Deputy head of finance jobs in Reading, berkshire
The Deputy Director of Operations (DDO) supports the Director of Operations and Development (DOD) in ensuring the smooth, compliant, and strategic functioning of the ELSC across multiple jurisdictions, including the UK, Netherlands, and Germany.
The DDO line-manages the Finance and Human Resources Managers and provides operational leadership in compliance, finance, HR, coordination, and employee engagement.
The ELSC has four departments (Legal, Monitor & Research, Advocacy & Communications, and Operations & Development) and five work teams (Britain, Netherlands, Germany, EU, Crimes and Complicity).
The DDO coordinates staff gatherings and internal engagement, including planning the annual in-person all-staff event, managing logistics for departmental and work team meetings, and supporting cross-departmental collaboration.
The role also assists the Director of Operations and Development with meeting facilitation and agenda development, co-facilitates weekly remote all-staff meetings, and supports the coordination of the monthly staff assembly.
This role requires exceptional organisational, interpersonal, time-management, and analytical skills.
REQUIRED EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS
- Demonstrable experience in a senior operations and/or compliance role (5+ years).
- Experience with Finance, Governance, and Human Resources.
- Strong understanding of British, Dutch, and German legal and organisational frameworks (or ability to acquire this quickly).
- Experience organising events, preferably in more than one jurisdiction.
- Experience with line-management.
REQUIRED SKILLS & ABILITIES
- Demonstrated skills in managing HR and Finance functions.
- Demonstrated skills in line-managing a remote team and excellent interpersonal communications.
- Proficiency in English with excellent written and spoken communication skills (English is the working language of the ELSC).
- Excellent understanding and knowledge of the political and human rights situation in Palestine.
- Facilitation proficiency, both remotely and in in-person events.
- Teamwork skills and flexibility; ability to manage time and competing priorities according to organisational needs.
- Highly organised, strong attention to detail, driven, with excellent strategic planning and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to prioritise and delegate tasks and manage a busy workload.
- Commitment to anti-racism, anti-discrimination, and equal opportunities.
- Willingness to travel and work occasional unsocial hours as required.
- Flexibility within the broad remit of the post.
DESIRABLE EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS
- Graduate in Business Administration, Law, Human Resources, Public Policy, Public Administration, Sociology, or other relevant fields.
- Master’s Degree in a related field.
- Basic knowledge of International and European law.
- Proficiency in German, Dutch, or Arabic.
MAIN DUTIES AND TASKS
Management
- Line manage Finance Manager and Human Resources Manager.
- Schedule regular 1:1 meetings with direct reports, provide guidance on division of tasks, and monitor workload.
- Support direct reports in the implementation of Finance and HR strategy.
Compliance
- Ensure compliance for ELSC entities in the Netherlands, Britain, and Germany.
- Ensure Dutch insurance compliance and associated operational requirements.
- Review and monitor payroll monthly.
- Lead the establishment of a German legal entity, working with external advisors as needed.
- Oversee the British office operations, including the evaluation of office space.
- Conduct a review of office costs and usage.
- Provide administrative and logistical support to the Senior Legal Committee where needed, including facilitation and documentation.
Staff Coordination
- Plan and oversee the in-person all-staff gathering (2026) in coordination with the ELSC executive management team.
- Coordinate the logistics of annual departmental gatherings.
- Organise Work Team gatherings, supporting cross-departmental collaboration.
- Support the Director of Operations (DOD) with facilitation and agenda development for internal meetings.
- Facilitate 50% of Remote All-Staff Meetings (60min, weekly).
- Support the coordination of Monthly Staff Assemblies.
People & HR
- Oversee HR policy implementation and delivery of the annual People Strategy.
- Support the HR Manager in leading HR operations and in the recruitment and induction of new staff.
- Oversee the development of an Organisational Handbook.
- Review and improve the performance review process.
- Establish promotion guidelines to create transparent career progression pathways.
- Maintain and update the Organisational Chart quarterly.
- Review the Organisational Wiki (“The Fridge”) yearly.
Finance
- Oversee ELSC financial operations.
- Support the Finance Manager, providing oversight and strategic direction.
- Ensure effective operation of the Finance Committee, led by the Finance Manager.
- Review and distribute monthly financial reports to Department Heads via the Finance Committee.
- Ensure monthly financial summaries are reported to Work Teams through the Senior Legal Committee.
- Oversee completion of the organisational audit.
- Support short-term investment strategies.
- Monitor and report on operational budgets, ensuring accountability and fiscal responsibility across departments.
