Chief Operating Officer at the Climate Change Committee (CCC)

Climate Change Committee; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 81,000; Full time

Job summary

A public sector organization in London seeks a Chief Operating Officer to lead its corporate services, manage financial resources, and implement governance frameworks. This role involves significant leadership and strategic influence within a small, high-profile setting. Candidates must possess a CCAB or CIMA qualification and have extensive experience in financial management and project delivery.

Benefits

Flexible working culture

25 days paid annual leave increasing over time

Learning and professional development opportunities

Pension scheme contributions

Qualifications

• Significant post-qualification experience in accounting.
• Experience leading statutory government accounts preparation.
• Proven track record in delivering complex change and transformation projects.

Responsibilities

• Lead the change and transformation programme for corporate services.
• Negotiate a multi-year financial settlement.
• Oversee financial accounting systems and management.

Skills

Leadership

Financial management

Project management

Human resources management

Strategic influence

Education

CCAB or CIMA professional accounting qualification

Job description

The Chief Operating Officer is a key leadership role responsible for all corporate functions that support delivery of the Committee’s advice including finance, governance, HR, IT and shared corporate services. The post holder reports to the Chief Executive Officer and sits on the senior leadership team responsible for the overall management of the CCC.

This challenging role requires an outstanding candidate who will seize the challenge of working in a high-profile but small organisation with a complex work programme and motivated, expert staff. You will be a strong and inspirational leader, with the ability to see the big picture but willing to take a ‘hands-on’ approach to tasks that fall under the broad remit. This is an important role for the Committee and provides a unique opportunity for an ambitious candidate.

Job description

Key responsibilities

• Lead the change and transformation programme for CCC’s corporate services. This includes working across the CCC’s two sponsoring Government Departments, onboarding to a new HR and Finance operating platform, changing our shared services provider, and conducting a feasibility review of future IT service provision options.
• Work with the Chief Executive Officer to negotiate a multi-year financial settlement for this Spending Review period, ensuring that the CCC receives the resources necessary to perform all its statutory duties, retain expert staff, and deliver high quality analysis.
• Oversee robust management and financial accounting systems, working with Accounting Officer (Chief Executive Officer) and wider management. Make sure resources match priorities and are delivered to budget and with value for money, meeting appropriate standards for the management of public money. Lead production of management and statutory accounts.
• Working with the Committee and senior team in the Secretariat, develop and implement a governance framework to inform decision-making, and support the management of risks. Take responsibility for managing the Audit & Risk Assurance Committee and lead the relationship with External and Internal Audit providers.
• Work with the leadership team to develop the CCC’s overall strategy, including responsibility for managing the Operations Board agenda and information.
• Lead the CCC’s people strategy to ensure high quality, skilled staff, including resource planning, talent management, succession planning and negotiating pay-remit.

Person specification

The ideal candidate will have the following skillset:

• CCAB or CIMA professional accounting qualification with significant post qualification experience.
• Experience of leading the preparation of statutory government accounts, including working with Audit & Risk Assurance Committees, internal and external auditors.
• Experience of delivering complex change and transformation projects and evidence of applying project management disciplines in a proportionate yet effective way, to ensure competing projects are delivered on time and with acceptable risk.
• Experience of overseeing a human resources function and a good understanding of civil service frameworks.
• A proven ability to exert strategic influence at senior levels, with significant management experience.
• A successful track record of building effective partnerships within and across organisational boundaries.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £81,000, Climate Change Committee contributes £23,465 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

The CCC also offers:

• A culture of flexible working.
• A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by 1 day per year up to a maximum of 30.
• An extensive range of learning & professional development opportunities, which all staff are actively encouraged to pursue.
• Access to a range of retail, travel and lifestyle employee discounts.
• Learning and development tailored to your role
• Up to three days a year for volunteering

The CCC office is based at 10 South Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London, EP4 4PU.
The CCC operates a discretionary hybrid working policy, which provides for a combination of working hours from your place of work and from your home in the UK. The current expectation for staff is to attend the office or non-home based location for at least 40-60% of their working hours.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

• To apply for this post, you will need to submit the following documentation by 24th November 2025 to [e-mail],
• A CV (in Word format) setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years;
• A statement of suitability (no longer than 1,250 words) explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience make you suitable for the role, with particular reference to the Essential Criteria set out in the Job Description.
• A completed Mandatory Diversity Monitoring Form. All monitoring data will be treated in the strictest confidence and will not affect your application in any way. To complete, please follow this link or in the candidate pack.

Once you have submitted your application, you will receive an automated email to confirm that you have applied. If you do not receive this email, please make contact with our recruitment team.

Please ensure you provide a daytime, evening and/or mobile telephone number/s as well as your personal email address (to be used with discretion).

The Assessment phase for Shortlisted candidates will include completion of an online assessment tool (WorkStyle) and an un-assessed ‘Informal Conversation’ (via Teams) with Emma Pinchbeck, Chief Executive Officer. The Panel Interview will be an in-person interview held at the CCC office at 10 South Colonnade, Canary Wharf.

We also need contact details for two referees. Referees should be people who can comment authoritatively on you as a person and as an employee and must include your current or most recent employer or his/her authorised representative. Confidential references may be taken up on candidates shortlisted for formal interviews. However, we will refer back to you for confirmation that referees may be approached before any contact is made with them.
Should you have any queries about the application process, please contact [e-mail] to arrange a call.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

This role has a minimum assignment duration of 10 years. An assignment duration is the period of time a Senior Civil Servant is expected to remain in the same post to enable them to deliver on the agreed key business outcomes. The assignment duration also supports your career through building your depth of expertise.

As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.

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