Smart works jobs

£36,075 per year

Full-time 1-year fixed term post.

Job description

CSE is seeking to appoint a confident and adaptable Project Manager (Maternity Cover) with the experience and initiative to lead and deliver a varied portfolio of community-based energy and climate projects.

This role will likely initially focus on coordinating our work on the Energy Learning Network and supporting the networking of local community organisations that provide vital energy advice.

The successful candidate will be an excellent communicator who is confident working with a wide range of stakeholders and has proven experience managing multi-partner or community-based projects. They will understand and seek to champion the value of community-led approaches to energy and climate action.

Pay and conditions

• The role is full-time 1-year fixed contract (37.5 hours per week).
• The salary for the role will be £36,075.
• You will be entitled to 25 days paid holiday (plus statutory holidays).

CSE offer a range of benefits including, subsidised bike purchase and Tech Scheme, Life Assurance, Health Cash plan, retail discounts and discounted breakdown cover and many more.

We will pay fees and expenses on relevant training courses.

Specific responsibilities

An applicant appointed to the role will be expected to:

- Consistently and effectively manage projects across a range of initiatives within the LACE team with responsibility for planning, promotion, budgeting, ongoing financial management, funder liaison, reporting, monitoring and evaluation.

- Manage finance and resources for project work such as events, training, analysis, grant schemes, stakeholder engagement, community climate action, youth work and work supporting local authorities.

- Line management of up to 1-2 junior members of the LACE team.

- Contribute to team wellbeing by supporting co-workers in their tasks and proactively addressing issues relating to your projects or direct reports. Communicate project outputs effectively to team members, CSE staff and eternal stakeholders.

- Oversee promotion and marketing of projects and outputs to ensure effective engagement with the target audience (in conjunction with Communications team).

- Regularly represent CSE at external events (e.g. webinars, meetings, conferences), presenting to a Centre for Sustainable Energy 2024 high standard and sharing outputs and insights from projects you manage and work on.

- Establish and maintain strong relationships and partnerships with funders and stakeholders, potentially including existing funders and strategic partners, community groups, local authorities, voluntary sector associations, housing associations, youth groups.

- Provide expertise and experience necessary to deliver projects well and contribute to the upskilling of CSE staff and the capacity building of external stakeholders. In this role that could include models and approaches for viable community led sustainability initiatives, community renewables, sustainability initiatives, community engagement, community resilience, or energy efficiency.

To see a more detailed list of responsibilities please see the supporting documents attached. These documents are also available to download from our website.

Essential attributes for this role include:

• GCSE or O’ level Maths and English.
• Managing projects and project teams, including all financial processes, funder liaison, adaptive management, learning, communication, and reporting.
• Working closely with or within a local community focused organisation or a UK local authority.
• Working as part of a matrix management system, across project teams working on several different projects at the same time.
• Developing and writing successful funding proposals and tender responses.
• Excellent budget management and donor reporting skills.

Please note, the above is an overview of the skills required for this role. To see the full list of essential and desirable skills please see the attached job description.

How to apply

To apply, please download and complete the application form available from our website and send it to our Jobs email. Your application should demonstrate your suitability for the role against the criteria outlined in the person specification and job description.  The front sheet of the form containing personal information is not seen by the selection panel.

To be considered for this role an application form must be sent to jobs @ cse . org . uk .

The closing date for applications is 22nd September.

Interviews are expected to take place 6th October, though this is subject to change.  

If invited to interview, we will ask you to provide evidence of eligibility to work in the UK.

About The Social Change Nest CIC

At The Social Change Nest, we power grassroots movements and community-led change by offering trusted fiscal hosting, grant management, and financial infrastructure. We’re radically transforming the funding landscape and strengthening civil society. We remove the financial and administrative barriers - like bank accounts and legal structures - that often prevent communities, grassroots groups and informal movements from accessing funding and focusing on their core mission. We also work closely with funders, providing Grant Distribution and Fund Management services, enabling them to support social action with confidence and transparency. 