- Liaise and coordinate with the ELSC Treasurer Board member.
Training
- Standardise training and qualifications frameworks across departments to ensure transparency, fairness, and consistency in line with the ELSC Pay & Benefits Scale.
- Lead investment in staff training and development initiatives to strengthen organisational capacity.
- Support the qualification and professional development of junior legal staff through structured learning pathways in three jurisdictions with the support of the Director of the Legal Department.
About Social Investment Business:
By providing finance and support, at SIB we enable charities and social enterprises to exist, grow and thrive. We have disbursed nearly £0.5bn to thousands of organisations since 2002. Our team believes in the power of the social economy, champions the charities and social enterprises we support - and we are all working together to build a more equal society.
It is a hugely exciting time to join the organisation. We are growing, investing in our expert team, and building on the successes of the last few years.
Our values are: People First, Curious, Bold, Collaborative, Accountable
For further information on what it is like to work with us and our generous benefits please visit our website.
About this role: Reporting to the Deputy CEO, the Head of Business and Market Development will build on SIB’s existing research and findings on market scope and scale, organisational financial resilience, the cost of capital and fund financial modelling to support the delivery of SIB’s ambitious new strategy, and hit our business development targets as part of an ambitious growth plan. This new post will develop SIB’s work and the rigour and robustness of our market and financial analytics in order to grow the organisation, the amount of investment under management and the annual disbursement of grant funds.
Key responsibilities
1. Working closely with the CEO and Deputy CEO support the delivery of ambitious growth targets under the new strategy.
2. Oversee the regulatory transition to FCA regulation for a defined number of SIB subsidiaries, drawing together the relevant internal documentation, working with the FCA – and any specialist retained consultants – to ensure that SIB is quickly and effectively accredited.
3. Work with the CEO and Deputy CEO to advance SIB’s applications for capital from Public Finance Institutions including the National Wealth Fund.
4. Working with the wider BD team, draw on market and financial modelling that incorporates existing data on SIB’s customers across its funds (using e.g. IMD, turnover, assets, age, business model) to develop excellent bids and tenders for new grant funds and to structure successful investment raises.
5. Oversee the reporting of all funds managed through the SIB group subsidiaries to their investors. This should include quality control of regular analytics, KPIs and case studies, regular catch up calls with investors and occasional presentations remote and in person.
6. Oversee the regularity and quality of analytics of SIB’s enterprise level impact to provide a consistent snapshot across all funds, including for SIB’s internal subsidiary board meetings.
7. Work with the Market and Financial Analyst to develop a strategic approach to financial modelling of funds. This should include an approach to cost base calculations (taking into account variability in disbursement rates, portfolios under management, loan vs. grant, capital vs. revenue, pace and automation), consistent treatment of interest payments, management and administrative fees and internal investment. The base model should be able to inform forward planning and business development, as well as serve to stack up the financial viability of BD opportunities as they arise.
8. Work with the Systems and Data teams to ensure that the base model is embedded within SIB’s operations and informs fund and programme management.
9. Lead a horizon scanning function that effectively drives comparative benchmarking against competitor / peer organisations.
10. Oversee the team’s work with the Finance and Governance teams to ensure that market analytics include effective customer feedback, collected regularly and embedded in key performance indicators.
11. Alongside the Deputy CEO and the wider Data, Insights and Advocacy team, oversee the delivery of the annual impact report, bringing colleagues together to identify key findings and deliver each report. Ensure that the impact report reflects market analytics, providing context that identifies SIB’s leadership and place within the wider sector.
12. Oversee the management – as needed – of any external consultants working on more complex financial models / additional research and learning that contributes to market or business development.
13. Alongside the Deputy CEO and the wider BD team, design and facilitate general learning sessions and programme specific learning sessions with small and large groups, this may include partners, customers and the SIB Board as well as colleagues. Elicit learning from these sessions, share findings and support your colleagues to integrate action points into our systems. This learning approach should particularly reflect how customer need / satisfaction is met by different fund and programme structures.
