Operation manager jobs in exeter, devon
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We are looking for an experienced Finance Director to join our team of nearly 100 staff, ideally before the end of 2025.
This is a full-time, home-based, permanent position. You can be based anywhere in mainland UK or Ireland, with some travel and occasional overnight stays to meeting and conferences mainly in England and Wales.
We offer flexibility around working hours, including the option of a 9 day fortnight - time off in lieu is also available. We offer 25 days holiday pro rata (rising to 28 days) plus statutory public holidays. We are happy to make adjustments for people with disabilities and/or caring responsibilities, and we welcome applications from all communities.
The role is a grade 7 position with a starting salary circa £75,000 plus benefits including 9% employer pension contribution.
The Finance Director (“FD”) works alongside the Chief Executive and Operations Director to manage the finances and governance of The Rivers Trust, a leading conservation charity with three associated trading subsidiaries operating across the UK and Ireland, with a collective annual income approaching £10m.
Given the prospective retirement of the current postholder at the end of 2025, we are seeking a well-qualified and experienced individual to take on this senior leadership role as soon as possible to enable handover to occur.
The role is very varied and wide-ranging, including presenting financial information to the Trustees and senior management on a quarterly basis, reviewing monthly management accounts, leading on annual budgeting, appraising internal project concepts and contracts, statutory compliance administration and liaising with auditors.
The postholder will lead a team of eight in the Finance department and join a very welcoming team of 95 highly engaged and passionate staff at The Rivers Trust.
Main duties and responsibilities:
Working alongside the CEO, the Finance Director will provide commercial, financial and governance management and leadership for The Rivers Trust ("the Charity") and its associated subsidiaries (“The Companies”). The FD will not only be an exceptional accountant, with executive oversight of the finance function, but will be commercially astute and have the confidence to represent robustly the best interests of The Companies. The FD will also be an experienced manager of people.
Key Accountabilities:
- Act as a business partner to support and constructively challenge the CEO in the general management of the Charity and the Companies, reporting to the board.
- Lead all aspects of the finance function (including maintaining and developing the financial control environment; robust financial accounting; cashflow management; incisive management information; clear and concise reporting to Board) to ensure that the Charity and the Companies’ assets are secured, risks are managed, and the Board of Trustees, subsidiary boards and committees can make well-informed decisions.
- Manage relationships with auditors, funders, IT specialists, banks, investment platforms and other external organisations.
- Provide support to project bids and the development of other commercial opportunities to ensure that bids/opportunities are optimised for the Charity and the Companies as a whole.
- Provide input to project and programme delivery from time to time, to ensure that performance is maximised for the Charity and the Companies.
- Attend Board meetings and Business Audit and Risk Committee meetings to guide the Board and the Senior Management Team on financial, commercial and governance issues.
- Ensure compliance with the requirements of the Charity Commission and Companies House and, from time to time, provide guidance to members of the Rivers Trust movement on good governance practice.
- Maintain the finance department operational manual for business continuity.
- Serve as the Company Secretary for the Charity and Companies.
Staff Management:
- Lead, manage and develop the finance team (who work remotely) and ensure the team understands their respective and collective contribution to achieving the Charity's and the Companies’ objectives.
- Support the team in their professional development.
- Ensure the team delivers a high-quality service focused on internal and external customers and funders.
Knowledge, skills, experience, and personal qualities:
Essential
- Significant experience in financial management and senior leadership roles, ideally gained in a range of organisations.
- A strategic thinker, able to see the big-picture, shape long-term direction and balance this with attention to detail.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills combined with creativity and openness to innovate.
- Strong IT and digital skills, with experience of using technology to improve efficiency and automate processes.
- Proven people leadership experience, with a track record of managing, developing, and inspiring teams and creating a supportive, inclusive, and collaborative culture.
- Excellent relationship builder, with the interpersonal skills to influence, collaborate, and provide constructive challenge while maintaining positive relationships across the organisation, including with trustees and senior stakeholders.
- Experience reporting to boards of trustees and/or directors, with the confidence to contribute to board-level discussions as a trusted adviser.
- Strong written and verbal communications skills, able to distil complexity into pertinent, concise and understandable messages tailored to diverse audiences.
