Committee secretary jobs in birmingham

We are looking for an experienced Finance Director to join our team of nearly 100 staff, ideally before the end of 2025.

This is a full-time, home-based, permanent position. You can be based anywhere in mainland UK or Ireland, with some travel and occasional overnight stays to meeting and conferences mainly in England and Wales.

We offer flexibility around working hours, including the option of a 9 day fortnight - time off in lieu is also available. We offer 25 days holiday pro rata (rising to 28 days) plus statutory public holidays. We are happy to make adjustments for people with disabilities and/or caring responsibilities, and we welcome applications from all communities.

The role is a grade 7 position with a starting salary circa £75,000 plus benefits including 9% employer pension contribution.

The Finance Director (“FD”) works alongside the Chief Executive and Operations Director to manage the finances and governance of The Rivers Trust, a leading conservation charity with three associated trading subsidiaries operating across the UK and Ireland, with a collective annual income approaching £10m.

Given the prospective retirement of the current postholder at the end of 2025, we are seeking a well-qualified and experienced individual to take on this senior leadership role as soon as possible to enable handover to occur.

The role is very varied and wide-ranging, including presenting financial information to the Trustees and senior management on a quarterly basis, reviewing monthly management accounts, leading on annual budgeting, appraising internal project concepts and contracts, statutory compliance administration and liaising with auditors.

The postholder will lead a team of eight in the Finance department and join a very welcoming team of 95 highly engaged and passionate staff at The Rivers Trust.

Main duties and responsibilities:

Working alongside the CEO, the Finance Director will provide commercial, financial and governance management and leadership for The Rivers Trust ("the Charity") and its associated subsidiaries (“The Companies”). The FD will not only be an exceptional accountant, with executive oversight of the finance function, but will be commercially astute and have the confidence to represent robustly the best interests of The Companies. The FD will also be an experienced manager of people.

Key Accountabilities:

1. Act as a business partner to support and constructively challenge the CEO in the general management of the Charity and the Companies, reporting to the board.
2. Lead all aspects of the finance function (including maintaining and developing the financial control environment; robust financial accounting; cashflow management; incisive management information; clear and concise reporting to Board) to ensure that the Charity and the Companies’ assets are secured, risks are managed, and the Board of Trustees, subsidiary boards and committees can make well-informed decisions.
3. Manage relationships with auditors, funders, IT specialists, banks, investment platforms and other external organisations.
4. Provide support to project bids and the development of other commercial opportunities to ensure that bids/opportunities are optimised for the Charity and the Companies as a whole.
5. Provide input to project and programme delivery from time to time, to ensure that performance is maximised for the Charity and the Companies.
6. Attend Board meetings and Business Audit and Risk Committee meetings to guide the Board and the Senior Management Team on financial, commercial and governance issues.
7. Ensure compliance with the requirements of the Charity Commission and Companies House and, from time to time, provide guidance to members of the Rivers Trust movement on good governance practice.
8. Maintain the finance department operational manual for business continuity.
9. Serve as the Company Secretary for the Charity and Companies.

Staff Management:

1. Lead, manage and develop the finance team (who work remotely) and ensure the team understands their respective and collective contribution to achieving the Charity's and the Companies’ objectives.
2. Support the team in their professional development.
3. Ensure the team delivers a high-quality service focused on internal and external customers and funders.

Knowledge, skills, experience, and personal qualities:

Essential

• Significant experience in financial management and senior leadership roles, ideally gained in a range of organisations.
• A strategic thinker, able to see the big-picture, shape long-term direction and balance this with attention to detail.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills combined with creativity and openness to innovate.
• Strong IT and digital skills, with experience of using technology to improve efficiency and automate processes.
• Proven people leadership experience, with a track record of managing, developing, and inspiring teams and creating a supportive, inclusive, and collaborative culture.
• Excellent relationship builder, with the interpersonal skills to influence, collaborate, and provide constructive challenge while maintaining positive relationships across the organisation, including with trustees and senior stakeholders.
• Experience reporting to boards of trustees and/or directors, with the confidence to contribute to board-level discussions as a trusted adviser.
• Strong written and verbal communications skills, able to distil complexity into pertinent, concise and understandable messages tailored to diverse audiences.
• The courage to make and communicate tough decisions and be open about risks and setbacks.
• Resilient and calm under pressure, with the ability to maintain focus and steady leadership in challenging circumstances.
• Impeccable standards of integrity and personal ethics, acting as a role model for the organisation values.
• Knowledge of Sage financial software packages.
• Work to a good standard in Microsoft 365, especially Excel, Word, Outlook and Teams.

Desirable

• Experience of working in the charitable sector.
• Experience of being a Company Secretary.
• Understanding of the environmental sector or a passion for making a positive impact.
• Familiarity in using Sharepoint, Sage and Slack.
• Knowledge of Partial Exemption VAT rules.
• A basic understanding of Irish tax law, Irish and UK payroll taxes and corporate governance.

Qualifications/ Education

• Qualified Accountant, preferably ICAEW or ACCA.

