Join Mersey Rivers Trust and Help Make a Real Impact for Rivers, Wildlife and Communities!
Are you a skilled finance and governance professional looking to use your expertise for good? Mersey Rivers Trust is seeking a Finance and Governance Manager to join our Senior Leadership Team and help shape the future of our environmental charity.
We’re a passionate team working to protect and restore rivers across Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire — and we need someone like you to ensure our finances and governance are as strong as our mission.
The Mersey Rivers Trust (MRT) is an environmental charity focussing on the protection and enhancement of rivers and waterbodies in the Mersey Catchment. It operates in an area covering Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire. We have an annual turnover of c£1m and employ 19 staff delivering up to 30 projects per year. The Trust works with partners, local communities, and volunteers to deliver a wide range of projects including river restoration, reduction of flood risk by Natural Flood Management techniques, river monitoring, volunteer events (eg river clean-ups/invasive species control and citizen science), community engagement and education events, farm advice/plans and biodiversity net gain. The Trust continues to evolve to meet the increasing challenges of protecting and enhancing rivers and waterbodies in the catchment.
We are seeking a Finance and Governance Manager to join our Senior Leadership Team and lead the Trust’s finance, governance, and back-office functions. This is a pivotal role focused on ensuring financial integrity, regulatory compliance, and effective charity governance. While not involved in field-based project delivery, the Finance Manager plays a strategic role in supporting the organisation’s mission by enabling robust financial planning, reporting, and operational support. You will work closely with the Chief Executive Officer, Board of Trustees, and project teams to ensure the Trust remains financially resilient and well-governed.
As the Finance and Governance Manager, you should possess expertise in financial control and reporting, allowing you to effectively handle delegated responsibilities. Your numerical skills and critical thinking abilities will enable you to proactively address challenges and streamline processes.
The role holder will report directly to the Chief Executive Officer and will be a member of the Senior Leadership Team. The role will also include direct line management responsibilities of the Administration Officer.
If you are a motivated financial professional with a passion for driving organisational success, we invite you to apply and contribute to our team’s growth.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the management of the back-office function and Charity governance of MRT.
- Act as the Company Secretary to ensure compliance with financial and legal requirements, as well as maintaining high standards of Charity governance.
- Work with the Chief Executive Officer to prepare and manage budgets, provide input to the Trust’s business plan and strategic initiatives.
- Contribute to the strategic direction of the Trust as a member of the Senior Leadership Team.
- Provide financial insight and analysis to support strategic decision-making and long-term planning.
- Support the development and implementation of organisational policies and procedures to ensure good governance.
- Act as a key liaison with the Board of Trustees, preparing and presenting financial and governance reports to inform oversight and decision-making.
- Lead on the development of internal controls and risk management strategies to safeguard the Trust’s assets and reputation.
- Oversee all payments, manage cash flow, income and claims.
- Support financial planning for grant funding applications to support delivery of our objectives.
- Line management of the Administration Officer.
- Renew the annual insurance policy ensuring adequate cover and value for money.
- Maintain, oversee, and update all project management reporting systems on time and to budget (including timesheets, expenses and monthly reports).
- Complete all necessary reports and keep suitable records in line with the funding requirements and document retention policy.
- Highlight any new risks and issues identified whilst carrying out duties, and work with the team to manage and resolve them.
- Fulfil duties as assigned by the Chief Executive Officer.
- Any other reasonable duties as required by MRT.
The post holder will be home based with travel throughout the Mersey catchment. The applicant will need to live within or close to the Mersey catchment to facilitate regular travel to meetings. Remote working from other parts of the country cannot be considered for this role due to the need for regular face-to-face interactions.
Candidate profile
Essential
- A financial control and reporting background, qualification or qualified by experience.
- Experience of organisational governance, ideally with knowledge of UK General Accounting Practice and Charities regulations.
- Experience of financial and management reporting within a small to medium-sized organisation.
- Experience of liaising with accountants to prepare annual accounts and reports required by the Charity Commission.
- Experience of cash flow forecasting.
- Familiarity with Xero financial and project management software (or similar).
- A confident and clear communicator with the ability to communicate financial information in an appropriate manner for non-financial trustees and staff.
- Aptitude in problem-solving.