- The courage to make and communicate tough decisions and be open about risks and setbacks.
- Resilient and calm under pressure, with the ability to maintain focus and steady leadership in challenging circumstances.
- Impeccable standards of integrity and personal ethics, acting as a role model for the organisation values.
- Knowledge of Sage financial software packages.
- Work to a good standard in Microsoft 365, especially Excel, Word, Outlook and Teams.
Desirable
- Experience of working in the charitable sector.
- Experience of being a Company Secretary.
- Understanding of the environmental sector or a passion for making a positive impact.
- Familiarity in using Sharepoint, Sage and Slack.
- Knowledge of Partial Exemption VAT rules.
- A basic understanding of Irish tax law, Irish and UK payroll taxes and corporate governance.
Qualifications/ Education
- Qualified Accountant, preferably ICAEW or ACCA.
Additional information
Everyone who works for us is expected to contribute to a respectful and inclusive working culture and follow our policies and procedures including Health & Safety, EDI, Cybersecurity and GDPR.
Please note we can only accept applications made through this site, and not sent by email or other methods.
We are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible. We warmly welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. If you would benefit from any adjustments to support you through the process, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate your needs.
To apply please send your CV and a covering letter.
Closing date: Wednesday 24th September 2025
We may close this vacancy early if we receive a strong pool of applications, so we encourage early submission
Registered Charity
51 - 100
A leading environmental charity, and umbrella body for the Rivers Trust Movement, our vision is for wild, healthy, natural rivers, valued by all.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Finance Business Partner - UKC
Reference: AUG20259219
Location: Flexible in UK
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full Time, 37.5 hours per week
Salary: £47,313.00 - £50,309.00 Per Annum
Benefits: Pension Scheme, Life Assurance Scheme, 26 days' Annual Leave
Please note: The role is a hybrid position that will require travel in the UK including to the UKHQ Finance Department in Sandy Bedfordshire, and to attend meetings in the support of your team, department and directorate.
The RSPB is one of the UK’s most respected conservation charities for the conservation of birds and nature. As an RSPB employee, you will be helping to save nature every time you come to work. There’s never been a more important time toprotect our wildlife and wild places.
We are seeking an excellent qualified accountant to join our Financial Planning and Reporting team, as a Finance Business Partner, supporting colleagues in the UK Countries Directorate more specifically for England. This is a key role working directly with our conservation delivery and our reserves network areas, all with individual characteristics and skills requirements.
What's the role about?
As a Finance Business Partner you will work proactively with senior colleagues to provide an added-value service of financial support to our UKC Directorate. In addition to a strong management accounting background, you will understand the difference that can be made through strong business partnering relationships and be confident in building those relationships. You will gain the respect and confidence of the colleagues you support through strong communication skills (written and oral) and your ability to constructively challenge ideas and plans. You will add value through gaining an intimate understanding of the Directorate that you partner, together with contributing to business performance and the requirements of the finance function with the charity's need.
You will be a fully qualified accountant with up-to-date technical knowledge and a desire to progress in your profession. We will want the successful candidate to influence change and use their skill set to further drive the organisation's objectives forward. You will also be comfortable working under pressure, to tight deadlines, and interacting with people at all levels within the RSPB.
Essential skills, knowledge and experience:
- CIMA or equivalent financial qualification
- Sound knowledge of technical accounting legislation
- Ability to act as a critical-friend to senior management balancing challenge and support. Develop effective working relationships that influence and challenge senior management teams, so that the role of the Finance Business Partner is an integral and valued part of the organisation
- Ability to influence decision makers through sound logic, diplomacy and assertiveness, with the ability to convey appropriate financial messages to various audiences
- Ability to evaluate incomplete and complex financial information, to develop and consider a range of possible options and make a judgement as to the recommended course of action
- Excellent communication (written and oral), coaching, mentoring, presentation and training skills
- Ability to ascertain financial trends and calculate the impact of them on the organisation under various scenarios
- Working in cross-functional teams to provide transformational advice on new initiatives, investment appraisals/organisational restructures/matters of risk and control design effective mitigation strategies, in order to support effective decision making
- Build capability and knowledge in managers so that they can effectively manage their budgets through effective financial information, support and advice
- Working with the all finance teams, to implement new Finance initiatives, ensuring the highest level of customer service and procedures are continuously reviewed so that the service is business focused in the delivery of objectives with an expert knowledge of your client area.
