Head of Financial Operations
London | Hybrid Working
1 Year FTC
An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced finance leader to join a highly respected higher education institution at a pivotal time in its development.
Reporting to the Deputy Director of Finance, this role will lead a large Financial Operations function, overseeing accounts payable, income and receivables, and finance systems teams. Managing a team of approximately 15 staff, you will play a key role in ensuring the delivery of efficient, customer-focused financial services, while driving continuous improvement across systems, processes and controls.
Working closely with senior stakeholders across the organisation, you will be responsible for the effective management of income collection, supplier payments, cashflow and working capital, alongside maintaining a robust internal control environment. You will also lead the ongoing development of financial systems and support the wider finance leadership team in delivering strategic change initiatives.
The successful candidate will be a qualified accountant (CCAB) with significant experience leading financial operations within a complex organisation. You will have a strong background in transaction processing, financial controls, systems development and team leadership, alongside a proven track record of driving change and improving service delivery. Experience of ERP systems is essential, while exposure to the higher education sector would be advantageous.
This is an excellent opportunity for a collaborative and forward-thinking finance professional looking to make a significant impact within a values-led organisation known for innovation, creativity and academic excellence.
To find out more, please get in touch with Rosemary Pini from Allen Lane for a confidential discussion.
Recruitment Agency 
21 - 50
Thank you!
Interview Date: TBC
Are you looking for a rewarding role working for an intersectional feminist organisation? If so, we have an incredible opportunity for you to join our team as an Alliance Director (EHMP) at Solace Women's Aid.
You will be joining a team of committed and inspiring individuals whose dedication has saved the lives of thousands of women, men and children in the capital. We are looking for friendly and diligent individuals to join our services and help us make a difference.
Our core values reflect our history and were developed in consultation with staff and service users. Feminism and intersectionality are key to our work, and we are committed to the principles of being survivor-led, trauma-informed, empowering, diverse, anti-racist and anti-discriminatory.
About the Service
Solace are one of seven members of the Enhanced Mental Health Pathfinder (EMHP) Alliance. The EMHP Alliance aims to improve care for adult victims and survivors of sexual assault and abuse with multiple complex trauma-related mental health needs, enabling recovery, healing and long-term wellbeing. To achieve this, the Pathfinder will strengthen collaboration between statutory and voluntary sector services, improve identification of complex trauma-related needs and develop the capacity and pathways required to deliver timely, sustained and trauma informed support.
About the Role
The Alliance Director (AD) will play a pivotal and inspiring leadership role at the heart of the Alliance Leadership Team, driving the Enhanced Mental Health Pathfinders Alliance forward with clarity and purpose. As a champion of the Alliance’s vision, the AD will be instrumental in turning ambition into impact.
Through dynamic and hands-on leadership, the AD will foster a powerful sense of unity, collaboration, and shared purpose across the Enhanced Mental Health Pathways Alliance. They will lead with energy and conviction, bringing partners together to work cohesively and effectively toward transformative outcomes.
Overseeing every aspect of the Alliance’s planning, delivery, governance, and continuous evolution, the AD will ensure that the Alliance not only operates with excellence today, but is constantly learning, adapting, and strengthening for the future. This is a role that demands both strategic vision and practical action, one that will shape and sustain a bold, collaborative approach to improving mental health pathways and making a lasting difference.
About You
The ideal candidate will be an exceptional, values-driven leader someone who brings not only expertise, but genuine passion for making a difference. You will thrive in navigating complexity, confidently leading ambitious programmes and driving meaningful, system-wide improvement that transforms lives.
With outstanding skills in project management, financial stewardship, organisational coordination, and communication, you will be the driving force that keeps the Alliance both grounded and forward-looking. You will ensure seamless day-to-day delivery, while simultaneously championing bold, long-term transformation and sustainable growth.
This is more than a role, it is an opportunity to lead with purpose, to inspire collaboration, and to leave a lasting legacy across the Alliance and the communities it serves.
