Director of Finance

  • MLC Partners
  • Aug 25, 2026
Full time Executive

Job Description

Director of Finance - Interim to Permanent opportunity

London Hybrid

£80,000 per annum

Initial 6-month contract, with the opportunity to become permanent

We are partnering with a high-profile, internationally focused not-for-profit organisation to appoint an experienced Director of Finance at a significant point of organisational change.

This is an excellent opportunity for a technically strong and hands-on senior finance leader who can bring stability, rigour and clarity to a complex international finance function, while also operating as a trusted adviser to senior leadership and the Board.

Initially appointed on a 6-month contract with a view to becoming permanent, you will lead the finance function through a period of transformation, strengthening financial reporting, controls, systems and processes while supporting wider organisational change.

The role:

Reporting into a senior member of the Executive team, you will lead a London-based finance team while working closely with finance colleagues across an international network.

This is not a purely strategic leadership position. You will need to be comfortable moving between board-level conversations and the operational detail required to ensure the finance function is accurate, controlled and delivering effectively.

Key priorities will include:

  • Leading the organisation's global budgeting, forecasting and cash-flow processes
  • Strengthening management accounting and ensuring timely monthly and quarterly reporting
  • Presenting financial performance, forecasts and modelling to senior leadership, the Board and relevant governance committees
  • Reviewing and strengthening financial controls, accounting processes and balance-sheet reconciliations
  • Supporting the implementation and development of finance systems
  • Providing financial modelling and costings to support organisational change and Executive decision-making
  • Leading and developing a dispersed international finance function
  • Overseeing grant accounting, cost allocations and compliance with donor and cost-recovery requirements
  • Ensuring statutory, legal and taxation compliance across multiple international jurisdictions
  • Supporting statutory, project and donor audits
  • Building sustainable processes and ways of working that leave the finance function in a stronger position for the longer term

About you:

We are looking for an experienced senior finance professional who combines strong technical accounting capability with pragmatic, hands on leadership.

  • Fully qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA)
  • Senior-level finance experience within an international, multi-donor organisation
  • Strong technical accounting and financial reporting expertise
  • Experience improving financial controls and stabilising finance processes
  • Demonstrable experience implementing, improving or migrating finance systems
  • Experience of statutory audit and UK compliance, with exposure to international jurisdictions advantageous
  • A strong understanding of grant management, donor funding and cost allocation methodologies
  • Experience managing and developing finance and administration teams across multiple locations
  • The ability to communicate complex financial information clearly to non-finance stakeholders, senior leadership and Boards
  • A calm, delivery-focused approach and the willingness to get into the detail when required

Previous experience joining an organisation on an interim or fixed-term basis to stabilise and strengthen a finance function during a period of change would be particularly valuable.

The opportunity

This role will suit someone who enjoys transformation and can quickly understand what needs attention, establish priorities and bring a finance function forward.

You'll be joining an international, purpose-led organisation whose work has a significant global reach. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to make a tangible impact on both the immediate performance of the finance function and its longer-term development.

For a confidential discussion about the opportunity, please apply or reach out to Annabelle at MLC Partners to confidentially discuss this role further.

Please note: Candidates must already have, or be able to obtain, the right to work in the UK.