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Role description

Job title: Director of Finance
Reports to: Chief Finance and Shared Services Officer
Department: Finance
Directorate: Shared Services
Pay Band: Individual

 

About the role

As the senior finance professional responsible for the operational delivery of finance and procurement services, you will provide robust financial leadership across the organisation. This is a senior strategic role, overseeing strategic direction and oversight for the function, as well as ensuring that our financial management, budgeting, reporting and procurement functions are delivered to high standards and aligned with our strategic objectives.

This role is a trusted business partner to our Senior Leadership Team and Chief Financial & Shared Services Officer on a range of strategic finance matters. This role involves extensive interface with Cats Protection’s Board and its Audit & Risk Committee, and leads the relationship with external and internal auditors, investment and treasury managers and banking partners. The role also leads the relationship with the Investment Committee, ensuring oversight of the governance of the charity’s investment portfolio in line with our Statement of Investment Principles and contributes to the Finance & Resources Committee.

The Finance Director is also a member of our Senior Management team. This role works cross organisationally and collectively with Senior Management team colleagues to provide senior leadership oversight in areas of strategy, communication, and engagement. It operates in line with the Senior Management team terms of reference. The role will inspire, influence, and perform at the highest professional standard and be a leading exemplar in the charity displaying behaviours aligned to our values and our charitable purpose.

A key responsibility of this role is to lead the financial sustainability component of the organisation’s strategy. You will ensure that financial strategy, investment planning, and resource allocation deliver outcomes aligned with our strategic objectives.

You will play a pivotal role in shaping and supporting the organisation’s financial strategy and long-term sustainability, including input into the 3-year planning process, oversight of reserves and cashflow, and leading the charity’s budgeting and forecasting cycle. As a key member of the Shared Services leadership team, you will contribute to directorate-wide priorities and model our values of collaboration, accountability and compassion. The jobholder is expected to perform to the highest professional standards, demonstrating behaviours that reflect our values and charitable mission. In doing so, they will support our ambition to be an exemplary voluntary organisation.

Key responsibilities

Financial Leadership and Strategy

  • Lead the financial planning cycle, including budgeting, forecasting and modelling for income and expenditure, cashflow and reserves strategy
  • Provide expert financial insight and guidance to inform strategic and operational decision-making across the charity
  • Maintain oversight of the charity’s financial position and performance, reporting to the Chief Finance and Shared Services Officer and supporting Senior Leadership team and Board-level reporting
  • Ensure the timely delivery of accurate and insightful monthly management accounts and cashflow forecasting, working closely with stakeholders across the charity
  • Partner with the Chief Finance and Shared Services Officer to develop and implement the charity’s financial strategy
  • Provide assurance over financial governance, regulatory compliance, reserves policy, and investment and treasury management
  • Provide assurances that financial risk is managed and that mitigating actions are taken, raising concerns through Senior Leadership team, Senior Management team and the Board as appropriate

Financial Operations and Control

  • Ensure accurate processing of all financial transactions, including investment drawdowns and distributions, accounts payable, payroll, employee expenses and credit card transactions
  • Oversee internal and external reporting, including management accounts, statutory reporting and materials for the Board and Audit & Risk Committee
  • Lead the annual external audit and financial statement process, maintaining strong relationships with the auditors
  • Manage investment portfolio valuation cycles, ensuring alignment with internal policies and governance guidelines
  • Develop and implement financial policies, systems and strong financial controls that reflect Cats Protection’s current and future needs
  • Maintain and strengthen internal controls across all financial activities, including across our retail estate and branch network, ensuring effective risk mitigation
  • Ensure organisational understanding of risk management and control environment through internal audit
  • Ensure systems remain current through upgrades, refreshes and replacements, users are appropriately trained and the charity derives high return on its investment (Finance & Procurement system, Payroll system, expenses system and banking software)

Procurement Leadership

  • Provide strategic leadership and guidance on the effective delivery of a procurement culture, ensuring policies and process are robust and complied with
  • Lead the delivery of an efficient, transparent and compliant procurement function
  • Develop and embed procurement policies, procedures and systems that support value for money and effective contract management
  • Provide expert advice to budget holders on procurement planning, supplier engagement and risk
  • Oversee procurement reporting, ensuring alignment with financial and strategic planning
  • Ensure through the Head of Procurement that the organisation upholds its responsibilities under the Procurement Act 2023 and Modern Slavery Act 2015