Desirable skills, knowledge and experience:
- Experience of forecasting and planning in a dynamic environment
- Experience of delivering transformation change
- Delivery of coaching and training of financial matters to non financial colleagues
- Experience of annual accounts preparation
- Knowledge of charity finance matters
Closing date: 23:59, Fri, 19th Sep 2025
We are looking to conduct interviews for this position from week commencing 29th September.
Interested?
If you would like to find out more, please click the apply button. You will be directed to our website to complete your application for this position.
We are committed to developing an inclusive and diverse RSPB, in which everyone feels supported, valued, and able to be their full selves. To achieve our vision of creating a world richer in nature, we need more people, and more diverse people, on nature’s side. People of colour and disabled people are currently underrepresented across the environment, climate, sustainability, and conservation sector. If you identify as a person of colour and/or disabled, we are particularly interested in receiving your application.
The RSPB is an equal opportunities employer. This role is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.
The RSPB is a licenced sponsor. This role is not eligible for UK Visa Sponsorship - the successful applicant will need to have a pre-existing Right to Work in the UK in order to be offered an employment contract.
As part of this application you will be asked to provide a copy of your CV and complete a short form with cover letter. Please use the cover letter section to explain how you meet the criteria set above. Contact us to discuss any additional support you may need to complete your application.
No agencies please.
Registered Charity
More than 1000
The RSPB brings people together – people like you – to protect the things that matter to us all.
Thank you!
Business Analyst - Finance Systems Replacement
Reference: SEP20250742
Location: Flexible in England. This role will be primarily home based but with regular travel (at least fortnightly) to RSPB HQ at The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire, SG19 2DL. We anticipate that the successful applicant will be based within one hour's travel time from The Lodge
Contract: Fixed-Term, 18 months
Hours: Full-time, 37.5 hours per week
Salary: £33,027.00 - £35,259.00 Per Annum
Benefits: Holidays, Pension and Life Assurance
The RSPB is seeking a Business Analyst to support the Finance Systems Replacement project, a Board priority and a major digital change project. The Finance Systems Replacement project seeks to replace several systems that are over 20 years old.
The RSPB is one of the UK’s most respected conservation charities for the conservation of birds and nature. We bring people together who love birds and other wildlife, and who want to take action to restore the health and diversity of the natural world. As an RSPB employee, you will be helping to save nature every time you come to work. There’s never been a more important time to protect our wildlife and wild places.
This role will ensure that Finance requirements are translated and configured correctly in our new finance system. You will work closely with our Transactional Accounting, Financial Accounting and Finance Business Partner Teams to gather requirements and understand current ways of working. Through Technical Workshops with our new provider, you will assist in translating requirements and documenting our new ways of working. You will assist in capturing requirements for the data migration and ensuring accuracy of the data migrated.
To capture these requirements and work effectively with the Finance and DT Teams regular travel will be required to The Lodge. This will be initially fortnightly on Thursdays but may increase based on workshop deliverables. The role will be mainly home based with regular Teams catch-ups with the wider Project Team.
You will help teams to:
- Analyse and understand the business processes, problems or opportunities.
- Undertake research and analysis to understand how a business or business area works, considering the people, organisation, processes, information, data and technology.
- Identify areas for improvement, explore feasible options, analyse the effects of change and define success measures.
- Identify and elaborate user and business needs to enable effective design, development and testing of services and business change.
- Make decisions related to prioritisation and minimum viable product by using analysis led insights.
- Ensure new products and services meet business and user needs, and are aligned with organisational goals as well as liaising with the technical and non- technical teams within the business.
- Understand any business and policy constraints that need to be considered, and assess the implications.
Essential skills, knowledge and experience:
- Competent IT user (e.g. MS packages, Outlook etc).
- Attention to detail and ability to understand accounting systems.
