FINANCIAL CONTROLLER (CLIENT FUNDS)

Quick info

Hours: 37.5 hours a week, permanent — flexible working considered

Salary: £58,000 to £60,000  p/a

Location: London Hybrid ideal but remote working considered for the right candidate.

Reporting To: Finance Director

Direct Reports: International Finance Manager, Finance Assistant

Application deadline: 11th June 2026

Ready to apply? 

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About The Social Change Nest

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 Nest is part of The Social Change Group. We are a Disability Confident Employer, and an accredited Living Wage Employer. 

How We Work

You’ll be joining a close-knit team, supported and developed to be the best you can be. We believe every member of our team brings a unique perspective from their experiences and abilities, and we encourage everyone to be curious 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 holds us all together.

We’re a growing business operating at pace. We’ve established a lot – but as we grow, we’re still working some things out. The right person will thrive in this environment and relish building out a future-facing finance function. You’ll enjoy problem-solving, feel comfortable handling multiple priorities at once, and seek collaborative solutions. You’ll be adaptable, able to shift focus quickly when things change, and ensure strong communication across the team and with clients to keep everything aligned.

About The Role

This is not a traditional Financial Controller position. This role sits at the heart of our financial controls and combines cash management oversight, payment operations and financial compliance. You will work with the team to ensure robust financial controls, accurate reconciliations, secure payment processes and transparent reporting for our diverse portfolio of social impact clients. You will also be a key driver of operational improvement, identifying better ways of working as we scale.

Key responsibilities

Payment Processes & Systems Management

  • Own and optimise the end-to-end payment infrastructure (banking platforms, expense management tools, Open Collective platform and accounting system integrations)
  • Design, implement and monitor robust internal controls to prevent fraud, errors or unauthorised disbursements
  • Streamline high-volume payment workflows while maintaining strict adherence to SCN policies.

Bank Reconciliations & Treasury

  • Ensure all client bank accounts are reconciled accurately and daily
  • Investigate and resolve any variances between bank statements and the internal ledger immediately
  • Track client cash positions to ensure sufficient liquidity for planned social project disbursements.

 

Financial Reporting & Compliance

  • Produce clear, concise financial reports for clients detailing fund movements and remaining balances
  • Act as the lead contact for external audits regarding client cash and payment controls. Support the preparation of year end accounts and SCN’s external Audit as it interfaces with Client funds.
  • Ensure all cash management and payment processes comply with UK Anti-Money Laundering supervision and relevant HMRC requirements.

 

Operational Innovation & Client Service

  • Proactively research and implement new financial technologies to enhance speed, security and transparency of client services
  • Continuously evaluate existing workflows to eliminate bottlenecks and improve the client experience
  • Lead the roll-out of new financial tools or system upgrades, ensuring smooth transition for internal teams and external partners.

 

Leadership & Collaboration

  • Line manage 1–2 members of the finance team, providing mentorship and support
  • Being the point of escalation for the Finance and Delivery teams on more complex finance queries and dealing directly with our clients for financial solutions
  • Contribute to finance team planning and lead on delivery of key projects
  • Collaborate effectively with internal and external stakeholders across the organisation

Person Specification

Essential

  • Professional accounting qualification: ACA, ACCA or CIMA.
  • Proven experience in a Financial Controller, Head of Finance or senior audit role with a focus on cash controls and high-volume transactions.
  • Strong knowledge of financial governance, internal controls and compliance frameworks.
  • Experience in at least one of the following:
    • managing multi-currency transactions, FX impacts and global banking corridors
    • oversight of restricted funds, ensuring disbursements align with specific grant conditions and reporting requirements
    • implementing AML and KYC protocols and ensuring rigorous due diligence on all fund movements
  • IT-literate and confident with leading technological change; advanced Excel skills and track record of implementing operational improvements
  • Excellent interpersonal and communication skills — able to translate financial information clearly for non-finance stakeholders
  • Strong organisational skills with the ability to work in a fast-paced, dynamic environment while maintaining exceptional attention to detail, and being comfortable with shifting priorities and emerging risks
  • Ability to lead, manage, and work effectively both as a member of a team and on own initiative.
  • Ability to think strategically, supporting the implementation of a financial strategy and suggesting appropriate changes to SCN’s services.

 

Desirable

  • Experience in the non-profit, charity or client-services sector.
  • Experience in a fast-growing or start-up environment.
  • Understanding of power dynamics and community engagement.
  • Experience with innovative approaches to governance.

Terms and benefits

Terms: The role will be 37.5 hours/week. Occasional evening and weekend work will be required and compensated through TOIL, with some UK travel. 

We are open to exploring flexible working arrangements and supporting you to meet commitments you may have.

Salary: £58,000 to £60,000  p/a

Location: London (Hybrid Working Environment, 2 -3 days in office). We hold quarterly all-staff strategy meetings and annual away days which you will be required to attend in person and 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. 

Visa status: You must have the right to work in the UK independently, as we are unable to provide visa sponsorship.

Holiday: 28 days plus bank holidays (including 3 days between Christmas and New Years).

Employer pension contribution: We offer a 3% employer pension contribution, that you will be auto enrolled into after 3 months of employment with SCN.  

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:

  • 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

We are recruiting for this position through Careers4Change. 

> Apply now

You will be asked to send your CV along with answers to the following questions to Careers4Change:

  • Please tell us why you want to join The Social Change Nest and why this role specifically? (500 words max)
  • What are your three most important and relevant examples of experience that will allow you to be be successful in this role? (500 words max)
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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. 

If you need any accessibility accommodations for this application please do not hesitate to contact Careers4Change and we will be happy to provide you with those accommodations.

Please visit our main vacancies page for our equal opportunities statement. 

Using AI in your application

We recognise that AI tools are becoming increasingly prevalent in various aspects of professional life, including the job application process. While we neither encourage nor discourage the use of AI in your application, we believe it’s important for candidates to be aware of both the potential benefits and drawbacks. Here are some key points to consider:

Potential Benefits of Using AI

  1. Reduces barriers: AI can help individuals with disabilities or those who are not native English speakers in the application process.
  2. Guidance: Can provide suggestions on what you might want to include in your response.
  3. Feedback: Can offer insights on how you could improve your responses.


Potential Drawbacks of Using AI

  1. Generic content: Can result in similar wording appearing across multiple applications, making them feel less unique.
  2. Inaccuracies: AI is sometimes overly creative with facts and may provide inaccurate information.
  3. Loss of personal touch: Your individual experiences and personality might not shine through if AI is relied on too heavily.
  4. Environmental impact:  AI consumes significant environmental resources with every prompt contributing to this.

Remember, the most successful applications are those that genuinely reflect your skills, experiences, and personality. Whether you choose to use AI tools or not, make sure you check your responses thoroughly and ensure that your application accurately represents you as a candidate.