14. Line manage the Market and Financial Analyst, Marketing Manager and BD Manager.
15. To work in line with the organisation's values, principles and processes to achieve operational excellence.
16. To adopt our continuous improvement and learning ethos
17. To support and embed equality, diversity and inclusion into day-to-day behaviours and activities within your role as well as contributing more widely across SIB’s commitment to E, D & I
18. To support and contribute to the implementation and delivery of SIB’s strategy
19. In agreement with manager to undertake other tasks and work on cross team projects that support the objectives of SIB as required
Core competencies
- Familiarity with raising investment
- Experience of managing a high functioning business development team achieving strategic objectives
- Knowledge of financial analytics
- Excellent excel skills
- Excellent writing skills
- Excellent project management to tight deadlines
- An understanding of how to share research and data analysis with audiences of mixed experience
- Strong leadership and people management skills, with the ability to inspire teams across functions to work in an integrated way
- Strong planning skills and an ability to multi-task, work well under pressure and meet deadlines
- Excellent IT skills and the ability to learn new programmes quickly
Desirable competencies
- Understanding of FCA regulation
- Prior experience of working in a regulatory environment
- Understanding of the UK charity and social enterprise sectors
Education / Professional experience
Team leadership experience
We believe in the power of the social economy to build a more equal society.
Salary: £32,000 per annum WTE based on 37 hours
Hours: 37 hours per week
Location: Farnham, Surrey
Would you like to be part of an organisation that’s dedicated to caring for the local community?
We are seeking a proactive accountant with good IT skills to ensure our finance systems operate efficiently and effectively. This is a varied, hands-on role supporting the whole Finance Team, particularly during periods of peak activity, to ensure the department continues to run smoothly.
Key Responsibilities
- Act as system lead for Microsoft Business Central, our accounting system, and the other systems used by the Finance Team.
- Prepare month-end journals, balance sheet reconciliations and support year-end accounts and audit.
- Be responsible for restricted funds accounting and support Gift Aid processes.
- Provide cover for Sales, Purchase Ledger and Income Supervisors as required.
- Support Finance Assistants during high-volume income periods.
- Lead finance-related projects and deputise for the Head of Finance when needed.
About You
A successful Financial Systems and Accounts Supervisor will:
- Be MAAT or part-qualified ACA/ACCA/CIMA, with strong financial and management accounting experience.
- Be confident working with accounting systems (ideally Microsoft Business Central) and intermediate Excel skills.
- Have knowledge of Gift Aid and an understanding of charity finance and SORP (desirable).
- Be highly organised, collaborative and flexible, with excellent communication skills and a can-do attitude.
For a full list of essential requirements, please refer to the job description and person specification document.
This is an excellent opportunity for someone who enjoys variety, systems improvement and working closely with colleagues across an organisation with a strong service ethos.
About Us
We are based in Farnham, Camberley and Guildford, and provide bespoke, compassionate palliative and end of life care for people living with an advanced or terminal illness, across West Surrey and North-East Hampshire.
Phyllis Tuckwell is a very special place to work. Our staff make a real difference to the lives of our patients and their loved ones, providing outstanding care at a time that really matters. Our Finance team members are pivotal in helping deliver our vital services, ensuring ‘every day is precious’ for our patients.
We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive culture, with the principles of fairness and equality at its core. We are an equal opportunities employer, who values and respects our employees’ unique knowledge, skills and experiences. We warmly welcome applications from all sections of the community. All appointments are made following a fair and equitable process, based on merit, job requirements and business need.
We Offer:
Excellent Benefits
- Six weeks paid holiday plus public holidays
- Phyllis Tuckwell Group Personal Pension Plan (matched contributions up to 7.5%)
- Health Cash Plan Scheme
- Employee Assistance Programme
- Staff Benefit Scheme
- Blue Light Discount Card
Excellent Career Development
- Leadership Development
- Skill Development and Training
- Project-Based Learning
- Professional Growth
- Upskilling
- Apprenticeships
- Coaching
- Diverse Training Courses
A Great Place to Work
- Equal Opportunities employer
- Flexible hours and flexible working
- Supportive colleagues
- 97% of our staff are proud to work for Phyllis Tuckwell*
*Phyllis Tuckwell Birdsong Hospice staff survey 2023
For further information regarding the role or to arrange an informal visit please contact Deb McQuillan, Head of Finance or Vanessa Evans, Finance Manager. If you are unable to apply on-line or have any questions about the recruitment process, contact HR.
Closing date for receipt of applications: Thursday 15th January 2026.
Interviews to be held: Week commencing 19th January 2026.
We reserve the right to close the role ahead of the closing date should sufficient applications be received. Your early response is therefore encouraged. Please note that we do not hold a sponsor licence and therefore are unable to provide sponsorship.
This post is subject to a Standard Disclosure and Barring Service check.
NO MEDIA OR AGENCIES
Our mission is to care compassionately for adults living with an advanced or terminal illness, and those closest to them.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.