Interim Head of Finance - Operations

Lead a Finance Function That Powers Real Impact

This is a rare opportunity to step into a pivotal senior leadership role at the heart of a large, national charity.

As Interim Head of Finance Operations, you will lead a high-performing Finance Centre of Excellence—driving operational excellence, strengthening financial control, and delivering the insight needed to support strategic decision-making across the organisation.

This is a 12-18 month fixed term contract with presence at our head office in Widnes required at least once a week so our ideal candidate will be based within an hours commute of Widnes

What is "The Deal" for you?

• Flexibility: You can work your 37.5 hours over 4 days and enjoy a long weekend, or split the hours over 5 days to accommodate your other commitments.
• Pension: contributory pension scheme
• Benefits: retail discounts, holiday discounts, cycle to work scheme and travel discounts through our benefits app
• Best Lives Possible: You'll be working for an award winning charity who is passionate about ensuring our colleagues and the people we support lead the best lives bolder
• Development: We'll work with you to develop your career or to learn and experience new things. We're passionate about developing our people!
• Support: From our Employee Assistance Programme (available 24/7), financial support options, and wellbeing fund you'll have the support available to lead an easier (financial) life
  
  

You will take full ownership of the day-to-day Finance function, overseeing key areas including:

• Treasury and cashflow management
• Accounts Payable and Income Management
• Debt Management and reconciliations
• Personal Funds and Corporate Appointees
  
  

With a national team and a complex operational footprint, your leadership will ensure a robust, efficient, and future-ready finance service.

In This Varied And High-profile Role, You Will

Driving Strategy & Performance

• Lead and deliver the Finance functional plan, aligned to organisational strategy
• Provide strategic financial insight to Executive and senior stakeholders
• Support investment decisions through strong external partnerships
  
  

Operational Leadership

• Ensure best-in-class financial controls, processes, and governance
• Oversee balance sheet integrity and financial reporting accuracy
• Drive delivery of KPIs and SLAs across all Finance functions
  
  

Transformation & Continuous Improvement

• Champion automation, system enhancement, and process optimisation
• Build a sector-leading Finance Centre of Excellence
• Explore innovative solutions to improve financial independence for the people we support
  
  

Commercial & External Focus

• Oversee financial onboarding of new services
• Ensure effective income recovery and management of uplifts
• Build strong relationships with banks and external partners
  
  

Leadership & Culture

• Lead, inspire, and develop a large, multi-disciplinary finance team
• Foster a high-performance culture focused on service, accountability, and continuous improvement
  
  

Our Ideal Candidate

You’ll be a qualified finance leader (ACA / ACCA / CIMA) with:

• Significant experience leading large, complex finance operations
• A track record of influencing at Executive and Board level
• Strong analytical capability and experience handling large data sets
• Experience in multi-site, fast-paced environments
  
  

You’ll Also Bring

• Exceptional leadership and stakeholder management skills
• A proactive, solutions-focused mindset
• The ability to balance strategic thinking with operational delivery
  
  

Why Join Us?

• Impact: Your work will directly support services that make a real difference to people’s lives
• Influence: Operate at senior leadership level, shaping financial strategy and performance
• Scale & Complexity: Lead a national finance operation with genuine breadth and variety
• Transformation: Opportunity to leave a legacy through meaningful improvement and innovation
  
  

Interested?

If you’re an experienced finance leader ready to step into a high-impact interim role where you can drive performance, shape strategy, and lead transformation, we’d love to hear from you.

Please note, if you are interested in this role, we welcome your application as soon as possible! Depending on the volume of applications received, the vacancy may be closed before the expected advertising end date.

Interested and want to know a bit more?

To find out more about our charity check out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-zYkoj7x8s

We’re really proud to be a Hive HR Employee Voice Certified organisation, a recognition that confirms our commitment to creating a culture where our colleagues are not only encouraged to share their thoughts, but where this feedback is actively sought and acted upon to drive positive change at every level.

In our 2025 Colleague Engagement Survey, 59% (nearly 3,800) of our people shared their feedback and insights, giving us an incredible Employee Net Promoter Score of +34.

The Employee Net Promoter Score is a measure of how willing our colleagues are to recommend us as a good place to work to their loved ones - and a score of +34 is considered a Very Good score when compared to global benchmarks set by hundreds of other organisations.