Institute officer jobs in Edinburgh

Contract
Full-time, permanent
(We welcome proposals for flexible working arrangements)

Salary
£55k per annum

This is a newly created role. with responsibility for financial management owned previously by the Executive Director, supported by the Head of Finance & Operations. In the refreshed structure operational and finance functions are separated.

The purpose of this role is to ensure the organisation is financially sustainable, well governed, and able to deliver its mission effectively. You will lead the financial management of the organisation, ensuring robust financial control, high-quality reporting, and effective financial planning to support strategic decision-making and long-term sustainability. This is a hands-on, collaborative role in a busy team, spanning both strategic and operational finance.

Being a success in this role will essentially balance three things at the same time:
1. Financial stability, control and risk management
2. Artistic and charitable ambition
3. Long-term organisational resilience and sustainable growth

Over the last two years the Festival has refreshed a number of our platforms and ways of working, including updating our CRM, ticketing and finance systems (Xero). We have worked with an external consultancy firm who have reviewed our systems and processes in finance and recommended new approaches; we are seeking a financial leader who can continue to progress this transformation, embedding new systems and ways of working across the team, while managing the busy annual BAU finance operations. We are in year two of a refreshed Strategic Plan, with a focus on building organisational resilience, maximising income and building new revenue streams; our new Finance Director will play a key role in realising these ambitions.

The role will be the key liaison with the Audit & Risk Committee of the Board of Trustees.

Key Responsibilities:

• Financial leadership
• Financial reporting and insight
• Festival and programme support
• Sustainability and development support
• Systems and data
• Compliance, governance and risk management
• Leadership and team management

Essential Knowledge, skills and experience

• Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA, CIPFA or equivalent experience)
• Significant senior financial management experience including Xero accounting system
• Experience of budgeting, forecasting, and financial planning
• Experience preparing statutory accounts and managing audits 
• Strong understanding of financial controls and governance
• Experience presenting financial information to boards or trustees
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills
• Ability to work strategically and operationally in a fast-paced environment

For full information on key responsibilities and person specifications please see full Job Description on Edinburgh International Book Festival Website.

Key Dates:

Closing date for applications: Monday 29th June 2026. Please complete the online application using the links on our website. 

Interviews will be held in central Edinburgh during the week of 6th July. Remote interview requests will be considered but in person is preferred.

Are you a qualified finance professional looking for a high-impact contract role within an international charity? This is a unique opportunity to join during a pivotal period of growth and transformation, helping integrate UK and US finance operations while ensuring robust financial control, compliance, reporting and governance.

Working closely with the VP of Finance, you will provide strategic financial leadership while remaining hands-on with financial operations, systems migration, board reporting and statutory compliance. This role would suit someone who thrives in a changing environment and enjoys improving processes, systems and reporting.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the integration of UK finance operations into a global finance function
• Support the migration from QuickBooks to NetSuite and Barclays to HSBC
• Support budgeting, forecasting and financial planning activities
• Prepare board reports and provide financial insights to senior stakeholders
• Lead UK audit activity and support statutory filings with Companies House and the Charity Commission
• Review and improve financial policies, processes and reporting frameworks

Essential Skills & Experience

• ACA, ACCA or CIMA qualified
• 5+ years' finance experience
• Experience managing change, finance transformation or systems projects
• Board reporting and stakeholder management experience
• Experience managing or mentoring finance staff

Desirable Skills & Experience

• Charity or international NGO experience
• NetSuite implementation or migration experience
• Gift Aid knowledge

Applications for this role are now under review, and the deadline could well be brought forward if the suitable candidate is found. Therefore, do not delay in submitting your application!

Join SmellTaste and lead the development of the charity’s involvement in research, shaping how lived experience of those affected by smell and taste impairment is integrated in research projects. As Research Development and Engagement Manager, you will lead engagement with researchers, our patient community, and external partners to develop and support new research collaborations. This includes leading the Public and Patient Involvement activity for a 12-month National Institute of Health Research-funded Programme Development Grant, the ICAST Programme: Improving Care for patients with Smell & Taste Disorders, and undertaking planning work for the prospective Programme Grant which is expected to follow this.

This post is funded for 2 days (15 hours) per week for an initial 12-month period, with the potential for the contract to be extended and for it to become a full-time role subject to further funding being secured. 

You will be joining a small, friendly and ambitious team that will support your professional development as part of the charity’s ongoing growth.

If you are passionate about making a difference to an underserved patient community and want to be part of a pioneering and collaborative organisation that values and empowers the people it represents then we would love to hear from you. We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and experiences.

Application instructions: 

Please apply by providing both a CV and a covering letter which clearly states how you meet all the points in the Personal Specification.

Key responsibilities

• Lead the SmellTaste contribution to a 12-month National Institute of Health Research-funded Programme Development Grant, led by Prof Carl Philpott at the University of East Anglia (the ICAST Programme: Improving Care for patients with Smell & Taste Disorders).  
• Develop a Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) strategy for the above project, including evaluation of impact and dissemination
• Manage a PPI panel for the NIHR project, organise PPIE meetings and ensure participants and panel members are remunerated for activity.
• Develop a detailed, costed delivery plan for the national survey element of the planned Programme Grant which is expected to follow on from the Programme Development Grant, including marketing and publicity, recruitment and dissemination.
• Work with the charity’s CEO and honorary Director of Research and Medical Affairs to develop a research strategy for the charity that aligns with the research priorities identified in the James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership for Smell and Taste Disorders.
• Work with the charity’s CEO, honorary Director of Research and Medical Affairs and external researchers to identify opportunities for new collaborative research opportunities.
• Develop funding applications for research projects.
• Oversee all of the charity’s collaborative research activity, including PPIE activity.
• Evaluate and report on the impact of research projects, ensuring inclusivity and ethical standards.

