Director of Finance and Operations

The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust is recruiting for a 0.8 FTE Director of Finance and Operations

The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust is a grant making charity which supports the Armed Forces Covenant by funding projects which address specific priorities. The Trust is committed to learning from and sharing the achievements of its grant holders and the impact of its funding programmes. To find out more about our work please visit our website

We are seeking a dynamic Director of Finance and Operations to join our executive team. You will be an experienced charity finance professional with the ability to flex between being hands-on within our small finance team and providing strategic financial leadership to our Board.

This role offers the chance to apply your operational and financial expertise in a purpose driven charity environment. We value our collaborative culture, and you'll play a key role in setting the tone from the top and ensuring that our finances and infrastructure are not only compliant and aligned with best practice but also built to support our team based, people-first approach.

You will be a qualified accountant with senior leadership experience in a charity or public sector organisation. You will be adept at overseeing multiple operational functions such as governance, HR and IT, and be passionate about working within a small team to inspire our workforce and deliver results, often at pace.

A personal knowledge or experience of the armed forces would be an advantage, and applications will be welcomed from former serving personnel, or spouses, who meet the key criteria. The successful candidates will have an interest in, and commitment to, the difference that charities can make.

The Trust welcomes applications from across the UK. Unfortunately, we're not able to offer this opportunity to anyone living outside of the UK mainland. This is a home working role, and applicants will be expected to be able to confirm that they are able to work in this way (IT and any essential equipment will be provided).

We are a fully remote organisation. Attendance at occasional (fewer than 4 per year) away days will be expected- these could be in London or elsewhere in the UK.

This is a part-time role - for the equivalent of 4 days a week (0.8 FTE) As a flexible employer, we are open to exploring how those 4 days can be delivered across the working week.

Job Description

Director of Finance and Operations

Reports to: Chief Executive

Salary: £75 - £80k FTE + excellent benefits

Location: Remote with occasional travel

General duties:

Reporting to, and working very closely with, the Chief Executive within a small executive team, the Director of Finance and Operations will be responsible for leading the financial management of the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust, alongside managing all of our operational functions, including HR, IT and governance.

The Director of Finance and Operations will sit on the Senior Management Team and as such will be expected to play a full and active role in the development and implementation of organisational strategy across the Trust.

Specific Tasks and Responsibilities:

Financial Management and Compliance:

• Lead the financial management of the Trust, ensuring adherence to all statutory and regulatory requirements across Charities SORP, Managing Public Money, and government financial reporting.
• Ensure sound financial management of the charity's resources to support the long term viability of the Trust Maintain a best practice control environment, ensuring regularity and safeguarding of public funds
• Oversee monthly management accounts and provide and present regular financial information to support management, executive team, Board and sub committees in decision making and execution of responsibilities
• Lead and deliver the budget and financial planning processes for the Trust, ensuring a robust framework is in place for resource allocation across programmes
• Manage the relationship with the Trust's financial auditors, and manage the preparation and audit of the annual report and accounts each year
• Lead the Trust's internal audit programme, liaising with internal auditors and giving significant input into setting the internal audit strategy each year
• Maintain relationship with Ministry of Defence as sponsor body, and with all other providers of programme funding

Liaison with Board and Committees

• Present financial information to Board as and when required
• Work with the Chair and members of the Audit and Risk Committee to oversee risk and financial control, reporting and management on behalf of the Board Report quarterly on risk register and manage risk movements and executive review processes
• Work closely with the CEO and Chair of the People Committee in line with governance, statutory and best practice requirements
• Work closely with Governance Manager to ensure agendas, papers and other support provided to committees and Board as necessary

HR Operations:

• Lead the Trust's HR function, strategy and policies, act as responsible senior leader for all HR matters.
• Maintain a relationship with chosen HR providers, ensuring they continue to provide a value for money service.
• Ensure the payroll, pension and annual leave processes are operated executed accurately, efficiently and in a timely manner and in line with all statutory and regulatory requirements, including auto-enrolment legislation and the Trust's responsibilities in relation to the Civil Service pension
• Lead the Trust's recruitment, onboarding, induction, annual training and appraisal processes

IT:

• Lead the IT function to ensure the Trust has a robust IT strategy and to ensure the IT infrastructure is robust, efficient and fit for purpose
• Manage day to day relationship with third party IT helpdesk

Governance and Risk:

• Work with the Head of Risk and Compliance to ensure that the Trust manages risk and opportunity appropriately, and operates within the risk framework agreed by the Audit Committee and Board
• Ensure appropriate risk management reports, techniques and controls are embedded throughout the Trust at strategic and operational level
• Ensure regulatory and statutory compliance with our Financial Framework and with the requirements of all relevant regulators including Charity Commission, Government, and Companies' House

Person Specification

Essential:

• A qualified accountant (CCAB) and current member of an accounting body with significant senior leadership experience in a charity or public sector body
• A thorough understanding of all aspects of charity and/or public sector finance, including Charities SORP, Managing Public Money, and government Financial Reporting Manual.
• Ability to build and motivate high-performing teams and create a learning culture across all parts of the organisation.
• Proven experience in developing reporting systems and processes in support of effective financial decision making across an organisation
• Proven experience in implementing and monitoring highly effective and efficient financial controls
• Excellent communications and stakeholder management skills at a senior level.
• Proven experience of managing and being accountable for substantial budgets across different programmes
• Proven ability to problem-solve at a strategic level and respond with agility to events.
• Proven ability to facilitate and champion change.

Desirable:

• Experience of leading a variety of other functions such as HR, IT, etc
• Evidence of interest in and commitment to the work of the Trust and the wider armed forces community

How to apply:

To apply, please visit our website via the button below.

Applications should take the form of a letter (no more than two pages of A4) providing evidence of how you meet the person specification and a CV. Please also indicate how soon you might be available to start if your application is successful.

Timeline

Applications should be submitted via our recruitment portal at by 9am on Monday 21st July 2025.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend first stage interviews the following week (wc 28 July 2025) by video conference.

Second stage interviews will take place wc 4 th August 2025.

We are genuinely committed to encouraging applications from diverse communities in order to improve the service we provide. We're not just searching for skills but also how a candidate could uphold our values and enhance our culture, therefore, even if you don't think you meet all the skills criteria listed in our job descriptions, we'd still like to hear from you.

We are an equal opportunities employer. If you require any additional support or reasonable adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process, please let us know and we will do our utmost to accommodate you.