Additional information

Everyone who works for us is expected to contribute to a respectful and inclusive working culture and follow our policies and procedures including Health & Safety, EDI, Cybersecurity and GDPR.

Please note we can only accept applications made through this site, and not sent by email or other methods.

We are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible. We warmly welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. If you would benefit from any adjustments to support you through the process, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate your needs.

To apply please send your CV and a covering letter.

Closing date: Wednesday 24th September 2025

We may close this vacancy early if we receive a strong pool of applications, so we encourage early submission

Be part of something extraordinary at Sense. 

We’re here to break down barriers alongside disabled people with complex needs. As we start to develop and deliver an ambitious three-year plan for Sense’s future, we are looking for a chief strategy and governance officer – a senior leader with a strategic experience, inclusive values, and a commitment to impact. 

About the role 

As our chief strategy and governance officer, you’ll report directly to the chief executive and play a key leadership role as part of Sense’s chief officers’ group. You’ll lead business planning, performance, risk, governance, safeguarding, health and safety, internal audit and project management across the charity—ensuring strategy and delivery are aligned at every level. 

You’ll also serve as company secretary and oversee our legal and regulatory compliance with the Charity commission and Companies house, while championing an inclusive approach to governance that empowers disabled people with complex needs. With a team of senior leaders reporting into you, you’ll shape culture, drive improvement, and model the leadership values that make Sense a truly people-centred organisation. 

This is a hybrid role based from either Birmingham or London, with frequent travel.

What you'll do 

• Lead the delivery of Sense’s strategy through robust business planning and performance frameworks.
• Oversee impact measurement and risk management, enabling evidence-led decision-making.
• Act as company secretary, ensure legal and regulatory compliance and high-quality support for our board of trustees and their committees.
• Provide executive leadership of safeguarding and health and safety, fostering a proactive culture of learning.
• Create an environment for project and programme management across Sense that enables clear oversight of delivery through a values-led Project management office.
• Manage internal audit via external providers, ensuring assurance and continuous improvement.
• Collaborate closely with the CEO and board of trustees, providing insight, coordination, and strategic guidance.
• Drive inclusion, equity and sustainability throughout the organisation’s leadership approach. 

About you 

We’re looking for an experienced, values-driven leader who is: 

• Strategic and analytical, with senior-level experience in governance, performance or organisational leadership.
• Highly organised and insightful, with a strong grasp of business planning, impact reporting and risk.
• Experienced in governance leadership, ideally with charity or regulated services knowledge and company secretary experience.
• Confident working with senior stakeholders, including boards, executives, and regulatory bodies.
• Committed to inclusion and the social model of disability, with a track record of embedding equity and diverse perspectives in strategy and operations.
• Digitally confident, with strong understanding of data protection, information governance, and the role of technology in transformation. 

About Sense 

We believe that every disabled person should have the opportunity to connect with others and be included in the world. We use our knowledge and expertise to deliver personalised, creative and flexible support at every stage of life. Sense is proud to be a disability confident leader. 

Working at Sense can be incredibly rewarding; we offer the opportunity to work in a large, diverse and successful charity where people can develop their skills, knowledge and careers in a supportive and flexible environment. In addition, we have excellent training and development, the opportunity for you to join our Group Personal Pension scheme and a generous annual leave entitlement. 

To apply 

Please use the link below to complete your application. We would recommend that you read the job description and person specification before applying. 

Please note to avoid disappointment, we advise you to submit your application as soon as possible as we reserve the right to close recruitment at any time. 

Sense is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of disabled children and adults and expects all employees to share this commitment. Therefore, all offers of employment, where appropriate, are subject to a DBS check; level dependent on the nature of the role. 

For this role we particularly welcome applications from candidates from underrepresented ethnic minority backgrounds and disabled people.

Sense is committed to equality of opportunity, and to promoting and celebrating the diversity of staff, volunteers and the people we work with. Everyone's contribution is valued and we ensure they're given the opportunity to realise their potential. We welcome applications from talented people from all sections of the community who share our values

The role of Head of Legal reports to the Director of Legal & Governance and you will assist them in ensuring the legal function of the organisation runs efficiently, smoothly and that we proactively identify and address legal risk and development needs.

You will be responsible for overseeing and managing the day to day legal affairs of the organisation.

Key Responsibilities include:

• Identify legal risk and propose mitigations and solutions.
• Proactively identifying issues and resolving problems efficiently.
• Providing guidance and advice to colleagues
• Developing and managing the suite of legal templates in use across the organisation, proactively identifying areas for improvement and / or development and working collaboratively to develop new templates as needed
• Ensuring internal legal requirements are well designed and understood and are aligned to delivery of strategy
• Ensure that internal legal processes run smoothly
• Make sound, timely decisions that support sustainable, long-term strategic outcomes.

This is a part time, fixed term role and can be based at any of our hubs located in Birmingham, Leeds or London.

For more information, please download the Job Recruitment Pack.

Due to receiving high volumes of interest in our opportunities, this vacancy may close earlier than the advertised deadline. To ensure your application is considered, please submit it as soon as possible.