Finance Manager

The Degrees Initiative; United Kingdom; Remote; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading charity organization in the United Kingdom is seeking a Finance Manager to oversee financial operations and ensure compliance with regulations. You will be responsible for budgeting, forecasting, and managing the relationship with an outsourced financial provider. The role offers a unique opportunity to support impactful initiatives, making a real difference in global climate debates. If you are an ambitious, qualified finance professional with a desire to contribute meaningfully, this role is for you.

Qualifications

• Experienced in overseeing outsourced financial services.
• Proven ability to prepare and monitor organizational budgets.
• Skilled in financial reporting and compliance.

Responsibilities

• Oversee outsourced finance provider and ensure service delivery.
• Prepare and monitor annual organizational budgets.
• Finalize monthly management accounts and deliver financial reports.
• Lead annual audits and maintain compliance with regulations.
• Work closely with programmatic teams on financial processes.

Skills

Financial oversight

Budgeting and forecasting

Financial reporting

Compliance with charity regulations

Process improvement

Education

Qualified finance professional

Tools

QuickBooks

Job description

Role

We seek a Finance Manager to lead the day to day running of the charity’s finances including overseeing the work of our outsourced financial provider. As a grant giving organisation, there will be regular interaction with the programmatic workstreams in this position, offering a fantastic opportunity for the right candidate to increase the capacity of a field-leading charity, help empower researchers in the Global South, and contribute to one of the world’s most important climate debates. If you are an ambitious qualified finance professional, this is an opportunity to step into a role with purpose, international influence, and real impact.

Working with the COO, you will undertake organisational financial planning, budgeting and forecasting so that the senior staff and trustees have comprehensive information for decision making. Furthermore, in cooperation with the Development Manager, this role will support the submission of funding bids and reporting to funders to ensure the continued growth of the charity.

Responsibilities

As this is a new role, responsibilities are expected to evolve but some key items include:

• Financial Oversight: Overseeingthe outsourced financeprovider, ensuring service delivery meets organisational needs and deadlines.You will be the primary liaison between our financial services provider and the staff, ensuring that theymake payments on behalf of the organisation, runs payroll, completes the bookkeeping via QuickBooks, the monthly management accounts, and the annual statutory accounts.
• Budgeting & Forecasting: Preparingandmonitoringannual organisationalbudgetsincluding a mid-yearadjustment, cash flow forecasts, financialmodelsand annual accountsto supportthe annual business cycleand fundraising bids.
• Reporting: Finalisingmonthly management accountsprepared by outsourced financial provider,deliverfinancial reports for the COO, senior leadership, and trustees, andpreparingdonor financial reporting.
• Financial Strategy and Investment Oversight: Working with the COOtomanagefinancial resources and reservesincluding developingthe investment policyto support the long-term goals of the charity.
• Audit & Compliance: Leadingon annual audits,maintaincompliance with UK charity finance regulations, and ensure adherence to funder requirements.
• Programmatic financial support: Workingcloselywith theprogrammesteams toensuretheirpayments processes run smoothly with the outsourced financial provider,andregularly reviewing theirgrantand eventexpenditureis in line withtheirown managed budgets.
• Process Improvement: Identifyingopportunities to streamline financial processes and implement best practices,such asworking with Operations to improvepayments & expenses software,opening new bank accounts,or findingnewplatforms to reduce international payment fees.

Key relationships:

• Supervised by COO
• Primary liaison with our outsourced financial provider (including a management accountant, payments officer and bookkeeper)
• Works with the Development Manager
• Grants Manager
• Operations team