We currently support over 600 groups across the UK and abroad addressing issues such as social injustice, climate, housing, wellbeing and animal rights. We are at the forefront of Fiscal Hosting in the UK and, since our inception in 2021, we have supported groups in securing over £23m in funding, helping them take advantage of opportunities that may have otherwise been unavailable.

The Social Change Nest is part of The Social Change Group. We are a Disability Confident Employer, and an accredited Living Wage Employer. In addition, we were listed as one of the top social enterprises in the UK in the SE100 for the last three years. 

How We Work

You’ll be joining a close-knit team, supported and developed to be the best you can be. We believe that every member of our team brings a unique perspective from their experiences and abilities and we encourage everyone to be curious about how we can improve everything we do, from how we interact as a team to how we deliver for our clients and communities. 

Underpinned by our values of collaboration, curiosity, courage, and creativity, we work closely and with care with our partners because we believe relationships are the glue that hold us all together. 

We’re a growing business and operate at pace to keep up with the challenges that the sector faces. We have established a lot, but as we grow, we’re still working some things out. The right person will thrive in this environment and feel a level of ownership to support the build out of things we need as we need them. 

The ideal candidate will enjoy working within a fast-paced and evolving organisation, and have a natural curiosity about how their role fits into the bigger picture. You’ll thrive on problem-solving and will feel comfortable handling multiple priorities at once, always seeking collaborative solutions. You’ll be adaptable and able to shift focus quickly when things change, ensuring strong communication across the team and with clients to keep everything aligned.

Role Purpose

As our international grantmaking and emergency relief support expands, we are seeking an experienced International Finance Manager to oversee high-risk and complex financial operations in humanitarian and activist contexts globally.

The International Finance Manager will provide financial leadership and oversight across our growing global grantmaking portfolio. This new role which we are testing out requires balancing robust financial stewardship with flexibility to meet the urgent needs of grassroots movements and funders working in complex, high-risk contexts.

Working closely with colleagues in Compliance, Risk & Innovation and the Grant Distribution team, you will ensure secure, transparent, and compliant management of international funds/grant disbursements, while modelling the collaborative, trauma-informed, and values-driven approach that sits at the heart of SCN’s work.

Key Responsibilities

Client & Stakeholder Management - 10%

• Act as the finance lead for philanthropic clients raising funds for overseas emergency relief and grassroots movements.

• Provide clear, practical advice on financial risk, compliance, and best practice to clients.

• Build trusted relationships with grassroots partners, ensuring funds are transferred responsibly and reporting is accessible and transparent.

• Apply a trauma-informed approach, recognising the pressures and lived realities of partners in conflict or activist environments.

• Represent SCN’s values of equity, transparency, and care in all external and internal relationships.
   

Grant Finance Oversight - 60%

• Lead end-to-end financial processes for international grantmaking, including budgeting, transfers, reconciliations, and reporting.

• Handle subscription based and/or recurring donation management 

• Oversee multi-currency payments into high-risk regions, ensuring compliance and mitigating fraud or diversion risks.

• Strengthen internal controls and systems, aligning them with SCN’s expanding global reach.

• Collaborate with the Compliance, Risk & Innovation team to continuously improve financial policies and processes.

• Demonstrate accountability and accuracy while remaining agile to meet urgent humanitarian needs.
   

Risk & Compliance - 20%

• Ensure financial due diligence, KYC/AML checks, and enhanced vetting for overseas partners and unincorporated networks.

• Ensure compliance with HMRC, banking regulations, and counter-terrorism financing rules.

• Contribute to risk frameworks that safeguard SCN and our partners, balancing compliance with accessibility for grassroots groups.
   

Support SCN with Humanitarian & Global Grantmaking Expertise - 10%

• Apply practical knowledge of humanitarian and international finance, particularly in funding unincorporated groups and movements.

