Service director jobs

This is a senior leadership role for someone who knows how to make complex change happen in practice - not just shaping ideas, but leading delivery, building trusted relationships, and turning ambition into operational reality.

You’ll play a central role in leading and growing our systems, place and public service change work. Work directly with clients, partners, senior leaders and delivery teams across complex programmes and live environments, you’ll help organisations navigate change, improve delivery, and respond to real operational and system pressures. This is a hands-on role with significant responsibility, influence, and visibility across both delivery and organisational development.

We’re looking for someone who understands the realities of public service delivery and organisational leadership, but who can also identify opportunities, shape propositions, build partnerships, and help grow sustainable and high-impact work. Our ideal candidate will bring operational credibility, strategic thinking, and commercial awareness.

Alongside leading delivery, you’ll contribute to business development, client relationships, strategic direction, and the continued evolution of our Homes and Missions model.

The role requires someone comfortable operating across strategy, delivery and growth. One day you may be working with a senior leadership team to shape a complex transformation programme, the next supporting delivery teams to work through operational challenges, strengthening client relationships, or helping develop a new opportunity into a deliverable programme of work. You’ll need sound judgement, political awareness, credibility with senior stakeholders, and the ability to lead calmly and decisively in complex environments.

This is not a purely strategic, advisory, or oversight position. We’re looking for a leader who’s comfortable close to the work - working directly with teams, supporting delivery in real time, building organisational capability, and helping create the conditions for high-quality change to happen.

Director of Services (Infrastructure)

Hours of work: Full-time (37 hours per week)

Salary: Up to £53,400 per annum (+6% employer pension contribution)

Location: Rotherham (not a hybrid role)

The Director of Services (Infrastructure) will be responsible for leading on the Single Infrastructure Grant (SIG) and related areas of work, VAR's core services and key networks and consortia of Rotherham's Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) organisations.

The successful candidate will have:

• Previous experience of leading at a senior level within a voluntary or public sector organisation;
• Demonstrable record of developing strong and effective stakeholder and partner relationships within a complex environment;
• Proven track record of building, leading and managing diverse teams across a number of business areas and specialisms;
• Experience of developing services and contributing towards funding, income generation and business planning.

As well as having the ability to lead the team through an inclusive and empowering leadership style, the successful candidate must have the ability to influence at a high level across a range of services, stakeholders, commissioners and organisations.

The role will require regular attendance at meetings outside of normal working hours, therefore, the successful candidate must be willing to work flexible hours when required to meet work demands.

Voluntary Action Rotherham (VAR) is the lead body for supporting, developing and promoting the voluntary and community sector (VCS) in the Rotherham Borough. Our role is to facilitate effective action to bring about positive change in the lives of individuals and communities in the local area.

To apply for this role, please complete a VAR application form or send in your CV and a covering letter (outlining your skills and experience in relation to this role).

Closing date for applications is 12 noon on Friday 19th June 2026

Interviews are likely to be held on Friday 26th June 2026 at The Spectrum. We will, however, review applications as they are submitted and may bring candidates forward for an interview (with reasonable notice) at any time. We may also close this vacancy early if sufficient applications have been received.

Director of Finance & Services
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full-Time. (We welcome requests for flexible working arrangements, including hybrid and part time working).
Location: South Kensington, London SW7
Salary: Circa £100,000+ per annum FTE

About Us

The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) is the learned society and professional body for geography and geographers. It is also a charity and a membership organisation. The Society was founded in 1830 and has been one of the most active of the learned societies ever since. It was pivotal in establishing geography as a teaching and research discipline in British universities and continues to play a key role in geographical and environmental education.

The Society is a leading world centre for geographical learning – supporting education, teaching, research, professional practice and scientific expeditions, as well as promoting public understanding and enjoyment of geography and providing advice to policymakers.

The Society offers professional accreditation to members through Chartered Geographer status.

About You and the Role

As the Society approaches its 200th anniversary in 2030, with ambitious associated goals, ensuring that we continue to have the best possible leadership team in place has never been more relevant.

With the approaching retirement of our current Director of Finance & Services, we are looking for an exceptional, entrepreneurial senior leader with proven ability to balance strategic and operational impact.

Whilst an executive level financial background is a given, we are additionally seeking an individual who has led other functions and developed the professionals within them. This role leads a diverse team of 10, spanning: Finance, Facilities & Estates, IT & Database Administration, and HR. It also holds additional responsibility for: Safeguarding, Data Protection, Risk Management, Pensions, Company Secretarial, Insurance & Legal.

We have exciting plans for our building, at the heart of London’s Exhibition Road Cultural Quarter, optimizing and developing this space as a gathering point of global significance and influence for people intent on making a positive difference to the world. Accordingly, we are particularly interested in individuals who bring with them strong programme management skills and experience of managing heritage estate projects operationally, in partnership with external consultants.

The successful candidate will drive and deliver effective and efficient financial planning, forecasting, budgeting, reporting, controls, operations, and management, whilst continuing to improve the Society’s processes and systems.

Salary and Benefits

This is a permanent post. We welcome requests for flexible working arrangements, including hybrid and part time working. This is looked at on a case-by-case basis, balancing the Society’s needs with the successful candidate’s other commitments, to support a good work-life balance. The salary range for this post is c£100,000+ (FTE) per annum, depending on experience and qualifications. The post is based in Kensington, London.

There are a range of benefits at the Society which include the following:

• 35-hour working week with core working hours between 10.00am and 4.00pm.
• Flexible working arrangements are available with a mix of office based and home working.
• 25 days annual leave per annum, pro rata, plus public bank holidays.
• Society closure between Christmas and New Year, in addition to the basic annual leave allowance.
• Pension scheme - 3% employee, 7.5% employer.
• Group Life Assurance at four-times basic annual salary.
• Corporate eye care vouchers.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Free 24-hour Employee Assistance helpline with available counselling support.

Applications must be received by 5.30pm 12 June 2026.
It is anticipated that interviews will take place week commencing 29 June 2026.

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 Society aims to be an equal opportunities employer. We strongly encourage applicants from those traditionally underrepresented in the geographical discipline.

Applicants must have the right to work in the UK. The Society is unable to offer work visa sponsorships.

No agencies please.

• Hours: 37.5 per week 

• Salary: £57,000 per annum 

• Contract: Permanent 

• Location: Our office, Unity Business Centre, 26 Roundhay Road, Leeds LS7 1AB 

• Deadline for applications: Monday 15th June, 12 Noon 

• Job Interview Date: Monday 29th June 

The Director of Finance, Corporate Services & Income is a senior leadership role responsible for ensuring Advonet is financially sustainable, well-run and resilient. The role provides strategic financial leadership, oversight of corporate services, and a significant focus on income generation and diversification.  

This role plays a critical part in strengthening Advonet’s long-term viability by improving financial decision‑making, embedding a culture of income awareness and diversification, and enabling managers and teams to contribute confidently to business development activity.  

Apply now

To find out more about this vacancy, please download our Recruitment Pack from our website. It has information on what the role involves, including key responsibilities and a person specification. There is also more about what working for Advonet is like, as well as information on our values and the benefits on offer.

To apply for this job we require a cover letter (max 500 words) and a CV diversity monitoring form. You can find more details about this in the Recruitment Pack.

For any questions about the role, please contact our office and ask to speak to Angela Ellis CEO.