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Job description

Director of Corporate Services

c.£95,000 per annum

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Summary

Priorities will include:

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  • Maintaining financial stability and ensuring the charity’s financial and other resources are used to maximize the impact of our mission through good financial control, managing cash effectively, and risk management

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  • Ensuring an effective balance of investing in our strategy, in our infrastructure and staff, and in the communications and supporter engagement we need to deliver our mission; and a balance across the short term need to accelerate our strategy and the longer term need to sustain our work until homelessness is ended in Great Britain

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  • Developing our data strategy and ensuring the organisation is fully adaptable and digital-enabled

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  • Ensuring the maintenance and development of a portfolio of work places and premises, including 11 Skylight centres, office facilities, warehousing, a growing chain of shops, a range of pop-up Crisis at Christmas centres, and the support for over 600 staff and thousands of volunteers

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  • Delivering effective projects ranging from property development work to complex technology and data implementation to organisational change and transformation

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  • Transforming the way we plan our organisation and priorities, and define and manage risk, from a traditional departmental planning process to portfolios that reflect our strategic priorities and ensure we understand and address the interdependencies across the organisation

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  • Ensuring that as we develop and change, our reporting, controls, regulatory compliance and governance are effective for ensuring the safety and security of the organisation, and for facilitating the achievement of our goals.

 

Above all, these things need to be delivered in a way that enhances and embeds the values of the charity, and enables every staff colleague and every volunteer to work in a way that reflects our values:

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  • Inspiration

  • Integrity through knowledge

  • Dignity

  • Fearlessness through independence

  • Adaptability

  • Resolve to end homelessness

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As a member of the Senior Management Team and the broader Strategic Leadership Group, the Director of Corporate Services will need to role-model these values in all that they do. This is not simply a CFO job with a few other things bolted on; this is a job about ensuring our money, technology, data, buildings, facilities, planning and performance measurement all come together to enable our colleagues to do their very best work, supporting thousands of people out of homelessness and delivering world-class research and policy work. It is also the most senior finance role in the organisation, and the strategic financial opportunities and challenges are significant.

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Key tasks

Financial, strategy, policy and planning

 

  • Lead on the design and implementation of organisational planning, emphasising the portfolios of activity key to delivering of our strategic plan while ensuring there is effective accountability across the management structure

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  • Provision of leadership, advice and guidance on financial and resource planning for new developments, investments and ongoing ‘business as usual’

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  • Working alongside the fundraising and enterprise activities, ensure we are strategically planning, modelling and forecasting the future income of the organisation and adjusting our plans and strategies accordingly

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  • Monitor, maintain and plan the financial health, security and compliance of the organisation, including provision and interpretation of timely management information and effective cash flow and reserves management

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  • Develop and report on the financial and non-financial performance indicators needed by the Board of Trustees and Senior Management Team

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  • Monitor the risks of the organisation and lead on setting strategies for managing and/or mitigating those risks

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  • Effective oversight of pensions, payroll and other financial aspects our employment package

 

Technology and data

 

  • Ensure that the organisation has the infrastructure, systems, equipment and skills required for the most effective and adaptable ways of working

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  • Develop and deliver a programme of systems change to ensure we are managing and using our data for the fullest extent for our members, staff, volunteers and supporters

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  • Ensure the organisation is digitally-enabled and skilled so that we are not limited in achieving our mission through our inability to embrace the digital world

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  • While facilitating adaptability and innovation, ensure that our technology and our use of data is safeguarded, and meets the full expectations of anyone whose data we hold or use.

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  • Champion information governance at Crisis, ensuring that the charity complies with its obligations and achieves the level of data maturity consistent with its aims and values-based approach to supporters, members and others

 

Workplace, premises and facilities

 

  • Oversee the provision of safe and adaptable workplaces considering the best use of the financial assets of the charity, the provision of inspirational spaces for our staff and volunteers to do their best work and for our members to access the services they need from us when they need them

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  • Ensure we are managing health and safety effectively

 

New developments, project and programme management

 

  • Ensure an effective approach is for the management of projects and programmes across the organisation

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  • Provide project and portfolio management support for all areas of the organisation

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  • Deliver a number of specified major projects where they involve property development, significant investment, involve significant change or transformation or have cross-organisational impact and implications

 

Company secretarial and governance

 

  • Compliance with legal requirements as Company Secretary of the charity, all group companies and other interests

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  • Implementation of best practice in governance arrangements including development and implementation of new structures as appropriate

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  • Work with the Chief Executive and Chair to plan and develop the activities of the Board of Trustees, and lead on the operation of the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee

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  • Timely and transparent reporting on the impact and operations of the charity

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Person Specification

  • Demonstrable commitment to Crisis’ mission to end homelessness and personal buy-in and proven ability to role-model the values of the organisation

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  • Qualified accountant or equivalent professional experience

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  • Substantial senior management experience including leadership of the finance function and credible at Board level

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  • Staff and budget management experience, and a clear understanding of the fundraising and commercial aspects of a charity

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  • Strategic thinker with a record of promoting new ways of working and delivering culture, process and behaviour change

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  • Experience of working at senior management level on technology, data, workplace and premises

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  • Familiar with strategic use of data and leadership of cyber security

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  • Ability to contribute and lead the requirements of a changing environment, including strong programme and project management

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  • Ability to work effectively as part of a team and to ‘leave the hierarchy at the door’

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  • Very good communication skills including ability to present and build relationships inside and outside the organisation

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  • Demonstrably comfortable working across multiple locations as Crisis has operational Skylight centres in 11 locations across England, Scotland and Wales and a growing chain of shops

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  • Accurate and attention to detail – and a finisher

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  • Adaptable and enthusiastic about taking on new responsibilities

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  • Willingness to work on several days over the Christmas period

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