voluntary time off, encouraging all staff to serve as trustees or any equivalent voluntary positions to contribute to their communities
Mintago: The health and wellbeing of our staff is very important to us. We offer all of our staff access to Mintago which offers a 24 hour support line, structured counselling with external support, and a bank of online resources such as webinars and articles tailored towards health and wellbeing for both you and the members of your family, and access to some types of legal advice. You can see their website for details. They also offer access to a 24hr virtual GP.
Financial Wellbeing: The financial wellbeing of our staff means a lot to us. We offer the following to our staff to help them reach their financial goals:
- Salary sacrifice/exchange schemes for groceries (and pensions will be coming soon!). Staff members can choose a set amount to be taken out of their gross pay (before being taxed) each month, to be put towards purchasing groceries from all major grocery retailers.
- Financial wellbeing platform allows staff to check their pension dashboard, plan for retirement and search for forgotten/lost pensions. There is also a smart saver plan and we provide access to financial advisers for free.
- Benefits app – retail discounts. Select from over 80 brands.
How to apply
To apply please fill out this application form. Please note that CVs, cover letters, and/or copies of the question outline will not be considered. You can also view the questions and draft your answers here before submitting it through the Google Form.
Application Deadline: 23.59, Sunday 16th February 2025
We recognise that AI tools are becoming increasingly prevalent in various aspects of professional life, including the job application process, view our AI use guidance for some points to consider.
Hiring process
We strongly encourage applicants from a wide variety of backgrounds. We are committed to our staff representing the wide variety of backgrounds represented in the communities we work with. If you are concerned that you may not fit 100% of the job specification – please throw your hat in the ring. We never put formal education requirements on any role as we value lived experiences as highly as formal education and training qualifications.
We follow a blind recruitment process, which means that hiring managers for the role can only see your work history and answers to application questions when deciding to progress to the interview stage.
If you need any accessibility accommodations for this application please do not hesitate to contact us at people@thesocialchangenest.org or by calling +44 7958 298 727 and we will be happy to provide you with those accommodations.
Please visit our main vacancies page for our equal opportunities statement.