- Self-motivated and able to work effectively from home with strong communication skills and with a high level of accuracy and attention to detail.
- Ability to work flexibly across the working week when necessary.
- Ability to prioritise and plan activities to meet strict deadlines.
- Excellent literacy, numeracy and report-writing skills.
- Excellent presentation and communication skills.
- Strong negotiation and influencing skills.
- Good computer literacy skills (e.g. with Excel, Word, PowerPoint and project reporting systems).
- A reliable team player with good attendance and work performance.
- Ability to set performance objectives and ensure these are achieved.
- Excellent organisational / admin skills and attention to detail.
Desirable
- Experience in financial planning for funding applications.
- Experience of working in the charity or not for profit sector.
- Understanding of small-scale charitable trading.
- Experience of commercial contract management.
- Experience of managing an IT service provider.
- Knowledge of the Mersey Catchment.
- Good network of contacts in the sector.
General notes
- Some travel around the Mersey Catchment will be necessary therefore a current driving licence and access to a vehicle (insured for business use) is desirable or otherwise access to public transport networks.
- This position will from time to time require work during some evenings, weekends and public holidays to meet the needs of the post. A time-off in lieu system is operated by the Trust.
- We will also require the successfully applicant to undergo a basic DBS check and provide satisfactory references from previous employers.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Call for expression of interest
End-Term Evaluation Consultancy
Project name: Strengthening Civil Society Representation of Women with Disabilities in Ghana
Location: Ghana/Remote Global (at least 1-2 team members must be based in Ghana for data collection purposes)
Length of consultancy: 8-9 months
About the project
The Strengthening Civil Society Representation of Women with Disabilities in Ghana project is a two-year project funded by the European Commission. The project aims to strengthen the capacity of two co-applicants (Women with Disability Development and Advocacy Organisation (WODAO) and the Alliance for Better Advocacy and Knowledge (ABAK) Foundation) in the areas of management, communication, fundraising, coordination, advocacy, gender, climate change, networking, and financial accountability.
The overall objective of the project is to strengthen both co-applicant organisations, their partners and their members to effectively participate in development and decision-making processes.
About the consultancy
The purpose of this end of term evaluation (ETE) is to assess performance of the project and to understand what specific learnings can be taken forward in future project design and implementation. It is also intended that the evaluation will contribute evidence and/or insight towards some of Sightsavers’ thematic learning questions. An external ETE, to be conducted by the end of the project, is also a requirement by the donor.
The evaluation will also be designed to collect endline data for three project indicators, as specified in the project MEL plan. It is intended that the findings, learnings and recommendations from the evaluation will be used to inform the design and delivery of similar projects and programmes.
The evaluation will employ a collaborative and participatory approach to ensure that the evaluation takes into account the complex nature of how capacity is strengthened. It will use a mixed methods approach, triangulating secondary project documentation and data with some qualitative primary data collection. This is likely to include key informant interviews (KIIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs) with various project stakeholders. The appointed consultant will further define the methods and tools and may wish to consider elements of outcome harvesting if deemed appropriate.
Skills and Experience
The evaluation will be contracted to an external independent consultant or consultancy company. It would be beneficial if the consultant or team is at least partly located in Ghana. The evaluation team members should have the following core competencies and experience:
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Extensive experience in monitoring and evaluation for international development project/programmes, with strong skills in both qualitative and quantitative approaches.
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Thematic expertise in disability inclusion, Climate Action, advocacy, and/or capacity development of women’s organisations is essential. Comprehensive understanding of preferred practices/policy issues at global and national level is desirable.
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Prior experience working in Ghana is essential, including data collection experience. A consultant or team with members located in Ghana is preferred.
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Must have experience of carrying out evaluations of an appropriate scope and scale.
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Ability to travel within Ghana is required.
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Proven ability to produce concise, readable and analytical reports.
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Excellent communication skills, both written and spoken, in English. Fluency in other relevant local languages is highly desirable.
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Proven ability to work independently, manage resources, and deliver work within agreed timeframes.
In particular, the Team Leader (to be identified in the offer) is expected to possess a demonstrable senior evaluation expertise coherent with the requirements of this assignment and not provide less than 20 working days.
