Centre leader jobs

Battersea has entered an exciting phase of innovation and transformation as we embark on the second year of our new five-year strategy. With increased investment in income generation, we are strengthening our team to drive the growth necessary to achieve our organisational goals.

This is a new role working within Battersea’s Philanthropy & Trusts team to seek and secure new income as part of a £4-6million pound capital fundraising appeal over the next 3 years.

One of the key pillars of Battersea’s current strategy is to ensure that we continue to provide expert care for all the dogs and cats that come through our gates. One of the ways in which we do this is by investing in our facilities to ensure that they continue to meet the changing needs of the animals we care for. Our new capital fundraising appeal will help to achieve that aim.

The key purpose of this Philanthropy Manager (New Business) is to meet both financial and strategic KPIs, by cultivating a pipeline of new major donor prospects to secure significant donations for this capital campaign.

Please note: this is a 3 year Fixed-Term contract opportunity

What we can offer you:

In return for your commitment to our cause and to recognise the value of our employees, Battersea offers a range of benefits to support the wellbeing of our employees. These include:

• 28 days of annual leave (plus 8 days paid public holidays) per year.
• Discounted gym memberships and cycle to work schemes.
• Employee Assistance Programme and access to Wellbeing Resources.
• Generous pension contributions - up to 10% employer contribution.
• Free healthcare cash plan, where you can claim for a range of treatment including dental, optical, physiotherapy, chiropody and acupuncture every year.
• Annual interest-free season ticket loans.

We are also committed to providing learning and development to our employees. During your time with us, we provide support for your professional and career development, including access to digital and in-person training programmes, leadership and management training, mentoring and much more.

Our hybrid working model:

We operate a 50% onsite hybrid working model, with our office-based staff splitting their time between site based and home working. This enables our office-based staff to balance the benefits of home working with onsite collaboration and maintaining a connection to our cause.

Diversity and inclusion:

We are committed to providing a welcoming and inclusive experience for all staff, volunteers and trustees and those hoping to join us. We operate an anonymised shortlisting process and actively seek to ensure our process is fair and equitable for all.

We understand the value of diverse voices, perspectives, and experiences to help us deliver even more for our dogs and cats, and we welcome applicants from all sections of the community.

As a Disability Confident Committed Employer we will ask about any adjustments you may need at application and/or interview stage, and if you are offered a role with us, we’ll talk to you about any workplace adjustments you may need to help you perform at your best.

More about us:

At Battersea, we aim to never turn away a dog or cat in need of help. We give each one lots of love, expert care and get to know their characters and quirks so we can find them a new home that’s just right for them. Join us and help us be here for every dog and cat, wherever they are, for as long as they need us.

Acceptable use of AI:

At Battersea, we value expertise. We recognise each candidate that applies to us will have a range of expertise they can offer us, so we want to hear about this in your own words. We understand the support that generative artificial intelligence (AI) software can offer but it can also lead to numerous applications presenting as generic and impersonal. This makes it difficult to gain understanding of your unique experience.

To best showcase yourself, we encourage you to write your responses without the assistance of AI. If you require the use of AI software to aid in completing your application, we ask you use the generative responses as a prompt for writing your answers and avoid copying and pasting. You must also ensure the information presented in your application accurately reflects your experience.

Closing date: 21st January 2026
Interview date(s): Interviews will be taking place on a rolling basis. Early applications are encouraged as the role will closed once filled.

All applications must be submitted before the closing date advertised. We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if a high volume of applications is received. For full details on the role, please download the recruitment pack.

Overview

At Young Roots, we want to see a compassionate and welcoming society for young people seeking safety. We work alongside young refugees and asylum seekers in the UK, building trusted relationships, providing practical and emotional support and promoting young people's rights and power. 

Our youth hubs and casework are transformative for young refugees, enabling young people who have fled danger, experienced traumatic journeys, and are often here alone to find community and connection, a space to be a young person, and access support to address a range of practical challenges they face. We also draw on our evidence from working every day with young refugees and asylum seekers to call for change to the laws and policies which are harming young people. 

About the role

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced finance professional to play a vital role in ensuring Young Roots can continue delivering life-changing support to young people seeking safety.

As our Finance Lead*, you'll be a senior finance professional providing day-to-day financial leadership, ensuring financial operations run smoothly while translating complex financial data into accessible insights that empower our teams and leadership to make informed decisions. Supported by an experienced Head of Finance and Internal Operations, you'll lead on month-end processes and statutory accounts, cash flow forecasting and funder reporting, supporting strong financial controls and effective use of systems.

