Director of Finance & Operations, Bliss – 12-month maternity cover

This is an incredible opportunity to make a real difference at Bliss, the UK’s leading charity for babies born premature or sick.

Role Summary 

Our current Director of Finance & Operations will be going on maternity leave in mid-October 2025 and we are looking for an experienced and energetic interim Director of Finance & Operations who will be able to hit the ground running in overseeing all of our finance, HR and operations, which underpin our core mission and work to support babies, families and health professionals across the neonatal community.

The successful candidate will lead all aspects of Bliss’ financial management, including our strategic approach to financial and business planning as well as supporting effective delivery of our day-to-day financial systems and processes. They will have overall responsibility for Bliss’ core organisational support functions of HR, IT, and facilities, and will also contribute to the daily running and future direction of the charity as a member of the Senior Management Team.

We are looking for an exceptional candidate who:
-    Is a CCAB qualified (or equivalent) team leader with outstanding communication and interpersonal skills
-    Has significant accountancy experience, with knowledge and experience of charity finance
-    Has a good understanding of the financial and governance aspects of a charity, particularly the application of Charity SORP
-    Has a strong understanding of business functions including HR, contract management, IT systems, and office and administrative processes
-    Will enjoy working collaboratively across an organisation to drive business planning and performance.
-    Has the ability to motivate, manage performance and support professional development within the Finance and Operations team.

This is a fantastic opportunity to lead a passionate and committed team in a vibrant organisation which supports individual learning and development alongside delivering real impact for babies and families every day
 

• Location: Hybrid, with a minimum of 3 days over 2 weeks worked in our London Bridge office
• Salary: £80,000 FTE (pro rata)
• Terms: 28 hours a week, 12-month fixed term contract starting late Sept / early Oct 2025

Role Details

If you believe your skills and experience align with this position, and you are passionate about improving outcomes for sick and premature babies, then we would very much like to hear from you. We offer a generous package of benefits, including a positive approach to agile working, and are a vibrant organisation, dedicated to the cause but also to supporting each other and learning as we work. If you don’t meet all the requirements but feel that you have transferrable skills, please do apply and use your application to illustrate this.

Bliss recognises the positive value of diversity, promotes equity and challenges discrimination. We welcome and encourage job applications from people of all backgrounds, including applications from Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority communities, people who identify as having a disability, and LGB+, Trans and non-binary candidates.

For more details please view the job description and person specification below.

How to apply

Please email a copy of your CV and a supporting statement explaining why you are interested in this role and what you could bring to it - with reference to the person specification in this job description

This information is used when shortlisting candidates for interview. 

Don’t meet every single requirement? 

Studies have shown that women and people of colour are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Bliss we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role, but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every aspect of the job description, we encourage you to apply to tell us what you can offer our organisation. You could be just the right candidate for this or other roles

Recruitment Timeline 

• The deadline for applications is 9am on Monday 23rd June
• First round interviews will be held virtually on Monday 30th June
• Second round interviews will be in person at our London Bridge offices on Wed 9th July

Ideally we are looking for a candidate who can start at Bliss in late September / early October 2025, to enable sufficient handover with the current postholder; but for the right candidate we will also consider a slightly later start date if sufficient handover days can be accommodated beforehand
 

It is Bliss’ policy not to contact applicants who have not been invited for an interview so if you have not heard from us three weeks after the closing deadline, you should assume that your application has been unsuccessful.