What we can offer you
We provide a comprehensive benefits package to all our employees, including:
- Flexible working
- Focus on learning and development (internal career progression and training)
- Generous holiday entitlement
- Employer pension contribution
- Family-friendly leave and enhanced maternity pay
- Access to Inclusion Networks
- Daily clinical debriefing
- Employee Assistance Programme providing free 24/7 support and advice
- Employee Benefits Platform offering staff discounts, benefits and savings
- Flow & Restore yoga classes
- Meditation sessions
- Cycle to Work Scheme
How to apply
When applying for this role, kindly highlight in your Supporting Statement how your values, knowledge, transferrable skills, and experience align with each point within the following sections of the Job Profile Document:
- Values, Behaviours & Competencies
- Knowledge, Experience and Skills
Solace Women's Aid values diversity, promotes equity, and challenges discrimination. We encourage and welcome applications from candidates of diverse cultures, abilities, perspectives, and lived experiences. We have policies and processes in place to ensure that all employees are offered an equal opportunity in recruitment and selection, promotion, training, pay, and benefits. Our Inclusion Networks support staff with protected characteristics and offer inclusive spaces to connect.
We are a Disability Confident Employer and committed to an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. We anticipate and provide reasonable adjustments as needed and support employees who acquire a disability or long-term health condition, enabling them to stay in work.
This service is run by women for women and is therefore restricted to female applicants under the Equality Act 2010, Schedule 9, and Part 1. Section 7(2) e of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 apply. The post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act.
As part of safer recruitment practices, we carry out pre-employment checks including references, Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and right to work in the UK checks.
No agencies.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as applications come in. They're ready to hire as soon as they find the right person. Don't miss your opportunity, apply now!
Chief Operating Officer (COO)
Organisation: Happy Days
Reporting to: Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Location: Calderdale
Role Purpose
The Chief Operating Officer (COO) provides strategic and operational leadership across all frontline services, accommodation provision, organisational infrastructure, and compliance functions within the charity.
The COO is responsible for ensuring safe, trauma-informed, financially sustainable, and outcomes-focused delivery for individuals experiencing homelessness, poverty, health exclusion, addiction, and crisis.
The role leads operations across the charity’s accommodation portfolio, including winter shelter provision, general needs accommodation, supported accommodation, and intensively supported housing. The COO also oversees the operational platform of the charity’s support programmes, including a community café, community supermarket, crisis drop-in provision, and integrated health clinics.
Working collaboratively with the CEO, Board, statutory agencies, housing provider partners, and wider stakeholders, the COO plays a key leadership role in shaping organisational strategy, strengthening operational systems, embedding trauma-informed practice, and developing innovative models of support that improve long-term outcomes for individuals experiencing multiple disadvantage.
The COO provides executive oversight of, operational risk, health and safety, HR, operational systems, and service compliance, ensuring the organisation maintains robust standards of governance, accountability, and person-centred care across all services.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic & Operational Leadership
- Provide executive operational leadership across services and organisational functions
- Lead the delivery, development, and continuous operational improvement of:
- Supported and temporary accommodation services (68+ properties)
- Crisis and drop-in provision
- Food programme and social supermarket
- Winter shelter provision
- Translate organisational strategy into effective operational delivery plans
- Drive organisational improvement, innovation, and sustainable service growth
- Lead operational responses to emerging community need, organisational risk, and system pressures
- Support strategic planning, organisational development, and long-term sustainability
- Lead operational capital development initiatives across the organisation
Housing, Property & Supported Accommodation Executive Oversight of:
- Operational management, legal compliance, health and safety, quality assurance across all accommodation services
- Lead strategic partnerships with housing providers
- Manage delegated housing arrangements and supported housing pathways
- Maximise occupancy, sustainment, and positive move-on outcomes
- Oversee property-related risk management, maintenance coordination, and accommodation standards
- Lead the transformation and redevelopment of The Gathering Place, including partnership working with architects, infrastructure planning, and service design
- Oversee operational development planning for the Bramwell Booth building to support future service delivery and organisational growth