An excellent opportunity for a finance professional looking to take a leading role, this isn't just number-crunching – you'll be a trusted finance partner, working collaboratively across the organisation to support effective budget management, shape future initiatives, and ultimately help us maximise our impact for young refugees and asylum seekers.

The role requires proven experience in charity finance, including independently managing month-end processes and grant funding. You'll need an accounting qualification (AAT Level 4, full- or part-qualified ACCA/CIMA, or equivalent by experience) and hands-on experience with accounting systems such as Xero, Sage, or QuickBooks.

Most importantly, we're looking for someone who can work with the Head of Finance and Internal Operations to communicate financial information in ways that make sense to non-finance audiences and is motivated by supporting our mission.

We welcome applications from candidates with diverse career paths. If you've gained relevant skills through non-traditional routes or timeframes, we encourage you to apply. 

This is a permanent role offering 21-35 hours per week (0.6-1.0 FTE); we're open to any hours within this range. The role is hybrid, with two days at one of our London offices. Salary is £40,973-£45,199 per annum pro rata.

*Other organisations may call this role Finance Manager, Finance Business Partner or Financial Controller. 

How to apply

Please submit your CV and a personal statement by the closing date outlining how you would be a great fit for the role. 

Your personal statement should be no more than 800 words, answering the following questions:

1. What is your motivation for working with Young Roots?
2. What is your motivation for applying for this role specifically?
3. What skills and experience would you bring that will enable you to be successful in this role?

Please ensure you refer to the minimum requirements on the person specification and provide examples to demonstrate how and where you meet the criteria. 

Please submit your application via CharityJobs. 

Please note that Young Roots is closed from Wednesday, 24 December 2025, and will reopen on Monday, 5 January 2026. There may be a delay in getting back to you during this time. 

No agencies, please.

Closing date: Midday on Monday, 12 January 2026.

Interviews: Week commencing Monday, 19 January 2026.

Young Roots recognises the positive value of diversity, promotes equity and challenges discrimination. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, particularly those who face disadvantage in employment, such as people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, LGBTQ+ individuals and people with disabilities. As an organisation that supports refugees, asylum seekers and migrants, we particularly welcome applications from people within these communities. We offer a guaranteed interview to candidates with lived experience of the asylum system and those with disabilities, where they meet the essential elements of the person specification. If aspects of the application process create barriers to you applying, or if you'd like any adjustments to the process, or an informal discussion or advice on your application, please get in touch. We would also like to alert you to organisations that support people from under-represented groups and can advise you on applying for this role - for example, Scope, Young Women’s Trust, and Experts by Experience.

Young Roots is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff to share this commitment. We take this duty very seriously.

Our work is underpinned by policies and procedures which promote safe working practices. We have a training and supervision framework that everyone is expected to comply with, along with systems for monitoring, quality assurance, and collecting service user feedback. Upon joining, you will be expected to be part of this approach to safeguard our service users.

All posts are subject to safer recruitment protocols, which include vetting checks such as enhanced criminal records and barring, scrutiny of employment history, references, and other checks.

• Provide inspirational leadership and clear strategic direction for the Freshly Greated CPP programme.
• Lead the implementation of the programme with creativity and a strong commitment to its aims and objectives.
• Develop and nurture the key partnerships in Great Yarmouth and beyond that support the programme’s sustainability and growth.

The Executive Director leads the Freshly Greated programme, working closely with the Freshly Greated Consortium, Arts Council England (ACE), freelancers, volunteer Community Producers and the wider local community. The Director manages a small, multi-disciplinary team and is responsible for the programme’s creative direction, partnership development, financial sustainability, evaluation,  compliance and will also develop and lead an ambitious, co-created community-led arts and culture programme that has action research and evaluation at its core. 

Freshly Greated is a year round programme which includes award winning youth participation and intergenerational projects across three neighbourhoods. In partnership with Out There Arts, Freshly Greated create vibrant public celebrations across parks, beaches, and town spaces, inspired by local stories. Last year, 61,942 residents took part in workshops, events, and festivals that are free, inclusive, and locally led. All Community Producers agree Freshly Greated proves everyone is creative, builds skills, and strengthens community spirit - 94% say it increases local pride, and 91% believe it makes Great Yarmouth a better place to live.