Director of Finance & IT

For more than 30 years, War Child has been driven by a single goal – ensuring a safe future for every child affected by war. We aim to reach children as quickly as possible when conflict breaks out and stay long after the cameras have gone to support them through their recovery. We work with local communities and governments to help protect and educate children, and support them to heal and learn, for a safer, brighter future.

Last year, War Child UK agreed to come together with War Child Holland, War Child Germany, War Child Sweden and Children in Conflict in the USA, each of whom previously operated as independent NGOs, to form the War Child Alliance, which went live in January 2024. The new Alliance now runs our overseas projects, our research, scaling and advocacy programmes on behalf of us all, utilising our collective power and influence to have the greatest possible impact for children affected by war. As a member of the new Alliance, War Child UK is now a highly effective and innovative fundraising entity, raising crucial funds and awareness of our work globally.

Join us as our Director of Finance and IT at War Child UK, a pivotal role within our Leadership Group reporting directly to Helen Pattinson, CEO. Your role is to lead our finance and IT, but as a member of our leadership group to take joint responsibility with other Directors for leading the organisation.

As Finance and IT Director, you'll lead the optimisation of our finance and IT systems to streamline recording and reporting of financial transactions. Your analytical skills will be essential as you explore cost and income centres, supplying vital data necessary to significantly enhance our fundraising efforts.

Beyond day-to-day operations, you'll play a strategic role in long-term financial planning, fostering collaboration across the War Child Alliance. Together with fellow leaders, you'll steward the wider organisation, ensuring War Child UK is ready for success and equipped with ambitious financial investment frameworks.

Success in this role also entails ensuring our IT systems maintain the highest standards of excellence, delivering accurate and timely financial performance insights. You'll contribute to a vision where War Child UK achieves extraordinary results within a financially sound Alliance, empowering members to maximise their impact while being accountable for every penny raised.

You will be a qualified accountant with exceptional strategic and operational experience. You do not necessarily need to have prior international development experience, although you will need to demonstrate that you can build effective working relationships with overseas counterparts. Experience of working within a complex fundraising environment would be highly advantageous though.  For this role, we are also as keen to hear from experienced directors who are excited by what we do as we are from those for whom this would be their first senior leadership role.

Tall Roots is acting as an employment agency partner to War Child UK. If you would like an informal discussion about the role, please email Mark Crowley at Tall Roots.