Safeguarding Operational Platform
- Lead organisational safeguarding strategy and systems
- Ensure SOP’s are in place to enable staff to respond effectively to complex needs including:
- addiction
- mental ill-health and physical health needs
- dual diagnosis
- homelessness
- domestic abuse
- offending histories
- health exclusion
- Oversee serious incidents, risk management, and quality assurance processes
- Promote reflective practice, professional accountability, and safe service delivery
- Lead continuous safeguarding improvement and organisational assurance processes
- Support the organisation’s progression towards recognised safeguarding quality and excellence standards
Health Inclusion & Community Services
- Support development of innovative approaches addressing homelessness, substance use, poverty, and social exclusion
- Contribute to wider system responses focused on prevention, health equity, and community resilience
Corporate Governance, Compliance & Organisational Infrastructure
- Provide executive oversight of organisational governance, operational compliance, and corporate infrastructure
- Lead organisational responsibility for:
- Human Resources
- Health & Safety
- Insurance and organisational risk
- Operational systems and digital infrastructure
- Ensure robust organisational policies, procedures, and assurance frameworks are developed, implemented, and maintained
- Oversee compliance with employment legislation, health & safety standards, and contractual obligations
- Lead organisational risk management processes, incident oversight, and business continuity planning
- Ensure effective management of organisational insurance provision, liability protection, and risk mitigation
- Support governance reporting, operational assurance, and organisational accountability
- Develop quarterly Trustee and governance reporting packs in conjunction with Heads of Department and the CEO
Systems Development & Digital Transformation
- Lead the development and implementation of operational systems, reporting frameworks, and service infrastructure
- Design and embed systems that improve operational efficiency, safeguarding oversight, housing management, and service coordination
- Use data, insight, and performance analysis to improve outcomes and organisational effectiveness
- Support digital transformation, service modernisation, and continuous improvement initiatives
- Develop monitoring, evaluation, and impact reporting systems to support organisational learning and strategic decision-making
Leadership, Workforce & Organisational Culture
- Foster a high-performing, inclusive, and values-led organisational culture
- Oversee workforce planning, recruitment, retention, supervision, and staff development
- Promote staff wellbeing, reflective practice, and psychologically safe leadership
- Provide leadership oversight and strategic direction for volunteer services and volunteer programme development
- Support the organisation’s progression towards recognised volunteer quality standards, including the VSI Volunteer Excellence Award
Partnerships, Stakeholder Engagement & Representation
- Represent the organisation within strategic partnerships and multi-agency forums
- Work collaboratively with commissioners, funders, housing providers, and community partners
Financial Oversight & Sustainability
- Budget development and financial planning in conjunction with the CEO and Finance Team
- Support organisational sustainability through efficient service delivery
- Monitor operational performance, quality standards, and service outcomes
- Ensure effective governance, accountability, and operational compliance across all services
Person Specification
Essential
- Significant senior leadership experience within homelessness, housing, health, social care, community, or voluntary sector services
- Extensive operational leadership experience across complex, multi-service environments
- Experience leading services supporting individuals with multiple disadvantage and complex needs
- Strong understanding of safeguarding, trauma-informed practice, and organisational risk management
- Experience managing accommodation-based and community support services
- Experience overseeing HR, compliance, governance, and organisational systems
- Experience leading quality assurance, risk, and compliance frameworks
- Strong partnership and stakeholder engagement skills across statutory and voluntary sectors
- Experience managing operational budgets, compliance frameworks, and performance systems
Desirable
- Experience working within homelessness, substance use, or health inclusion services
- Experience working within housing such as a registered housing provider
- Understanding of public health approaches and health inequalities
- Knowledge of housing legislation, supported housing models, and safeguarding frameworks
- Experience with digital transformation, systems implementation, and organisational modernisation
Key Attributes
- Values-driven and strongly committed to social justice and health equity
- Strategic thinker with strong operational leadership capability
- Calm, resilient, and decisive in complex and high-pressure environments
- Compassionate and emotionally intelligent leader
- Strong communicator with the ability to influence across systems and sectors
- Innovative, solutions-focused, and collaborative
- Committed to continuous improvement, accountability, and inclusive leadership