- An ability to produce clear written communications and good interpersonal skills.
- An ability to persuade and influence a wide range of people, both internally and externally.
- Excellent problem solving skills and ability to find creative solutions.
- Able to work under pressure and adapt to changing circumstances.
- Experience of working to a standard project management approach (eg RSPB Project Management Framework, Prince II).
- Experience of analysing complex business processes and recommendation of areas of improvement.
- Good workshop/meetings facilitations skills as well as experience in requirements gathering, analysis and documentation.
- Experience of providing effective support and assistance to project team as well as to testers, by helping in developing test scripts and help in preparing and conducting UAT.
Desirable skills, knowledge and experience:
- Experience of working with external stakeholders such as agencies and contractors.
- Demonstrable experience of developing and working in hybrid teams to achieve shared outcomes.
- Experience of delivering complex projects.
- Part qualified Accountant - CIMA, ACCA, or at least 5 years' experience in an Assistant Accountant Role.
- Experience of acting as a liaison between the business and technical areas during the design and development phases to ensure requirements are understood by all and all risks mitigated appropriately.
- Demonstration of good knowledge of usability methodology and framework for system development and a good understanding of the full software development lifecycle (SDLC).
Closing date: 23:59, Fri, 26th Sep 2025
We are looking to conduct interviews for this position from 1 October 2025.
Interested?
If you would like to find out more, please click the apply button. You will be directed to our website to complete your application for this position.
The RSPB is an equal opportunities employer. This role is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.
This role is not eligible for UK Visa Sponsorship - the successful applicant will need to have a pre-existing Right to Work in the UK in order to be offered an employment contract.
We are committed to developing an inclusive and diverse RSPB, in which everyone feels supported, valued, and able to be their full selves. To achieve our vision of creating a world richer in nature, we need more people, and more diverse people, on nature’s side. People of colour and disabled people are currently underrepresented across the environment, climate, sustainability, and conservation sector. If you identify as a person of colour and/or disabled, we are particularly interested in receiving your application.
No agencies please.
Registered Charity
More than 1000
The RSPB brings people together – people like you – to protect the things that matter to us all.
Thank you!
Banana Link is a UK based NGO established in 1996. We have been advocating for a fair and sustainable banana industry for thirty years, based on environmental, social and economic sustainability. Our approach is underpinned by a firm commitment to defending workers’ rights, at the core of these rights is the right to a fair and decent income that affords a dignified life for men and women banana plantation workers. We work at a strategic level and through research, advocacy and dialogue with all actors along the chain to bring about change.
This role will support the management and delivery our current work stream on Living Wages in the African Banana Export Industry. Initial activities will be delivered in Ghana and Cameroon, in collaboration with our local and international trade union partners, local producing companies, and European retailers. Key project activities include:
- Facilitation of capacity building activities on Living Wages and Decent Work in Cameroon and Ghana, with company staff and trade union representatives.
- Communication and dialogue between all project partners and other industry stakeholders towards fair remuneration and decent work in the banana industry.
- Monitoring, evaluation, and reporting on all project activities to funders Ghana, with company staff and trade union representatives.
- Communication and dialogue between all project partners and other industry stakeholders towards fair remuneration and decent work in the banana industry
- Monitoring, evaluation, and reporting on all project activities to funders
The role will provide an important opportunity to work alongside Banana Link’s International Coordinator, and in collaboration with other key staff and partner organisations, on the important issues of Living Wages, Decent Work, Social Dialogue and Sustainability.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
The National Youth Agency is looking for a new Chief Operating Officer to join our Executive Leadership Team.
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full-time - 37 hours per week
Salary: £85,000 per annum
Remote: This role is homebased (within the UK) with occasional to meetings, events and conferences.
What we do
As the national body for youth work, the NYA has a dual function. We are the professional statutory and regulatory body (PSRB) responsible for qualifications, quality standards, and safeguarding for youth work and services in England. In line with our charity mission and aims, we also champion youth work through research, advocacy, campaigns, and programmes.
