It support desk officer jobs in Cambridge

About Young Roots

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

Our youth clubs and casework are transformative for young refugees, allowing young people who have fled danger, had traumatic journeys and who are often here alone, to find community and connection, have a space to be a young person and access support in addressing a whole 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. 

The role

We’re looking for an experienced and collaborative Head of Finance to lead our financial management, planning, and governance.

This is a senior and influential role, sitting on our Leadership Group and working closely with the CEO, Trustees, and Finance Committee. You’ll provide clear financial insight to support decision-making, ensure strong financial stewardship, and help us plan sustainably for the future.

You’ll take ownership of the full finance function, supported by an Internal Operations Officer who manages day-to-day transactional processing.

What you’ll do

• Lead financial planning, including budgeting, forecasting, and cashflow management
• Produce clear, high-quality management accounts and financial analysis
• Support strategic decision-making through strong financial insight and modelling
• Ensure robust financial controls, systems, and compliance (including audit, SORP, and statutory reporting)
• Partner with colleagues across the organisation to support budgeting, funding bids, and full cost recovery
• Oversee payroll and financial operations, ensuring accuracy and efficiency
• Contribute to organisational strategy as part of the Leadership Group

About you

You’ll be a confident and values-driven finance professional who enjoys working collaboratively and making complex information accessible.

You’ll bring:

• Significant experience in a senior finance role within a charity or not-for-profit
• Strong knowledge of charity finance, including SORP, restricted funding, and compliance
• Experience producing management accounts, budgets, and forecasts for non-finance audiences
• The ability to influence and support senior leaders with financial insight
• A proactive, hands-on approach with strong attention to detail

A professional accountancy qualification (ACA/ACCA/CIMA) or equivalent experience is desirable.

This role is designed as a part-time position (28 hours/week) with flexibility around how hours are worked. We are a hybrid organisation, with the option to work remotely or from our London offices (Croydon or Brent). We ask that ideally you attend at least one in-person team day per month in London.

We offer a supportive, inclusive working environment and the opportunity to play a key role in a mission-driven organisation making a real difference.

To Apply:

To apply, please submit your CV alongside 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? (100 words)
2. What is your motivation for applying for this role specifically? (200 words)
3. What skills and experience would you bring that will enable you to be successful in this role?  Please ensure you refer to the essential criteria on the person specification and provide examples to demonstrate how and where you meet the criteria. (500 words)

Please submit your application via Charity Jobs.

No agencies, please.

Closing date: 14th April

Interview date: 20th March

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 can 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 for those 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 and you’d like any adjustment to the process or you’d like an informal discussion or advice on your application, please get in touch. We would also like to alert you to the existence of organisations which support people from under-represented groups to access employment, who 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 framework of training and supervision which everyone is expected to comply with and systems for monitoring, quality assurance and gaining service user feedback. On joining you will be expected to be part of this approach to safeguard our service users.