Job Title: Commercial Finance Lead
Overview
An opportunity has arisen for an experienced and commercially focused finance professional to lead all financial aspects of project and income-related activity within a complex, multi-service charitable environment. This role will act as the commercial finance lead, partnering closely with budget holders, business development, and fundraising teams to drive sustainable growth, maximise income, and ensure strong financial governance.
Key Responsibilities
The postholder will lead on the financial development of bids and proposals, supporting the creation of robust, competitive costings that maximise margin while carefully considering cashflow and financing implications. This includes developing and maintaining a standard project costing model, undertaking bespoke financial modelling where required, and ensuring appropriate infrastructure and system costs are built into submissions.
You will produce return on investment analysis for fundraising activity and track performance post-delivery. The role also involves ensuring compliance with funder due diligence requirements and conducting financial due diligence on subcontractors where necessary.
Working closely with budget holders, you will produce monthly financial reports, analyse variances, support forecasting to project completion, and consolidate this into an organisational rolling forecast. You will proactively identify profitability or cashflow risks and provide solution-focused recommendations to optimise financial performance.
Additional responsibilities include overseeing accurate ledger transactions, preparing expenditure reports for commissioners and donors, supporting improvements in financial systems and processes, horizon scanning for economic or regulatory changes, and deputising for the Director of Finance & IT when required. The role also provides executive finance leadership at trustee subcommittee level.
Candidate Profile
The successful candidate will be a qualified accountant (CIMA desirable) with strong business partnering experience, advanced Excel skills, and a background in financial modelling, reporting systems, and commercial or government-funded environments. You will be commercially astute, collaborative, analytical, and committed to high standards of governance, safeguarding, and professional integrity.