Chief Finance Officer

Chief Finance Officer

Duration: Permanent

Salary:  Circa £135,000 per annum

Job Level: Executive

Hours: 35 hours per week

Disclosure Level: Basic. This role has no direct or indirect work with children

Reports to: Chief Executive

Location: Hybrid working, with a minimum of two days in office at 1 Westfield Avenue, London E20 1HZ

INTRODUCTION

At the UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK), our vision is a better world for every child. We inspire and engage supporters, raise vital funds, champion children’s voices and create lasting change for children. Guided by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), our passionate and determined team works for children everywhere, including here in the UK. We are committed to building a diverse, inclusive and supportive workplace where colleagues feel valued, respected and able to do their best work for children.

ABOUT THE TEAM

The Finance Directorate brings together Finance, Strategic Risk and Internal Audit, Legal, Governance and Facilities. Together, these teams provide the financial stewardship, good governance, assurance, risk management and operational infrastructure that enable UNICEF UK to deliver its mission with confidence, integrity and impact.

ABOUT THE ROLE

This is a significant and rewarding leadership role at the heart of UNICEF UK. As Chief Finance Officer, you will ensure the organisation has the financial sustainability, governance integrity, risk resilience and stewardship needed to deliver its mission and strategic objectives for children.

As a member of the Executive Team, you will provide strategic leadership across finance, governance, risk, and legal and some operational enabling functions. You will bring commercial acumen, sound judgement and an enterprise-wide perspective, helping UNICEF UK make robust decisions, maximise impact for children and protect its assets and reputation.

You will work closely with the Chief Executive, Executive Team, Treasurer, Board of Trustees and Finance Committee to provide high-quality financial insight, analysis and reporting that supports effective oversight, risk management and long-term sustainability.

You will build strong relationships across UNICEF globally and with other UNICEF National Committees, using benchmarking, shared learning and assurance to strengthen financial management, governance and stewardship of funds remitted to UNICEF.

We are looking for a values-led, emotionally intelligent and inclusive leader who is motivated by UNICEF UK’s mission and excited by the opportunity to lead beyond their professional discipline, contribute fully to enterprise leadership and help shape the organisation’s strategy, culture and performance. We welcome candidates who can bring relevant experience from a range of sectors and backgrounds.

What we will expect you to achieve

• Play a full and active role as a member of the Executive Team and Strategic Leadership Group, shaping and delivering UNICEF UK’s organisational strategy.

• Share collective accountability for organisational performance, financial sustainability, culture, equity, diversity and inclusion, and delivery of strategic objectives.

• Bring an enterprise-wide perspective to decision-making, working collaboratively across portfolios and strengthening collective accountability.

• Lead across organisational boundaries to strengthen organisational effectiveness, innovation, resilience and impact.

• Champion UNICEF UK’s values, behaviours and inclusive culture in how decisions are made and work is delivered.

• Build trusted, constructive relationships with trustees, colleagues, UNICEF partners and external stakeholders.

• Lead significant organisational change with clarity, confidence, care and integrity.

Executive Team leadership

• Act as a trusted adviser to the Chief Executive, Executive Team and Board on finance, governance, risk and organisational sustainability.

• Lead the development and delivery of the Finance Plan, ensuring it supports UNICEF UK’s strategy, goals and mission.

• Strengthen the effectiveness, ways of working and decision-making of the Executive Team and Strategic Leadership Group.

• Help lead continuous improvement and change so UNICEF UK remains sustainable, adaptable and effective.

• Play a full Executive Team role in maximising opportunities, managing risk, engaging colleagues, shaping organisational strategy and deputising for the Chief Executive when appropriate.

Directorate Leadership

• Ensure UNICEF UK’s operating model is effective, sustainable and adaptable, enabling the organisation to deliver its mission efficiently and well.

• Develop, model and promote a positive, inclusive and values-led culture across the directorate, supporting engagement, wellbeing and high performance.

• Ensure strategic planning and decision-making are informed by robust, timely and commercially focused insight, data and performance metrics.

