Job Description
Strengthening foundations. Enabling social good. Building an organisation fit for the future.
Location: London with flexible hybrid working (min 2 days office-based)
About us
The Association of Charitable Foundations (ACF) is the leading membership organisation for foundations and independent grant-makers in the UK. Our 430 members collectively hold assets of around £75bn and distribute more than £4.4bn each year in support of charities, communities and individuals across the country.
Foundations play a vital and distinctive role in social purpose. They move quickly in a crisis, fund what others cannot, back bold ideas and take a long-term view of change. ACF exists to strengthen trusts and foundations so they can rise to the challenges of our times.
Our vision is for diverse, vibrant and effective foundations, working together for social good. Our values are simple and demanding: we care, we are open, we are evidence-based and we are ambitious.
The opportunity
ACF has recently completed a significant organisational redesign, creating a leaner, more agile organisation with clear ambitions for impact, influence and quality. This next phase is about embedding those changes and building strong foundations for the future. We are now seeking a Chief Operating Officer to play a central role in shaping that journey, working closely with the Chief Executive, Board and Executive Leadership Team.
You will bring an enterprising, values-led approach to strengthening ACF's income model, membership recruitment and engagement, and commercial partnerships. You will ensure the organisation has the right systems, data, people and culture in place to deliver excellent value for members, while remaining financially resilient, well-governed and responsive to change. Crucially, you will provide strategic leadership across membership, marketing and brand, alongside oversight of core operational functions including finance, people, digital and governance, championing insight-led decision-making and continuous improvement.
In a small organisation with high ambitions, this role combines strategic leadership with hands-on organisational stewardship. You will line-manage a senior, multi-disciplinary team and play a key role in organisational planning, internal communications and Board reporting, helping ACF to show up with clarity and confidence for its members and the wider sector.
About you
You will be a confident, emotionally intelligent leader with senior-level experience in a values-led organisation, bringing strong commercial and financial understanding alongside a clear commitment to equity, inclusion and good governance.
You will be comfortable using data and insight to inform decisions and support others to do the same. Above all, you are motivated by social purpose and by the opportunity to help build an organisation that enables others to make a positive impact.
As ACF embeds new ways of working in 2026 and looks ahead to its next strategy, the COO will play a vital role in shaping how we show up for our members and for the wider sector.
Please click 'Apply on website' to be redirected to the Peridot Partners website, where you can find full details of the job description and register your interest to apply.
Applications for this role close at 9 a.m. Monday 2 nd March 2026.
