Chief Financial Officer (CFO) - EY Foundation - UK Wide in London

Chief Financial Officer (CFO) – EY Foundation – UK&I – Permanent – UK Wide

Our Organisation 

The EY Foundation is a charity and a company, limited by guarantee, established in 2014. We were founded by EY, the professional services firm, which continues to provide funding and donations to the charity under a multi-annual funding agreement.  We are governed by a board of trustees, who are supported by a number of committees and leadership and management teams. 

The EY Foundation helps young people, disadvantaged in the labour market, to fulfil their work potential. We are unique in our position as the link between employers and young people, having strong relationships with both. 

Our work involves designing, developing, and running our own services: Smart Futures, Our Future and Accelerate, as well as raising independent funds to support new initiatives and reach more young people across the UK. We work with organisations from across all sectors, including commercial, not-for-profit, education and government.

As an independent charity we have to diversify and raise our own income through traditional fundraising, grants and, increasingly, through the development of our work with corporate partners.

EY Foundation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The successful applicant will need to undertake an Enhanced DBS check via the Disclosure and Barring service, where appropriate.
 

At the EY Foundation, we have a hybrid working model in which our staff work from the office (one of our Hubs in London, Birmingham, Manchester or Glasgow) at least one day per week. 

Within the Foundation, we adopt flexible roles that reflect the dynamic nature of our charity and enable our people to learn, develop and grow their skills and open up career opportunities. This is part of our investment in you.

Our values
In your role, you will be expected to demonstrate or develop leadership competences based on the Foundation’s four key values. They are:

• Growth mindset – increase our impact on more young people through dedication, innovation, and hard work
• Empower our people – everyone is given the opportunity to develop and succeed
• Courage – use new learning and diversity of though to challenge the status quo, embracing lessons learned even if a project misses its targets
• Collaboration – build relationships, internally and externally, to share ideas, embed an inclusive approach, and achieve bigger outcomes.

Below provides an outline of what will be involved in your role rather than an exhaustive list of duties. Both you and this role will naturally evolve.

The opportunity as Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

• Leading the designing and implementation of corporate financial strategy and oversight of its management, including controls, budgeting and reporting, and for developing a sustainable business model 
• Leadership of organisational strategic and business planning processes that drive and support impact, efficiency and return on investment, including leading the development of a new Target Operating Model 
• Defining implementing and maintaining the Charity’s commercial practices, including costing and pricing policies and processes, contract management rigour, due diligence, and ocersign of commissioned legal services
• Oversight of all corporate policies, ensuring their legal compliance, regular review, and integration within the business
• Leadership of design of risk management process (including business continuity), their implementation and regular review 
• Building strong and trusted relationships with senior stakeholders, trustees, and professional advisers
• Contribute to the sustainability of the charity aiding income growth and diversification 
• Support members of the Leadership team, as required 
• Proactively sponsoring the recruitment and development of a highly impactful, diverse and inclusive team, with particular emphasis on the function’s contribution to the Foundation’s race commitment and modelling inclusive leadership

The above listed is in addition to the collective responsibilities with the Leadership team. 

Your key responsibilities

Whatever your specific responsibilities and specialisms, as a Leadership member, you will be responsible across the whole organisation for the forumulation of long-term strategic plans and their implementation. You will be specifically accountable for your areas of responsibility as well as working alongside other members of the leadership team in achieving all the Charity’s goals and targets. 

Specific areas of accountability including, where applicable line management, include finance, commercial development, governance and assurance, people and HR, strategy and planning. 

Your profile will be both internal and external at senior levels and you will share responsibility for representing the Foundation professionally. You will report regularly to the trustees and will hold delegated responsibility for decision-making from the CEO as required. 

Skills and attributes for success

You must have demonstratable experience and knowledge in the following areas:

• CA (or equivalent) qualification 
• Shaping and implementing long-term organisational strategies effectively 
• Financial acumen and accountability for the whole organisation’s financial performance, including a strong track record in a similar role
• Decision-making that affects the organisation as a whole 
• Extensive resource management, including the design of people and other strategies 
• Influencing multiple senior stakeholders through establishment of effective relationships
• Proactive and effective relationships with trustees and non-executive directors
• Systematic process improvement experience impacting on the whole orgaisation
• Strong communication skills in English 
• Strong and evidenced commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion 
• Strong personal alignment with and committed to the charity’s mission and vales, enjoyment of working with and alongside a diverse group of people in a busy environment
• Strong commitment to improve the working lives and prospects of disadvantaged young people in the UK 

Your competence 
You will be able to demonstrate the competences expected of an EY Foundation Leadership member. Where you need more time to fully develop those competences, we will support you in doing so. 

What we offer

We offer a competitive remuneration package where you’ll be rewarded for your individual and team performance. Our comprehensive Total Rewards package includes support for flexible working and career development, and with FlexEY you can select benefits that suit your needs, covering holidays, health and well-being, insurance, savings and a wide range of discounts, offers and promotions. Plus, we offer:

• Continuous learning: You’ll develop the mindset and skills to navigate whatever comes next.
• Success as defined by you: We’ll provide the tools and flexibility, so you can make a meaningful impact, your way.
• Transformative leadership: We’ll give you the insights, coaching and confidence to be the leader the world needs.
• Diverse and inclusive culture: You’ll be embraced for who you are and empowered to use your voice to help others find theirs.

Please note

Prior to finalising your application, you will be asked to provide personal information across several dimensions of diversity and inclusiveness. The information you provide is kept entirely confidential and will not be used to evaluate your candidacy. We collect this data to help us analyse our recruitment process holistically and implement actions that promote diversity and inclusiveness. While optional, we encourage you to provide this information to hold us accountable towards our goal of building a better working world. Read more about our commitment to diversity & inclusiveness here. We ask because it matters! 

If you can demonstrate that you meet the criteria above, please contact us as soon as possible.
 

The exceptional EY experience. It’s yours to build.
 

Apply now.