Personal specification

• Degree (or equivalent experience) in biological sciences or a related field
• Experience leading or supporting public and patient involvement and engagement initiatives in research
• Experience leading or supporting involvement in research
• Experience of writing grant applications
• Ability to communicate and interpret complex scientific research clearly
• Experience working with diverse and underrepresented communities
• Confident relationship builder with researchers and other external stakeholders
• Excellent organisational skills, including strong project management skills

Hours: Part-time, 15 hours per week

Salary: £40,000, pro-rata

Holiday allowance: 25 days pro-rata, plus bank holidays

Location: Home working. Some travel will be required to attend in-person meetings and events

Interviews expected to be held during the week commencing 22nd June.

Head of Finance | DFN Project SEARCH

Remote, with travel to London on average once a month plus occasional site visits | £51,500 – £61,500 | 9-day fortnight (after probation), flexible working welcome

DFN Project SEARCH is a national charity supporting young adults with a learning disability, autism, or both, into real, paid, lasting work. Last year alone, 431 young people started jobs through our programme. We work with around 200 employers, colleges and local authorities across the UK, and we've supported over 2,900 people since we started. We're good at what we do, and we want to do a lot more of it. Our aim is to support 10,000 interns by 2030.

We've grown rapidly, which is exciting, and this role has been newly created to make sure all the finance processes are set up so that we can continue to grow and scale properly. So, this isn't a steady-state job where you inherit clean processes and just keep them ticking. You'll be helping to build the structure as the charity grows around it.

That means we need someone who can lead and do. You'll own the finance function end to end: month-end, management accounts, statutory reporting, cash flow, controls. You'll also shape how all of it should work as we continue to grow. One day you're posting journals and reconciling the balance sheet; the next you're helping a budget holder who's never read a P&L understand their numbers, or modelling what reaching 10,000 interns actually means financially. You'll report to the Finance Director and line manage our Finance Administrator.

What your time will look like:

- Running the finance function day to day and ensuring everything is accurate, compliant and efficient, which means journals, reconciliations, month-end close, the monthly rhythm

- Producing management accounts and board-level reporting that people can act on, with clear commentary

- Working with the Finance Director on budgeting, statutory accounts, audit and VAT

- Strengthening cash flow forecasting, treasury, reserves and credit control

- Owning the controls framework, financial policies and procedures, and getting more out of Xero so we have real-time insight, not using out-of-date assumptions to make business critical decisions

- Managing restricted, designated and unrestricted funds, and reporting to funders properly and on time

- Supporting fundraising and bid colleagues with budgets for grant applications and tenders

- Overseeing payroll and pensions with our provider

- Helping non-finance colleagues across the charity get more confident in their own financial understanding

What we need from you:

- A qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA, CIPFA or equivalent)

- Solid charity finance experience. You'll know Charity SORP, restricted funds and grant reporting, and you're across the changes coming to SORP

- Someone happy with their hands on the controls: month-end, reconciliations, statutory accounts and board reporting

- Strong on Xero (or quick to get there) and advanced Excel

- The ability to explain numbers clearly to people who don't think in numbers

- Experience setting up or developing financial instructions, controls and processes in a charity

You don't need to tick every single box. If you've been part of a finance team that's been through this kind of change and you're ready to step up and lead it yourself, we'd still really like to hear from you.

But honestly, the most important element is you, and how you bring people along with you through a period of change. You'll be comfortable bringing structure and calm to an organisation that's still growing into its processes. We need someone who can be calm and measured when the numbers feel busy, who can be a steady anchor point for the team when a lot is changing, and who knows when to help and when to teach someone how to help themselves. You'll be relentless about making things better, but able to bring people with you rather than drag them. If you want to lead a change rather than just be part of one, this is for you!

The practical stuff: This is a remote and flexible role, and we mean it, but it isn't a "never-leave-the-house" role. The leadership team comes together regularly, on average once a month, plus occasional travel to sites and the odd away day. Travel is always planned in advance and we cover the costs. If you can reach London comfortably and you value time with the people you work with, you'll get the best of both.

- 25 days' annual leave, plus your birthday off and bank holidays on top, with the option to buy back additional leave

- 9-day fortnight after successful completion of probation: 37.5 hours worked across nine days, with the tenth day off

- Flexible working genuinely considered: job share, part-time (minimum 4 days), compressed hours

- Pension: 6% employer contribution

- Employee Assistance Programme and NHS top-up wellbeing support

Please note we are unable to offer visa sponsorship, so you'll need the existing right to work in the UK.

It won't be a surprise that we're a Disability Confident employer. We share interview questions in advance, and if you need any adjustments to the process, or a different format for any stage, please just tell us.

If you're a charity finance person who wants their work to really mean something, and who fancies building something rather than just maintaining it, we'd love to hear from you.

Dates to note:

- Closing date: 16th June

- First interviews (remote): 24th–25th June

- Final interviews (London): 30th June