• Co-design grantmaking processes with colleagues and partners that meet donor requirements while centering grassroots needs.

• Navigate sanctions regimes and humanitarian exemptions, especially in conflict-affected regions.

• Monitor emerging risks and restrictions globally, sharing insights and solutions across SCN teams and with funders.

Person Specification

Essential Experience and Knowledge

• Strong experience in finance, grantmaking, or compliance within humanitarian or philanthropic contexts.

• Proven expertise in managing overseas financial transactions, including multi-currency payments and reconciliations

• Experience in managing volatile exchange rates and currency fluctuations risks

• Experience with international payments into high-risk jurisdictions, including unincorporated or grassroots networks.

• Familiarity with digital exchange payment platforms and cross-border banking restrictions (e.g. SWIFT, XE Wise, Payoneer).

• Experience applying due diligence and financial risk management frameworks.
   

• Knowledge of:

  • KYC/AML regulations

  • Counter-Terrorism Financing rules

  • UK charity and banking regulations

  • Digital exchange transfer tools such as XE, WISE 

Desirable

• Arabic language skills (spoken and written).

• Previous experience in NGOs, fiscal hosts, or international grantmaking

• Operating with crypto currencies 

Skills and Ways of Working

• Strong interpersonal skills and cultural competence, with the ability to work in a trauma-informed way.

• Excellent stakeholder management, from grassroots partners to funders and banks.

• Ability to balance compliance with flexibility, navigating political sensitivities with discretion and integrity.

• Collaborative mindset, with self-awareness to seek support where needed.

• Alignment with SCN’s values of curiosity, courage, creativity, and collaboration

Terms and benefits:

Terms: The role will be full-time (37.5 hours/week) permanent contract  - we will consider well-structured JobShare applications. As we often work with volunteers, occasional evening and weekend work will be required and compensated through TOIL. Occasional but limited UK or European travel will be required (by arrangement). 

We are open to exploring flexible working arrangements and supporting you to meet commitments you may have.

Salary: £39,705

Location: You must be based in the UK. We have an office in Farringdon, London, where London-based staff typically work at least two days a week. If you are based outside of London, the role will be home-based. 

We hold quarterly all-staff strategy meetings and annual away days which you will be required to attend in person: we will cover the cost of your travel. You will be required to come together with the team occasionally and these travel costs will not be covered, we try our best to keep these to when only necessary. 

Language Skills & Visa Status: Candidates must be fluent in English and have the independent right to work in the UK for a minimum of two years, as we are unable to provide visa sponsorship.

Holiday: 22 days of annual leave plus bank holidays, as well as an additional 3 days between Christmas and New Year when the office and our services are closed.

Employer pension contribution: We offer a 3% employer pension contribution, that you will auto enrol for after 3 months of employment with SCN.  

Additional Paid Time Off: We offer 2 days of paid voluntary time off, encouraging all staff to serve as trustees or any equivalent voluntary positions to contribute to their communities 

Mintago: The health and wellbeing of our staff is very important to us. We offer all of our staff access to Mintago which offers a 24 hour support line, structured counselling with external support, and a bank of online resources such as webinars and articles tailored towards health and wellbeing for both you and the members of your family, and access to some types of legal advice. You can see their website for details. They also offer access to a 24hr virtual GP. 

Financial Wellbeing: The financial wellbeing of our staff means a lot to us. We offer the following to our staff to help them reach their financial goals:

• Salary sacrifice/exchange schemes for groceries (and pensions will be coming soon!). Staff members can choose a set amount to be taken out of their gross pay (before being taxed)  each month, to be put towards purchasing groceries from all major grocery retailers. 

• Financial wellbeing platform allows staff to check their pension dashboard, plan for retirement and search for forgotten/lost pensions. There is also a smart saver plan and we provide access to financial advisers for free.

• Benefits app - retail discounts. Select from over 80 brands.

Ideal Start Date: October 2025