The successful candidate will have an agile and adaptable mind, and be authoritative but not hierarchical in their approach. They will be happiest in a collegiate and productive working culture, which they will help to foster amongst a small team in a rapidly evolving organisation. They will consider equity and diversity to be a fundamental part of the Foundation’s purpose and practice.
The candidate will be a technically accomplished professional, a Chartered or Certified Accountant, or hold a similar finance qualification with demonstrable post-qualification experience. They should think strategically but also relish hands-on tasks such as those detailed in the job description: bookkeeping, managing professional services contracts, HR oversight, office practicalities and workflow systems.
The candidate will have an understanding of the programmes beyond the prizes (experience of such initiatives would be helpful) as well as of our digital aims. They will have the capacity to facilitate all of this work within the team; will, ideally, have experience in managing external agencies; and will have good negotiation skills.
They will be comfortable working with a high-powered (but supportive and non-interventionist) Board of Trustees, including and especially the Treasurer, Tony Damer.
While a previous role within a charity is not essential, a demonstrable familiarity with the third sector and its particularities is.
A legal qualification isn’t a pre-requisite but the candidate must be familiar with the legal framework(s) – including the implications of charity law – applicable to governance and operations. This aspect includes:
- Identifying what areas of law and types of legal contracts or other documentation may be required in any given situation (eg but not by any means exhaustive – intellectual property and licensing, fundraising and sponsorship, third party professional service providers, consultancy work, online content production, HR, the basics of occupying office space).
- Knowing how to use external expertise effectively and proportionately to ensure that the legal requirements of governance and operations are met to a high standard.