Key details
Location: Fully remote – UK and eligible countries in the Global South
Employment type: Full-time, two-year fixed-term contract, with expectation of extension
Salary: Location-based; examples below
Application deadline: Thursday, 5 November 2026
Are you an experienced finance leader with a strong background in financial strategy, grant management, donor compliance and organisational governance? Global Schools Forum (GSF) is seeking a strategic, analytical and collaborative Director of Finance to join its Senior Management Team and help guide the organisation through its next phase of growth.
This is a senior leadership opportunity for a finance professional who wants to use their expertise to strengthen an international organisation working to improve education outcomes for disadvantaged children in low- and middle-income countries.
About Global Schools Forum
Global Schools Forum is a collaborative community of non-state organisations working to improve access to quality education for disadvantaged children in low- and middle-income countries.
Established in 2017, GSF has grown to more than 230 community members across over 70 countries, including India, Uganda and Brazil. Together, its members run or support more than 1.5 million schools and centres, providing education to well over 160 million children.
GSF works through four strategic areas: accelerating knowledge and sharing evidence, catalysing funding for education initiatives, building partnerships across the education sector, and convening a global community that encourages collaboration and learning.
Its 2025–2028 strategy focuses on strengthening early years education, foundational learning, secondary education and the use of technology to improve educational outcomes.
GSF is a small, fully remote global organisation with colleagues based in the UK, Africa and Asia. Its work is guided by collaboration, intentional inclusivity, continuous improvement, honesty and transparency.
About the Role
The Director of Finance will provide strategic financial leadership and oversee the systems, processes and controls that enable GSF to operate effectively and sustainably as it expands.
Reporting directly to the CEO, the successful candidate will serve as a trusted adviser to the CEO and Board, contribute to organisation-wide decision‑making, and work closely with programme teams to ensure that financial and operational systems support the delivery of GSF’s mission.
The role combines financial strategy, grant finance and compliance, organisational risk management, governance and technology oversight. The successful candidate will also lead the Finance Manager and Grants and Compliance Associate, ensuring the organisation has the appropriate expertise and systems to manage its growing portfolio.
Key Responsibilities
1. Financial Leadership – 60%
- Lead the organisation’s financial strategy and long‑term financial planning in collaboration with the CEO and Board.
- Oversee annual budgets, financial forecasts and multi‑year financial plans.
- Ensure robust financial controls, risk management and compliance with statutory and charity reporting requirements.
- Review and improve finance policies and procedures to ensure they remain effective, proportionate and appropriate as GSF grows.
- Manage cash flow and develop the reserves strategy in accordance with Board‑approved mandates.
- Supervise the finance function, including line management of the Finance Manager and Grants and Compliance Associate.
- Ensure accurate and timely financial reporting to the Board, Senior Management Team, funders and auditors.
- Lead annual audits and ensure compliance with applicable charity accounting standards.
- Provide financial analysis, modelling and practical recommendations to support strategic decisions.
- Develop scalable organisational systems and processes.
- Maintain the organisational risk register and report significant risks to the Board.
2. Grant Management and Compliance – 20%
- Oversee the financial management and compliance aspects of GSF’s grants portfolio, working closely with programme teams responsible for selecting and supporting grantees.
- Manage donor compliance frameworks, financial reporting deadlines, grant disbursements and audit requirements throughout the grant lifecycle.
- Oversee due diligence and financial monitoring of sub‑grantees and delivery partners.
- Ensure the appropriate stewardship of restricted funds across a multi‑funder and multi‑currency portfolio.
- Identify and manage financial, fraud and donor‑eligibility risks.
- Lead the Grants and Compliance Associate and assess the organisation’s grants finance capacity during the first 60–90 days.
- Recommend appropriate staffing and capacity improvements to the CEO and Treasurer.
- Oversee legal compliance, insurance, supplier contracts and office management arrangements.
3. Technology Oversight – 5%
- Provide strategic oversight of IT infrastructure and data management in collaboration with GSF’s external IT vendor.
- Ensure technology systems are secure, effective and suitable for a globally distributed, remote workforce.
- Oversee cybersecurity, data protection and GDPR compliance.
- Guide the responsible adoption of artificial intelligence tools in line with organisational values, privacy standards and operational needs.
