Head of Finance

Ready to lead a finance function and play a pivotal role in shaping an organisation's future?

Contract type: Permanent

Working hours: Full Time – 37 hours per week

Salary: £43,639 – £48,620 per annum

Location: Head Office – Newton Aycliffe, DL5

About Us

Groundwork NE & Cumbria is a long established environmental and community charity with over 30 years of experience creating greener, healthier and more resilient places across the region. Our mission centres on Creating Better Places, Improving People’s Prospects, and Promoting Greener Living, helping communities thrive no matter the challenges they face. We deliver hundreds of locally led projects each year, including initiatives that support young people and adults into education, training and employment, helping them overcome barriers, build life skills, and reach their full potential.

About You and the Role

We are now seeking a strategic, forward thinking Head of Finance to lead our finance function and play a pivotal role in shaping the future of our organisation. This is more than a finance role, it is an opportunity to guide, influence and strengthen the financial sustainability of a charity creating meaningful, lasting change.

As our Head of Finance, you will:

• Provide strategic financial leadership across the organisation, working closely with the Chief Executive, Trustees, and Senior Leaders.
• Lead on financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, and financial risk management.
• Ensure robust financial controls, compliance with charity accounting standards (SORP), and oversee VAT, statutory requirements, and audits.
• Manage and motivate the finance team, fostering a culture of excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Strengthen financial systems, reporting, and automation to support operational efficiency.
• Support project managers with financial planning, grant management, and contract delivery.
• Drive improvements that support long term organisational sustainability.

Qualifications & Experience

We’re looking for an experienced and dynamic finance leader who brings:

Essential

• A recognised accounting qualification (ACA, ACCA, CIMA, CIPFA or equivalent).
• Experience delivering a wide range of finance duties, including management accounts, budgeting, strategic analysis, and year end processes.
• Experience managing finance teams.
• Strong understanding of charity finance, SORP, VAT in a charity context, and HMRC requirements.
• Outstanding analytical, organisational, and financial planning skills.
• Excellent communication skills, able to present complex information clearly to colleagues and trustees.
• High integrity, professionalism, and commitment to the values and mission of the charity.
• A full driving licence and access to a vehicle for work purposes.

Desirable

• Experience in community based or grant funded projects.
• Experience strengthening financial controls and supporting fundraising or contract bidding.
• Knowledge of procurement procedures or state aid regulations.
• Familiarity with Sage Intacct.

Additional Information

This role is not eligible for UK Visa Sponsorship; the successful applicant will need to have a pre-existing Right to Work in the UK in order to be offered an employment contract. As a Disability Confident employer, we offer a guaranteed interview to applicants with a disability who meet the essential criteria for the role. We ensure that we provide a safe environment for adults, children and young people to take part in any activity or service that we organise. We are committed to creating a culture that promotes safeguarding and the welfare of all children, young people and adults at risk. Our safer recruitment practices support this by ensuring that there is a consistent and comprehensive process of obtaining, collating, analysing and evaluating information from and about candidates to ensure that all the people we appoint are suitable to work with our children, young people and adults.