Finance Trustee

Founded in March 2020, Headroom Charity has grown from strength to strength over the last 6 years from a small team of 4 counsellors working from home through lock down to an ever-growing team of 11 counsellors, supporting young people and their parents. We have a full operations team, and a devoted and dedicated team of Trustees involved in the running of the charity.

As a result of our growth, we now need a Finance Trustee that can be a core member of the team and help shape and supervise our financial governance, specifically to be:

• Accountable to the Chair of Trustees and the CEO.
• Responsible for ensuring strong financial control across the charity, overseeing all operational processes that safeguard accuracy, compliance, and financial integrity.
• Responsible for the strategic oversight of the charity’s financial control framework, ensuring that operational processes are effective, compliant, and support sound financial stewardship.

The Finance Trustee will play a crucial role in shaping the future strategy of the charity, helping us to financially risk assess growth opportunities.  Whilst we have a great operational team, we are looking for a Finance Trustee that can help define best practice and challenge and mentor the team to set them up for the future in a growing organisation.

Activities to include:

• Definition of required operational financial reporting and (at least) monthly review of financial status and validation of content.
• Development of financial forecasting processes (monthly, annually) including integration of management information with other operational areas such as fundraising.
• Annually to be responsible for signing off the financial accounts with the accountant and to write the relevant parts of the Annual report.
• Represent and accurately report the charity’s financial status at the Trustee meetings every 2 months.
• Support the development of grant applications.

Skills

Essential:

• ACCA or CIMA or ACA qualified.
• Good knowledge and experience of managing the finances of a small organisation including payroll to be able to assess the status of the financial control of the charity.
• Good leadership skills – able to mentor and grow a team’s capability.
• Strong communication skills including explaining financial information in an accessible way.

Desirable:

• Ideally you will be or have been a Finance Manager in an organisation where you have been part of a Leadership team defining strategy and managing financial risk
• An understanding of Xero
• Knowledge or experience of charity finances  

Commitment Ask

• Monthly attendance of the operations meeting – daytime.
• Attendance at the Trustee meeting every 2 months – evening.