This is a highly varied and involved consultancy position, and the above is not an exhaustive list of duties, required professional skills, project information, or expected scope of work. Please ensure you read the full Terms of Reference (ToR) for all details.
Next Steps
To apply for this exciting new opportunity, please complete an application via our recruitment portal.
All applications must include:
Budget Template (link here) – Please complete and upload this as part of your application
CVs of all proposed consultants
Completion of our online Expression of Interest from (EOI): Please ensure that Section 3 (Addressing the requirements) of the EoI form covers the following two points :
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Please describe your proposed design for the evaluation/learning exercise with particular reference to the key questions from the ToRs (Max 500 words).
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Task conceptualisation
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Approach, framework
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Methods, tools
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Etc.
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Please describe your approach to addressing equity and inclusion, including gender, disability, marginalised communities etc. (Max 300 words)
We anticipate that remote interviews will take place during the weeks of 6 October or 13 October 2025 and the evaluation process will include a 1 stage oral interview to be completed by shortlisted candidates.
Closing date: 28 September 2025
As a global equal opportunities employer, Sightsavers is committed to embracing diversity throughout our workforce by creating an inclusive environment that reflects the many cultures and locations where we work. Our workforce will be truly representative of all sections of society and we will actively promote the inclusion of individuals with a disability. Sightsavers is a Disability Confident Leader and qualified people with a disability are particularly encouraged to apply.
Sightsavers is an employer that does not tolerate any form of harassment and has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse. All potential candidates will be subjected to rigorous background checks and controls.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
We have one position for a Project Officer, or for the right candidate with relevant experience, a Senior Project Officer.
Hours: full time 37.5 hours per week
Contract: permanent (hybrid working)
Area: predominantly in the East of our region
Could your next career move make a big impact on the environment?
This is an exciting opportunity to work in our Restoring Rivers & Catchments Team, developing and delivering a portfolio of physical enhancement projects on the ground. This role is suitable for an experienced and knowledgeable individual to build on their existing skills, overseeing all stages of river and catchment enhancement projects; from conception to development, design and physical implementation. You can have practical impact and influence on the natural environment creating sustainable and healthy rivers for the future.
The role of a Project Officer
Whilst this role will predominantly be in the East of the region, you will need to be prepared to work all over the South East should the need arise. River enhancement projects will typically include weir removals, fish passage easements (such as rock ramps, nature-like bypasses or technical fish passes) and river re-naturalisation projects (such as habitat enhancements, reconnecting floodplains & palaeochannels, re-meandering, and backwater creation). Catchment management projects are likely to include wetland creation, Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) and Natural Flood Management (NFM) measures. We would be interested to know about any experience you have in the above fields when you apply.
Using your freshwater expertise and proven ability, you will proactively lead on smaller and medium scale projects while working closely with other staff, external partners and stakeholders. You will work with the rest of the team, drawing on the experience of more seasoned staff to help your personal career progression and likewise overseeing Assistant Project Officer and imparting your knowledge onto them. Most importantly of all, you will support the whole team, your line manager and the wider organisation.
About you
For this role we are looking for someone who is:
- Able to put their understanding of freshwater aquatic ecosystems to use by designing, overseeing and delivering projects in this environment.
- Able to work across the catchment to support the development and funding of projects.
- A great communicator able to engage and work with multiple stakeholders.
- Happy and able to get involved with the practical hands on physical delivery of the project.
About us
Working at the South East Rivers Trust is rewarding, fulfilling and fast-paced. We are a fast growing Trust looking to expand what we are able to offer our communities, to understand their natural environment, including rare chalk streams, within the South East of England.
We collaborate with energy and professionalism, guided by our values of delivering high-quality work, using expertise and science, building strong relationships, and bringing positivity and integrity to everything we do. If this sounds like the right environment for you - we’d love to hear from you.
Please see our website for full details and job descriptions.
How to apply:
Please see our website for details on how to submit your application:
- a completed SERT Application for Employment form
- Equality and Diversity Monitoring Form (optional)
If you would like to discuss the position please visit our website.
Please note: All applicants must have the right to work in the UK. We do not sponsor applicants from overseas.
Registered Charity
21 - 50
We help rivers thrive again for communities and nature.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.