Governance and Stakeholder Engagement

  • Stay up to date with all relevant accounting, tax and regulatory standards, guidance and legislation
  • Act as the key point of contact for internal audits, ensuring effective coordination and follow up
  • Management and planning of Cats Protection’s taxation obligations (principally Corporation tax, VAT)
  • Lead the development and optimisation of financial systems and tools to support organisational efficiency
  • Deliver strategic and operational finance projects that support both organisational development of Cats Protection and the finance function
  • Represent Cats Protection through peer-group and other networks to benchmark and share best practice
  • Work collaboratively with the Head of Strategy to ensure financial and procurement considerations are embedded in strategic planning and change delivery

Leadership and People Management

  • Model and embed our organisational behaviours, ensuring that delivery is underpinned by compassion, courage, knowledge, and collaboration
  • Foster inclusive engagement with employees, volunteers, Board and Committee members and third party partners, reflecting our culture of partnership and valuing the contribution of all those who support the charity
  • Foster a collaborative and inclusive working culture that motivates and engages our people in cross-organisational working, ensuring they understand how their roles contribute to the charity’s values, goals, and impact on cat welfare
  • Contribute to the strategic development of the Shared Services directorate as a member of the senior leadership team
  • As an exemplary voluntary organisation, ensure the needs and engagement of volunteers are embedded within the Finance and Procurement team practices]
  • Manage and support a culture where effective teamwork, collaboration and innovation are encouraged, recognised and rewarded within the directorate and the charity more widely
  • Ensure significant programmes and projects that impact the charity via Finance are appropriately engaged, change managed and delivered

Membership of Senior Management Team

Work in collaboration with members of the Senior Management team, to fulfil all duties and responsibilities set out in the Senior Management team terms of reference, namely:

  • Collectively manage activities against the overall charity budget and risk register which is aligned to Directorate budgets
  • Support strategy planning and dependencies
  • Risk management and escalation of risks and key concerns
  • Scrutiny of collective management information KPIs and propose actions to mitigate risks
  • Overall workforce planning ahead of presenting to the Senior Leadership team for the budget process or new roles
  • Collectively discuss key internal and external communications issues, so there is collective understanding of risk and overwhelm
  • Delivery of core brief messaging for the charity across all disciplines, proposing the best way to manage the message
  • Collective influence across the charity in support of key messages and engagement of all our people
  • Consultation, and engagement with key stakeholders and wider experts as required to inform decision making or reach consensus
  • Proposals to Senior Leadership team to address key issues and concerns through commissioning activity via task and finish groups or exert panels to address such challenges or opportunities
  • Working with the Senior Leadership team on key decision and activities which impact the charity to provide operational insight such as cost savings and major change
  • Maintain an action log for any actions associated with any review recommendations
  • Any other ad-hoc requests as directed by the Senior Leadership team from time to time

Other and ad-hoc

  • In common with all posts, ensure compliance with Cats Protection’s policies and procedures, statutory obligations and best practice, and to undertake such other duties as may be reasonably required by the Chief Executive
  • Cats Protection is committed to safeguarding children and adults at risk and protecting anyone that comes into contact with us and we expect all employees and volunteers to share this commitment

Role dimensions

People accountability

Direct reports: Three

Team size: 31 employees

Volunteers: This role requires an understanding of Cats Protection volunteering strategy and will promote the volunteering partnership to promote inclusion, togetherness, celebration, and involvement. Specifically, it will create an environment where the views and experience of volunteers is valued and encouraged, leading to co-creation and a broadening of our knowledge and expertise.

Financial accountability

Budget: £2.1m
Direct/Indirect/Shared accountability: Direct accountability

Values and behaviours

Our shared values act as a guiding compass to shape our behaviour and the decisions we make at work. They are a call to action for every one of us and the benchmark against which we measure ourselves, both current and future colleagues.

Through our values and behaviours we help people see the world through cats’ eyes. Together we can make a difference.

Safeguarding

At Cats Protection, we are dedicated to safeguarding both children and vulnerable adults, ensuring the safety of everyone who interacts with us. We expect all our employees and volunteers to share this commitment. For certain roles, a Criminal Record Check through the Disclosure and Barring Service, Disclosure Scotland, or Access NI may be required before an offer of employment is made.

This role will not require a Criminal Record Check.