We work in partnership and believe in collaborative leadership, listening to youth workers and the youth work sector so that we can understand their needs and respond to the challenges they face. We are ambitious for youth work and for young people and integrate youth voice and influence across our work
About the Role
Responsibilities will include:
- The COO leads the day-to-day functioning of the organisation to ensure smooth, efficient, and effective delivery of services. This is vital for maintaining operational stability and achieving strategic outcomes.
- They design and execute strategies that align with the organisation’s mission and long-term goals ensuring resources are used effectively and priorities are clear.
- They promote a culture of excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement through supporting employee engagement, productivity, and organisational success.
- The COO collaborates closely with the CEO/CFO and other senior leaders to drive strategic initiatives and business growth, ensuring unified leadership and coherent decision-making.
- They partner with the CFO to manage budgets, forecasts, and resource allocation. Financial oversight ensures sustainability and supports informed investment in strategic priorities.
- Strengthen governance and risk management frameworks, aligned to regulatory expectations and best practice while proactively managing reputational and operational risks.
- The COO cultivates strong relationships with partners, clients, and stakeholders to enhance service delivery and reputation. These relationships are key to influence, collaboration, and impact.
- They lead efforts to improve processes and adopt best practices across the charity to enhance efficiency and keeps the organisation competitive and responsive.
- They ensure that daily activities support the charities long-term objectives.
- The COO mentors other directors and departmental heads and fosters leadership capabilities across teams.
- They establish and track KPIs to identify inefficiencies and guide improvements through data-driven decision-making to enhance accountability and results.
- They evaluate and refine workflows to boost productivity developing efficient processes to reduce waste and improve service quality.
- They act as a bridge between departments and the CEO to ensure cohesive execution of strategic plans preventing silos and promoting organisational synergy.
- The COO serves as a senior figure in national and cross-sector forums, conferences, and strategic partnerships to strengthens the organisation’s voice and influence.
- They demonstrate commitment to Equality, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging in both internal culture and external programmes to foster a fair and inclusive organisation.
- They work with the CEO, CFO and Director of Growth to identify and pursue new revenue streams and strategic partnerships. This expands the organisation’s reach and sustainability.
- They engage in public speaking, media interactions, and external representation demonstrating clear communication, credibility, and stakeholder engagement.
- They develop and embed evaluation frameworks to assess progress against strategic goals. The measuring of our impact ensures accountability and informs future planning.
- They promote the organisation’s brand at events and through networking.
The COO takes on other responsibilities as needed to support the organisation’s mission.
About You
Essential competencies of the Chief Operating Officer:
- Extensive experience in senior leadership with a proven track record in operations, financial and risk management, and delivering high-performing teams, ideally in the charity sector.
- Strong understanding of business functions such as HR, Finance, Marketing, etc.
- Excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills.
- Ability to think strategically and execute effectively.
- Strong problem-solving and decision-making abilities. Commercially astute, process-driven, and highly pragmatic in approach.
- Experience in driving performance and fostering a collaborative culture.
- Bachelor’s degree in business administration or related field; MBA preferred
Why Work for NYA?
- NYA operates as a people-first organisation, prioritising the well-being and needs of its employees.
- NYA offers an exceptional flexible working approach which encourages our team to balance professional responsibilities with their personal life.
- A remote based team, spread across England, fostering inclusivity and diverse talent. Despite geographical distances between team members, NYA maintains a highly motivated and connected team through the optimisation of digital tools.
- NYA is committed to supporting the continual personal and professional development of our team and helping them achieve their ambitions.
- We provide 25 days leave plus 8 days, life assurance scheme, 5% employer pension contribution and a comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme via Spectrum.life with unlimited specialist support available to all NYA employees.
How to Apply:
To apply, please submit the following via our online application platform by 11:59pm on Monday 29th September 2025:
A detailed CV setting out your career history, with responsibilities and achievements in line with the person specification in the About You section.
A covering letter highlighting your suitability for the role and how you meet the requirements in the About You section.
We will request data for our EEDI monitoring purposes, providing this is optional.
Please note: The covering letter is an essential part of the application process and will be assessed as part of your full application. We use AI detector software, so cover letters or CV’s with over 80% AI generated content will be disregarded. We understand that AI tools can offer support to candidates who have learning differences, which is why we will accept applications with some AI assistance. CV’s will not be accepted without a cover letter.
