Head of Finance

Overview

As Head of Finance, you will lead the international finance team to provide strategic financial insight for a fast-growing charity focused on protecting the environment and human rights. You’ll report to the COO and support the CEO, SMT and Trustees with robust financial planning and reporting across multiple countries. Your work will strengthen financial controls, oversee multi-currency funding, and drive value-for-money to maximise impact. This role offers leadership scope, global reach, and a hands-on opportunity to shape the organisation’s financial health. You will be pivotal in sustaining resources for real-world environmental and defender-focused impact.

Pay / Benefits

• 22 days’ annual leave
• private healthcare
• generous pension scheme
• flexible and hybrid working (3 days in office / 2 from home)
• cycle-to-work scheme
• professional development and career progression

Responsibilities

• Maintain and improve global financial policies, systems, controls and processes across all operating countries.
• Manage a team of six finance staff in the UK and overseas.
• Produce accurate, accessible monthly and annual global financial reporting for internal and external audiences.
• Provide strategic forecasts, insights and advice to the CEO, SMT and Trustees.
• Prepare budgets for funding proposals and project spend against grants with timely reporting to funders.
• Lead the annual organisational budget process and multi-year financial plans.
• Mentor team leads on budgeting, tracking and expenditure oversight.
• Monitor value for money and identify inefficiencies or waste.
• Develop and execute treasury strategy, including currency risk management and reserves.
• Oversee payroll and pensions with external providers as appropriate.
• Complete regulatory returns for the Charity Commission and other statutory bodies.
• Lead the annual external audit and coordinate statutory accounts preparation.
• Manage financial risk, fraud safeguards, and relationships with auditors, banks and advisers.

Key requirements

• Demonstrable commitment to EJF’s vision and values
• Qualified accountant with strong attention to detail
• Minimum six years’ experience, preferably in the international charity sector with finance team management
• Experience designing and implementing financial controls and securing value for money through procurement
• Strong IT skills and experience managing IT systems/databases
• Excellent written and verbal communication
• Proactive, solution-oriented, highly organized and self-motivated
• Enthusiastic, outgoing and able to work in a growing, diverse, international team with minimal supervision
• Experience with the UK Charity SORP and producing annual report and accounts
• Experience with multi-currency income/expenditure and managing sub-grants to overseas partners
• Ability to travel to countries of operation to assess financial systems and manage staff

• excellent communication
• proactive and solution-oriented
• highly organized
• financial controls and value-for-money through procurement
• treasury management and currency risk
• payroll and pensions administration

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