Role: Executive Director of Finance & IT.
Salary: £83-90k – inclusive of ILW (negotiable dependent upon experience).
Contract/Hours: Full time/ 37.5 hours per week.
Holiday: 26 days + Bank holidays.
Location: London, Greater Manchester, Whitley Bay with minimum of 8 days per month in the office.
Reports To: Chief Executive.
Responsible For: Finance, IT, Company Secretary.
Background
Depaul UK has worked for over 35 years to support people facing homelessness. We work in local communities across the country to prevent and relieve the impact of homelessness on people’s lives. We prioritise those who have previously had the most traumatic experiences; including children and young people, those who have slept rough and people with no recourse to public funds. We are passionate about the difference we make. Our organization reaches from North Tyneside to London, Greater Manchester and Cheshire to Sheffield and Kent.
Over the past few years, Trustees and Depaul UK management have successfully steered a complex £20m+ organisation with 350 staff and more than 400 volunteers delivering frontline services to more than 1000 beneficiaries daily through the most volatile of times. The organisation has ambitious plans in place to increase our profile, income and influence to extend our reach and impact to some of the most vulnerable members of our society.
Depaul UK delivers a wide range of support, housing and prevention services for young people and adults at risk of homelessness. We specialise in the provision of services that; prevent homelessness, increase the resilience of those we work with and energize opportunities for employment, education, training and volunteering in the communities we work within.
With an ambitious and strategic Board and an increased focus on results and sustainability, the charity has worked hard to provide effective housing and support interventions and increase income generating activities.
We are committed to involving our clients in how we make decisions about the organization this means we work together to provide opportunities for them to have a say on the services they receive and for this voice to influence change within Depaul UK.
We are a subsidiary of Depaul International. We have a small subsidiary Registered Provider of Social Housing – Depaul Housing Services.
Purpose
The purpose of the Executive Director roles within Depaul is to ensure that the organisation’s vision, mission and values are delivered through a strategic, shared approach by the Trustee Board, Executive Team and wider workforce.
Together with Executive Team colleagues, the Executive Director of Finance and IT is responsible for the strategic leadership, direction and development of Depaul UK and its subsidiaries.
The Executive Director manages the Finance and IT departments and provides strategic and operational management of financial and budgetary processes, ensuring sound, prudent, financial management in compliance with all regulatory and statutory requirements, underpinned by relevant policies and procedures.
The ED provides support for income generation, and other service activity, to secure financial sustainability.
Reporting to the CEO, the ED is also accountable to the Treasurer and attends meetings of the Council of Trustees, the Trustees’ Finance, Audit and Risk Committee (FARC) and the Depaul Housing Services Board.
Reporting to the ED, the Directorate has a budget for 10 FTE people, currently 8 FTE in Finance and 2 FTE in IT, including 2 direct reports – Financial Controller and Head of IT & Systems.
Key Deliverables
Finance
- Provide a financial service to Depaul UK that meets regulatory and statutory requirements.
- Ensure that key financial functions are delivered through a business partnering model and accessible and effectively used by all staff.
- Ensure robust systems and processes for financial planning, analysis and reporting.
- Preparation of the annual statutory accounts and corporate reports to Depaul International, owning an effective relationship with external auditors.
- Support and guide budget holders and senior managers in their financial management responsibilities and produce the annual budget and periodic reforecasting.
- Prepare regular reports including monthly management accounts, cash flows, variance analyses, forecasts and commentaries and support budget holders with interpretation of the information.
- Prepare information for planning, decision-making, evaluation and project performance measurement, working with Business Development on contract bid proposals.
- Work closely with the ED Operations in the review of systems and processes that enable effective housing management.
- Support the CEO in reporting on organisational performance.
- Monitor the external UK environment, including the regulatory, financial and charity sectors, analysing the potential impact of changes on Depaul UK and taking timely action.
- Ensure that the organisation’s Procurement Policy meets all legal and contractual requirements and is adhered to throughout the organisation’s activities.
Audit & Risk Management
- Provide strategic oversight, and monitoring, of the corporate risk register reporting to the CEO and Finance, Audit and Risk Committee.
IT & Data Protection
- Support ICT systems development ensuring that all ICT is strategically planned and fit for purpose, delivering cost savings and efficiency wherever possible.
- Lead on the performance monitoring of external IT support and infrastructure providers and ensure plans are in place for alternative providers where necessary.
- Lead on disaster recovery/business continuity planning.
- Ensure compliance with relevant regulatory frameworks/ regulating bodies (including Data Protection Act and General Data Protection Regulation) and relevant governing documents (including the Depaul Group agreement).
Leadership and Management
- Provide strategic leadership and inspiring management to the Finance and IT functions.
- Produce annual budgets and plans for the Directorate, monitor and adapt as necessary throughout the year.
- Set team priorities and objectives and manage staff performance against the delivery of these objectives on a regular basis.
- Work closely with the CEO and Executive Team to provide leadership to the organisation as a whole. Develop strong relationships at CEO and Board level.
- Participate in internal/ external meetings as required, and attend training events, conferences and other functions as necessary.
- Together with other Executive Team colleagues, ensure that all Depaul UK policies are being adhered to including Equalities Diversity and Inclusion, Safeguarding, Health and Safety and Data Protection.