Head of Operations

Foxglove; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A mission-driven non-profit organization in the UK seeks a Head of Operations to lead all operational functions. Responsibilities include financial management, compliance, and team leadership. The ideal candidate will have 5-7 years of experience in operations or finance, excellent communication skills, and the ability to manage multiple priorities. This permanent, full-time position includes a probation period and offers attractive benefits like annual leave and pension contributions.

Benefits

25 days annual leave plus UK public holidays

10% employer pension contribution

Flexible working arrangements

Qualifications

• Minimum of 5-7 years of senior operations/finance experience.
• Strong experience with budgeting, forecasting, and financial compliance.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Oversee financial operations like budgeting and cash flow.
• Contribute to the fundraising strategy in collaboration with the directors.
• Ensure compliance with legal and regulatory standards.

Skills

Leadership and Management

Financial Management

Risk Management

Strategic Planning

Regulatory Compliance

Education

Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent)

Job description

Reporting to

Co-Executive Director

Contract type

Permanent, full-time (with probation period)

Benefits

• 25 days annual leave per annum, plus UK public and bank holidays (pro rata)
• Office closure for a week in December and August
• Annual leave allocation increases annually by one day (up to a maximum of five days)
• 10% employer pension contribution
• Other standard Foxglove benefits

About us

Foxglove is a non-profit that exists to make the use of technology fair for all. When Big Tech companies abuse their power, their workers or the planet - and when governments use technology to oppress, exclude or discriminate - we litigate and campaign to fix it. Big Tech companies have become so large - gobbling up a huge slice of the global marketplace and an unprecedented treasure hoard of user data - that they're now more powerful than many states. The harmful effects of this concentration of power are everywhere - threats to our democracy, to our privacy, decimated workers' rights and platforms rife with disinformation and hate. Big Tech and AI data centres are rapidly expanding, resulting in huge strain on energy and water supplies. Worldwide governments are ploughing ahead with the use of algorithms and mass data systems to cut costs and increase efficiency often resulting in digital tools that entrench unfairness and leave the most vulnerable in society in crisis. All these problems are only getting worse with generative AI. Foxglove works to bring the rule of law to the tech and AI giants who have upended our public square, workplaces, and social lives. We have a strong track record. We've launched landmark cases seeking structural changes to big tech's harmful business models, supported 180+ Facebook content moderators fired for trying to form a union to sue Facebook and their outsourcing company, Sama - winning world-first judgements. We're urging competition regulators worldwide to stop Google's theft of independent news. We've filed the UK's first legal challenge to a data centre permission decision over the government's failure to properly assess their environmental impact. We've forced disclosure of secret contracts between tech giants and the NHS, stopped a racist Home Office visa streaming algorithm, helped make grading fair for UK A level students, forced the government to pause the NHS Data Grab and challenged the Department of Work and Pension's use of an algorithm unfairly flagging disabled people for benefit fraud investigations.

The role

As Head of Operations, you will lead all operational functions of Foxglove. You will ensure that our finance, HR, legal compliance, fundraising, systems and internal processes enable the organisation to carry out its mission effectively. You'll work across Foxglove and closely with leadership, as well as with external partners to build a resilient and well-governed organisation, able to manage growth and complexity while staying mission driven. This role manages one member of staff and multiple consultants.

Key responsibilities

Key responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Financial Management & Accounting:

1. Oversee financial operations: budgeting, forecasting, cash flow, expenditure controls, financial reporting, payroll.
2. Ensure compliance with accounting standards, audit requirements and donor / funder financial reporting obligations.
3. Manage relationships with external accountants, auditors, banks, and financial service providers.
4. Ensure appropriate and best practice financial policies and controls are in place.
5. Ensure financial risk is identified and managed appropriately.

Fundraising & Development:

1. Contribute to the organisation's fundraising strategy in collaboration with the Co-Executive Directors and Head of Strategy.
2. Ensure systems are in place to track and manage grants, philanthropic donations, and other income streams.
3. Support the preparation of funding proposals and reports and ensure accurate and timely reporting to funders.
4. Support relationship management with key donors, foundations and partners.

Operational Systems & Processes:

1. Develop and maintain efficient operational processes and systems (e.g. finance, HR, IT, data protection, office management).
2. Ensure proper policies and procedures are in place for procurement, vendor management, travel & expenses, and record-keeping.
3. Oversee the infrastructure that supports remote / hybrid working, ensuring tools and systems support collaboration, security, and productivity.

Compliance, Risk & Governance:

1. Lead on organisational compliance: legal, regulatory, health & safety, data protection / GDPR, employment law.
2. Ensure the organisation's policies and procedures are best practice, legally compliant and up to date.
3. Establish and monitor risk management frameworks and our risk register.
4. Support governance structures (internal reporting, director meetings etc.), ensuring decisions are well informed and documented.

Human Resources & People Operations:

1. Oversee recruitment, onboarding, performance management, and staff development.
2. Ensure policies on equality, diversity, inclusion and wellbeing are embedded in how we work.
3. Foster a positive culture in line with Foxglove's values.

Team Leadership & Collaboration:

1. Lead the operations team, ensuring clarity of roles, responsibilities, performance and support.
2. Work closely with the rest of organisation including the legal teams and advocacy to ensure operations enables, not hinders, impact.
3. Contribute to organisational strategy, helping translate strategic ambitions into operational plans.

Person specification

Below are the essential and desirable criteria for a successful candidate.

Essential:

• Minimum of 5-7 years of senior operations / finance / business operations experience, including line management
• Strong experience of budgeting, forecasting, audit & financial compliance
• Excellent strategic thinking and planning skills, able to bridge between high-level strategy and operational detail
• Strong risk-management and governance experience; familiarity with compliance, data protection / GDPR, employment law etc.
• Highly organised and able to manage multiple priorities; excellent time-management skills
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills; ability to present complex operational, financial or legal information clearly
• Strong collaboration skills; ability to work across teams; good leadership and people management skills

Desirable:

• Qualified accountant (e.g. ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent), with proven experience in financial oversight and reporting
• Experience of operating in non-profit / mission-driven / legal organisations
• Legal or compliance experience
• Experience of international operations, dealing with cross‑border legal / regulatory issues
• Experience of change management and scaling teams or systems
• Understanding of, or interest in, legal, tech justice issues
• Experience of hybrid / remote team leadership
• Experience with fundraising finances, grants management, donor reports

Length and salary

This is a permanent full-time role with six-month probation period.

How to apply

Please make your application via Applied via the button below answering the application questions and uploading your CV. We will not review applications sent via a job board or to our email. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis with first round interviews likely to take place in mid February for selected candidates.

Foxglove does not use AI in its recruitment processes, except to detect applications for AI use. As a tech-justice organisation, we ask the same of our candidates.

Foxglove is growing and we are striving to build a team that is inclusive. We will create a diverse and adaptable environment where we support people to do their best work. You can read more about how we work and what we offer our staff here.

If you require any reasonable adjustments to complete this process, or have any questions, please get in touch with us.

If you would like to know more about how we process your data as part of the recruitment process you can read our recruitment data use policy here.