Head of Finance

Permanent, Full Time (35 hours per week)

About the role

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) is seeking an exceptional Head of Finance to play a pivotal leadership role at JRF, helping to shape financial strategy and deliver meaningful social impact. This is more than a finance role – you’ll be a trusted advisor to senior leaders, providing expert financial guidance and operational support to Trustees, Executive Directors and managers to influence decision-making, drive performance and ensure financial sustainability across a complex and purpose-driven organisation.

The Head of Finance will be responsible for leading financial strategy, planning, reporting and insight across JRF and the Group Centre, providing specialist advice and insight to both internal and external stakeholders. The role involves managing key relationships with the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust (JRHT), Group Finance teams and external advisors. The successful candidate will oversee the management accounting for JRF alongside the financial accounting for the investment portfolio and funding programmes, as well as the annual budgeting and reporting processes, while maintaining oversight of the Group’s cash and liquidity position.

In addition, the Head of Finance will deputise for the Group Finance Director on JRF matters and lead a small, high-performing team embedding strong financial leadership across the organisation. This role will also drive improvements in systems and processes, embed cultural change, champion innovation, identify and manage risk and act as a trusted advisor to the JRF Executive. The successful candidate will combine technical expertise with strategic vision and leadership, influencing and inspiring teams across the organisation.

About you

We are seeking a highly skilled finance professional with a recognised accountancy qualification such as ACA, CIPFA, CIMA, or ACCA, and significant post-qualification experience in a similar environment. The successful candidate will demonstrate strong influencing and networking abilities, with a proven track record of working collaboratively with colleagues, Executive Directors and Trustees to achieve outcomes aligned with the organisation’s mission. You will have experience in leading and motivating teams and possess a solid understanding of Charities Statements of Recommended Practice (SORPs), VAT and tax legislation, particularly within the charity sector. Familiarity with charity operations is essential.

The role requires the ability to prepare and present complex financial information clearly in a variety of formats to non-finance specialists across the organisation, including at Board level. You will bring strong analytical and problem-solving skills, a solution-focused mindset and a demonstrated ability to build consensus. Experience in initiating, implementing and embedding changes to systems, processes and organisational culture to drive improvements is highly desirable. You will be able to prioritise effectively, respond flexibly to competing demands and work both independently and as part of a team. Excellent written and verbal communication skills are essential, along with advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office.

How to apply

If you share our passion and this role sounds like you, then we’re looking forward to hearing from you. Please submit your CV and supporting information via our online application platform. The closing date for applications is Thursday 16th April 2026. Interviews will take place week commencing 4th May 2026. We reserve the right to bring the closing date forward should enough quality applications be received prior to the current closing date.

Additional Information

Applications are welcome from all, regardless of age, disability, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, religion or belief, race, sex, sexual orientation, trans status or socioeconomic background. We positively encourage applications from people from marginalised backgrounds, including but not limited to those with experience of living in poverty. We are committed to being an anti-racist organisation and operate an anonymised recruitment process so that bias is eliminated from the shortlisting process.

In support of our approach to flexible working, we are happy to receive applications from those seeking full-time employment, as well as those who may want to share the role on a part-time basis. When making your application, please state whether you want to be considered for either full or part-time work and, if part-time, the number of hours per week you would be looking for. At JRF we’re at our best when we’re continually building on trust, showing we care and making a difference – and hope others will do the same. So, for those roles which allow it, we’re developing a more blended approach to how and where you work. This means you can expect to work flexibly between the office and home (with an expectation of two days a week in your home office). We offer a supportive and flexible workplace.

For details about our benefits click here: JRF Benefits

We encourage you to read our EVP, which is located here: https://jrf-jrht-brand.frontify.com/share/7C1kD2FusMtEVnje2ijA

We are a Disability Confident Employer. This means that we are committed to the recruitment, progression and retention of disabled individuals. We shall also offer interviews to disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria for the job. If you have a disability, please tell us if you would like to be considered for an interview under the Disability Confident Scheme. If you have any additional needs and need reasonable adjustments to be made to the interview process, please let us know.