• Provide clear leadership across the directorate, ensuring priorities, targets, risks, investment opportunities, key performance indicators and key results are understood, owned and delivered.

• Work with the Chief Marketing and Partnerships Officer to optimise existing commercial opportunities and build new ones in line with UNICEF UK’s strategy.

• Act as a Company Director of Soccer Aid Productions, SAFU IP Holdings and UNICEF Enterprises Limited, providing oversight of operations, finances, risk and reputation.

• Steward the effective running of the Finance Committee and Audit and Risk Committee, ensuring financial, audit, assurance and risk obligations are well managed.

• Protect UNICEF UK’s assets through strong financial control, trustee reporting, annual report and accounts preparation, audit management and internal assurance.

• Work with the General Counsel to ensure commercial activity and operations are supported by robust contracts and comply with relevant legal, regulatory and governance requirements.

• Champion innovation, continuous learning and best practice across the directorate and wider organisation, while building strong UNICEF relationships and representing UNICEF UK externally where required.

This job description is forward-looking and indicative rather than exhaustive. Responsibilities will develop over time, and UNICEF UK may update the role to reflect organisational needs, keeping substantial changes to a minimum and ensuring the job description remains current.

ABOUT YOU

STRATEGIC CAPABILITIES: BEHAVIOURS, EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

This section sets out the essential behaviours, experience, knowledge and skills needed to be effective in the role. We recognise that candidates may have gained these through different career paths, sectors and lived or professional experience.

Effective Behaviours

Audience-driven and mission-aligned

• Understands the needs and pressures of audiences and partners, balancing these with doing what is right for children.

• Is deeply committed to children’s rights and motivated by UNICEF UK’s mission to build a better world for every child.

Leadership

• Brings strong strategic capability and systems thinking, seeing the bigger picture while understanding operational implications.

• Creates an inclusive, positive and high-performing culture that values different perspectives, constructive challenge, learning and innovation.

• Adapts to changing circumstances with resilience, flexibility and sound judgement.

• Encourages cross-organisational collaboration, acting as a visible role model.

• Leads change with clarity, confidence, listening and engagement.

• Actively draws on colleagues’ diverse perspectives, skills, experience and knowledge.

Communicating, negotiating and influencing

• Influences and negotiates effectively with internal and external stakeholders, including on complex, sensitive or commercially significant issues.

• Adapts communication style to audience and context, using clear, compelling insight.

• Interprets complex information with ease, identifying key issues, anomalies and implications for sound decision-making.

Emotional and cultural intelligence

• Demonstrates high emotional intelligence, with strong self-awareness, empathy and interpersonal judgement.

• Builds trusted relationships, navigates complex people dynamics and leads with authenticity and resilience.

• Demonstrates cultural intelligence and inclusive leadership across diverse teams, perspectives and contexts.

• Fosters belonging, values difference and creates the conditions for colleagues to contribute fully.

Relevant experience

• Experience of commercial, income-generating or growth-focused environments, including commercial partnerships and joint ventures, bringing wider strategic and operational insight.Strong understanding of enabling functions and how data and insight improve organisational performance.

• Deep experience of setting strategic KPIs, managing performance and embedding innovation and continuous improvement.

• Experience managing delivery and expectations across senior stakeholders, which may include boards, committees, joint venture partners and non-executive colleagues.

• Experience leading cross-functional teams or shared service functions

• Experience leading through organisational-wide and local strategic change, which may include financial transformation or the implementation of new digital capabilities.

• Track record of supporting teams to provide proactive, high-quality internal service and consultancy that supports organisational results.

Specific knowledge and skills

• Qualified accountant with significant senior financial leadership experience in a large or complex organisation.

• Strong financial strategy, planning, performance management and operational leadership capability.

• Ability to use data, insight and analysis to support strategic planning, resource allocation and decision-making.

• Strong stakeholder management skills, engaging the right people at the right time and building shared ownership.

• Strong financial control, assurance and stewardship of organisational assets and resources.

• Ability to develop clear business cases, including analysis of return on investment, risk, opportunity and impact.

This listing was sourced from 4dayweek.io.