The National Youth Agency is an equal opportunities employer.
At NYA our inclusive culture means that we embrace individual differences and understand that we need a diverse team to achieve our organisations mission.
We wish to recruit candidates from all backgrounds to ensure our team reflects the rich diversity of the communities we serve. We encourage applications from anyone regardless of disability, ethnicity, heritage, gender, sexuality, religion, socio-economic background and political beliefs but we particularly welcome applications from global majority candidates and those from other minoritised ethnic groups in the UK as they are currently underrepresented in our team.
Youth Work changes lives
Which is why we’re committed to ensuring that as many young people as possible get to benefit from it.As the national body for youth work in England, the National Youth Agency (NYA) exists to champion its transformative power. We believe all young people should have the opportunity to benefit from the life-changing impact of extraordinary youth workers and trained volunteers.
We help to grow youth work provision in ways that keep it effective, relevant, safe and engaging, to help millions of young people reach their potential and thrive. We do this by providing guidance, support, advice, training and staff development opportunities for youth workers and youth work organisations. At the heart of everything we do are young people themselves. We work hard to ensure their voices are integrated into all our work, to develop provision that truly meets their needs.
REF-223747
Thank you!
Finance Assistant
We are seeking an experienced Finance Assistant with strong bookkeeping skills to join the central finance team of a growing international charity working at the intersection of cultural heritage and community development.
Position: Finance Assistant
Location: Remote (UK-based)
Contract: Fixed-term, 6 months (with possibility of extension)
Hours: Part-time (0.4 FTE / 15 hours per week – must be available on Mondays)
Salary:Circa £30,000 per annum, depending on experience
Closing Date:21st September 2025 at 11.59pm
About the Role
Working as part of the charity’s central finance team, the Finance Assistant will help ensure the integrity of financial records and play a key role in maintaining accurate and timely bookkeeping for the UK.
You will be responsible for recording and reconciling transactions, processing invoices and payments, maintaining ledgers, and assisting with audit schedules. This is a highly detail-oriented role, requiring excellent accuracy, organisation, and the ability to work independently in a fully remote environment.
Key responsibilities include:
- Recording USD and GBP bank, MoneyCorp, and PayPal entries in QuickBooks
- Monthly reconciliation of all UK bank, MoneyCorp, and PayPal accounts
- Reviewing and processing supplier invoices and expense claims, including setting up payments
- Setting up multi-currency payments for international offices and maintaining creditors ledgers
- Maintaining UK debtors and creditors ledgers
- Recording and reconciling corporate credit card transactions
- Reconciling specified balance sheet accounts monthly
- Assisting with audit schedules and financial reporting
About You
The ideal candidate will be methodical, accurate, and proactive, with significant bookkeeping experience and strong QuickBooks skills. You will be comfortable working remotely, with excellent communication and organisational skills, and the ability to manage your workload effectively.
Key skills and experience required:
- Significant bookkeeping experience with excellent understanding of double entry
- Strong experience using QuickBooks
- Understanding of multi-currency accounting
- Methodical approach with outstanding attention to detail and high accuracy
- Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
- Strong organisational skills, able to work independently in a remote environment
Desirable:
- Understanding of charity finance regulations and practices
- Cross-cultural understanding and experience working with dispersed teams
How to Apply
To apply, please send a CV and a statement (no longer than 2 pages) outlining why you are the right person for this role.
About the Organisation
The employer is a British charity founded in 2006 that believes artisanal heritage matters and has the power to transform lives. The charity supports artisans to thrive, revitalise endangered traditions, and connect people across the world through heritage.
The organisation is fast-growing, with offices in Afghanistan, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia, and the Levant, and employs over 400 staff worldwide. With both charitable and trading operations, they deliver an ambitious, wide-ranging programme of work in complex and sometimes conflict-affected regions.
You may have experience in areas such as: Finance Officer, Bookkeeper, Assistant Accountant, Accounts Assistant, Finance Administrator, Accounts Payable/Receivable Clerk.
PLEASE NOTE: This role is being advertised by NFP People on behalf of the organisation.
