Finance Manager

Salary: £50,000-60,000 per annum (based on profile and experience)

Duration: Full time, permanent contract

Location: Remote within the United Kingdom

Reports to: Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Preferred start date: As soon as possible

The Degrees Initiative seeks a dynamic Finance Manager in a new role to join an exciting, growing charity working on climate change and scientific capacity building in the Global South.

About the Degrees Initiative:

The Degrees Initiative is a UK-based NGO that strengthens the capacity of the Global South to evaluate solar radiation modification (SRM), a controversial proposal for reducing some impacts of climate change by reflecting sunlight away from the Earth. Degrees is neutral on whether SRM should ever be used, but we believe that the Global South should be empowered to conduct their own research and to play a central role in SRM discussions. The initiative has been working in different forms for over a decade, and our work receives worldwide coverage and widespread acclaim. The charity, founded in 2021, is now scaling up and has recently doubled its annual budget to £6 million with around 20 staff members.

Role:

We seek a Finance Manager to lead the day to day running of the charity’s finances including overseeing the work of our outsourced financial provider. As a grant giving organisation, there will be regular interaction with the programmatic workstreams in this position, offering a fantastic opportunity for the right candidate to increase the capacity of a field‑leading charity, help empower researchers in the Global South, and contribute to one of the world’s most important climate debates. If you are an ambitious qualified finance professional, this is an opportunity to step into a role with purpose, international influence, and real impact. Working with the COO, you will undertake organisational financial planning, budgeting and forecasting so that the senior staff and trustees have comprehensive information for decision making. Furthermore, in cooperation with the Development Manager, this role will support the submission of funding bids and reporting to funders to ensure the continued growth of the charity.

Responsibilities:

• Financial Oversight: Oversee the outsourced finance provider, ensuring service delivery meets organisational needs and deadlines. You will be the primary liaison between our financial services provider and the staff, ensuring that they make payments on behalf of the organisation, run payroll, complete the bookkeeping via QuickBooks, the monthly management accounts, and the annual statutory accounts.
• Budgeting & Forecasting: Prepare and monitor annual organisational budgets including a mid‑year adjustment, cash flow forecasts, financial models and annual accounts to support the annual business cycle and fundraising bids.
• Reporting: Finalise monthly management accounts prepared by outsourced financial provider, deliver financial reports for the COO, senior leadership, and trustees, and prepare donor financial reporting.
• Financial Strategy and Investment Oversight: Working with the COO to manage financial resources and reserves including developing the investment policy to support the long‑term goals of the charity.
• Audit & Compliance: Lead on annual audits, maintain compliance with UK charity finance regulations, and ensure adherence to funder requirements.
• Programmatic financial support: Work closely with the programme teams to ensure their payments processes run smoothly with the outsourced financial provider, and regularly review their grant and event expenditure is in line with their own managed budgets.
• Process Improvement: Identify opportunities to streamline financial processes and implement best practices, such as working with Operations to improve payments & expenses software, opening new bank accounts, or finding new platforms to reduce international payment fees.

Key relationships:

• Supervised by COO
• Primary liaison with our outsourced financial provider (including a management accountant, payments officer and bookkeeper)
• Works with the Development Manager
• Grants Manager
• Operations team

Qualifications:

• Fully qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent)
• A minimum of five years’ experience in the finance function of an organisation, or in an accounting / audit company
• Excellent organisational and project management skills
• Keen attention to detail
• Ability to adapt and be flexible in a dynamic, remote start‑up environment in a small organisation
• Experience in developing and maintaining financial models
• Deep knowledge of financial software (e.g. QuickBooks, Xero, Sage)
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a remote environment
• Legal right to work in the UK
• Experience in the finance function of a UK charity or NGO setting
• Understanding of UK Charities SORP
• Experience with grant management and donor reporting
• Advanced Excel skills
• Tech savvy and an eagerness to work with new software solutions
• Previous experience with multi‑currency financial management, international financial transactions or grant giving, particularly in the Global South
• Experience creating and maintaining financial processes
• Interest in climate change and global development

Benefits of working at Degrees:

You will join a growing and dynamic charity operating at the intersection of climate change and global development. You will have the opportunity to contribute to a potentially high‑impact issue by helping shape global conversations on climate science, empowering researchers in the Global South, and collaborating with some of the world’s leading SRM experts. The role is fully remote, allowing you to live anywhere within the United Kingdom. The charity has no central office and offers each employee up to £250 per month (including VAT) to cover co‑working space costs. The team meets face‑to‑face at quarterly ‘awaydays’ in the UK, which are organised and paid for by the charity. Degrees provides an 8% employer pension contribution with no required employee contribution, which is generous by the standards of the UK third sector. The role includes opportunities for international travel. You will receive 25 days of annual leave per year, in addition to UK public holidays. If the charity closes between Christmas and New Year, you may also receive up to three extra days of leave. Personal development budget of £1,000 per year.

To apply:

Ready to apply? Please complete the form below by answering the questions and uploading your CV. To help us process your application faster, please title your file Firstname_surname_FM_CV. You will receive a reply confirming receipt of the application. The deadline for applications is 01 January 2026 (23:59 GMT). Successful applicants will be invited to a first interview in January 2026 and will be asked to undertake an assessment exercise. Successful applicants will be invited to a second interview.