Head of Finance and Business Support

Stevenage, Hertfordshire
Citizens Advice Stevenage
Citizens Advice Stevenage is an ambitious and innovative member of the Citizens Advice network. We have expanded our services and offering to meet the increased demand in the area, doubling in size over the last few years.

As a positive subsequence, we are looking for a Head of Finance & Business Support, who will become a core member of the Senior Leadership Team, responsible for overseeing the financial stewardship of Citizens Advice Stevenage. To lead on financial governance, business support operations, and compliance, ensuring the organization operates sustainably and meets all legal and regulatory obligations. The role is pivotal in safeguarding the charity’s financial integrity, supporting strategic decision-making, and enabling effective service delivery.

Financial Leadership

• Prepare, review, and present draft and final budgets for approval by the board, ensuring timely submission of financial information to the CEO and Trustee Board.

• Oversee financial reporting processes, ensuring accuracy, transparency, and compliance with regulatory standards, including variance analysis and annual balance sheets, ensuring timely submission of financial information to the CEO and Trustee Board.

• Manage the reserves policy, ensuring regular review and alignment with operational needs and financial risks.

• Identify and manage financial risks, ensuring integration into the organization’s risk register and adherence to appropriate mitigations.

• Ensure that the day-to-day finance and back-office function is high performing and compliant, safeguarding effective and efficient financial management processes.

• To co-ordinate the proactive and timely dissemination of high-quality financial information to services, the CEO, and Board such as annual budgets, monthly management accounts, cash flow analysis, financial forecasting and monthly business performance figures.

• To ensure that the organisation has in place, robust and compliant financial systems and procedures; and that these are complied with by all budget holders, ensuring that any oversights are fully investigated and reported upwards as necessary.

• To lead on the preparation of statutory accounts, provide year end accounts, provide appropriate support and assistance to the organisation’s auditors and delivery of recommendations arising from the Audit process.

• To ensure that all statutory returns are complete in a timely and effective manner, including those in relation to VAT, PAYE, NIC and SSP, and that appropriate compliance dates are met for the Charities Commission and Companies House.

• Oversee the transactions, activities and processes of the external payroll provider.

• To monitor and advise on current and future tax legislation, with a view to optimisation.

• To support service managers in the preparation of bids and contract negotiations and provide financial activity analysis and reports in line with specific project reporting requirements.

• To monitor, report and make recommendations regarding the Investment and Reserves Policy to the Board.

• To oversee the payroll function to ensure employees are paid in an accurate and timely manner.

• To monitor and control creditors and debtors, ensuring invoices are paid on time and the risk of bad debts is minimised.

Compliance and Risk Management

• Ensure compliance with all applicable regulatory frameworks, including the Charity Commission, Companies House, FCA, ICO, and other relevant bodies.

• Maintain and regularly review financial systems, controls, and policies, ensuring they are effectively implemented and aligned with legal requirements.

• Conduct due diligence for pension, redundancy, and other liabilities, ensuring plans are in place for management and mitigation.

• Support the trustee board in understanding risks related to projects and contracts, providing assurance of compliance with funders’ requirements.

• To lead on the Risk Management process, advising the CEO and managers on risk matters, and reviewing the risk register on a regular basis, reporting to the Board of Trustees.

• To check, amend and monitor the Financial Procedures Manual; reporting material breaches to the CEO and Board of Trustees, as required/in-line with governance.

• Working with the senior leadership team monitoring and updating Insurance matters as required, reporting to the CEO and Board of Trustees.

Business Support Operations

• Lead on organisational business continuity planning, ensuring resilience during crises and alignment with the charity’s objectives.

• Oversee the development, implementation, and review of key policies, ensuring they reflect legal obligations and organisational values.

• Manage IT systems and cybersecurity measures to protect organisational data and operations, ensuring compliance with standards such as Cyber Essentials.

Strategic Contribution

• Provides proactive strategic financial advice and guidance to the Trustees and wider leadership team, monitoring and reporting on the financial performance against agreed targets, identified risks and key performance indicators.

• Provide financial and operational insights to inform strategic decision-making and long-term planning.

• Foster a culture of continuous improvement and financial accountability across the organisation.

• Funding strategy: Support the CEO and board to regularly review the sustainability of its income sources and their impact on achieving charitable purposes in the short, medium and longer term.

• Work with the CEO and Head of Impact and Development to prepare the funding strategy that should go beyond immediate budgetary considerations and look at the wider funding landscape. The organisation needs to understand potential emerging opportunities and the organisation’s readiness to pursue them.

Team and Stakeholder Engagement

• Build and maintain effective relationships with trustees, funders, regulators, and key stakeholders, to ensure that Citizens Advice Stevenage meets its financial, regulatory and legal obligations.

• Provide leadership and support to finance and business support teams, ensuring professional development and effective performance management.

People management and development

• Develop and implement a culture of continuous learning that will equip and develop people to deliver outstanding delivery. Responsibility for the training and development plan for the Finance and Business Support ensuring it is in effective operation including maintaining records of training needs identified and training attended.

• Working with the rest of the leadership team ensure the organisation delivers a fair, inclusive, equitable and transparent employee and volunteer experience, taking account of our EDI aims and in line with employment law and the Equality Act 2010.

• Ensure Open and timely communication that provides information about the organisation and context for decisions that are made, helps to build trust and confidence and earn legitimacy.

• Ensure the effective performance management and development of staff through regular supervision sessions, appraisals and learning and development.

Person Specification

• ACA/ACCA/CIMA Qualified, CPE up to date.

• Strong financial management experience at a similar level within the charity/not for profit sector

• A proven track record of leading, developing and inspiring small teams

• Experience of strategic business & financial planning, forecasting and budget management.

• Sound experience of producing month-end management accounts and audited year-end financial accounts

• Experience of managing and using financial systems

• A working knowledge of relevant legislation (regulatory, legal and financial) in the context of a charitable organisation

• Experience of managing change and change programmes

• A track record of initiating, leading and managing associated risks

• Strong influencing, negotiating and collaborative working skills, with the ability to present complex financial information clearly and concisely in writing or verbally

• Confident IT skills; confident using Microsoft Office applications, especially Excel

• Experience designing and introducing new financial processes, procedures and reports

• Working knowledge of QuickBooks software advantageous

• Experience working with a Board of Trustees advantageous

• Understanding of Charity Commission and Companies House reporting requirements

• Project and/or professional services experience

• Understanding of Charity Law

• Experience of working in the not-for-profit sector

• Understanding and experience using the Charity Governance Code

• Experience in working with Charity SORP

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