- Advise the Senior Management Team on relevant technology developments affecting international education and nonprofit organisations.
4. Senior Leadership – 15%
- Participate actively in the Senior Management Team and contribute to strategic planning and organisation‑wide decisions.
- Build strong working relationships with programme leaders and help resolve operational challenges.
- Support the CEO and Board with governance matters, including financial and risk reporting.
- Act as a trusted adviser to the CEO on finance, grants, compliance and technology.
- Build and develop an effective team across finance, IT and grant management.
- Represent GSF in dealings with auditors, banks, insurers, legal advisers and other external partners.
- Deputise for the CEO when appropriate.
Who Should Apply?
GSF is looking for a financially qualified senior leader who combines technical financial expertise with strong grant‑management experience, strategic thinking and a genuine interest in how education programmes operate on the ground.
Essential Qualifications
Applicants should demonstrate:
- A recognised financial qualification and substantial senior‑level experience in finance and grant management, ideally within a charity or nonprofit organisation.
- Strong knowledge of financial management, charity accounting, budgeting, reserves management and financial reporting.
- Significant experience managing grants and compliance in a multi‑funder environment involving restricted funding.
- Experience overseeing donor requirements, financial audits, sub‑grantee due diligence and compliance monitoring.
- A proven ability to lead effective teams across different functions and international settings.
- Experience collaborating with programme or delivery teams to improve operational effectiveness.
- A track record of developing robust organisational systems and processes that support long‑term growth.
- Strong analytical, problem‑solving and financial modelling skills.
- The ability to communicate complex financial and operational matters clearly to non‑financial colleagues and senior stakeholders.
- Experience preparing reports and materials for Board‑level discussions.
- A genuine commitment to GSF’s mission, values and work to improve education outcomes for disadvantaged children.
- The ability to work independently, take initiative and thrive in a small, fast‑paced global team.
- Confidence overseeing technology arrangements and working with external IT providers, even without a technical background.
- A practical, solutions‑focused approach and a willingness to listen, understand colleagues’ challenges and develop workable solutions.
Desirable Experience
Additional advantages include:
- Experience working in or with organisations operating in low- and middle-income countries.
- Familiarity with international payroll, multi‑currency accounting and globally distributed teams.
- Practical knowledge of AI tools and their use in organisational settings.
- Experience supporting or leading technology or AI adoption within a charity or similar organisation.
- Familiarity with UK and Kenyan charity law and regulatory compliance requirements.
Salary and Employee Benefits
GSF uses location‑based salary bands to promote fair and equitable compensation across the countries in which it recruits. The salary is anchored to the UK market and adjusted according to local market data in the successful candidate’s country of residence.
Illustrative annual salary ranges are:
- United Kingdom: £80,080–£86,320
- Kenya: £60,060–£64,740
- India: INR 7,095,922–INR 7,645,157
The final salary will depend on the candidate’s location. The advertised package for Kenya and India includes health insurance.
Additional employee benefits include:
- 35 fully flexible holiday days, including flexible national holidays.
- Generous family‑friendly policies.
- Flexible working arrangements.
- A generous employee pension scheme.
- A co‑working space allowance.
- A personal learning and development budget.
- Volunteer leave.
- Access to GSF events and the iHasco learning platform.
- An annual in‑person team retreat.
Location and Working Arrangements
This is a fully remote position. GSF welcomes applications from candidates based in the UK and the Global South, with a preference for applicants located within the GMT‑2 to GMT+5:30 time‑zone range.
The role is full‑time, with working hours typically running from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the employee’s local time zone. Flexibility is important because collaboration across different time zones may require occasional early‑morning or evening calls.
Some international travel may be required.
The position is offered on a two‑year fixed‑term contract, with an expectation of extension. The successful candidate will report to the CEO and oversee the Finance Manager and Grants and Compliance Associate.
Important: Applicants must have the legal right to work in their country of residence. GSF cannot provide visa sponsorship for this position.
Recruitment Timeline
- Application deadline: Thursday, 5 November 2026
- First‑round interviews: Week commencing 9 November 2026
- Second‑round interviews: Week commencing 23 November 2026
GSF is committed to inclusive recruitment and welcomes requests for reasonable adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process. Applicants who require assistance can contact info@globalschoolsforum.org.
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