Job Title  |  Director of Finance and Resources

 

Division  |  Finance and Resources

 

Salary  |  Circa £100,000 per annum

 

Reporting to  |  Deputy Director & Chief Operating Officer

​

Background

 

The V&A is the world’s leading museum of art, design and performance, and the custodian of 19 national collections covering the decorative and applied arts, with a particularly high international reputation in the fields of textiles and fashion. The curatorial departments based at South Kensington have responsibility for the 2.3m objects and the hundreds of archives which comprise the V&A collection, structured under and the Keepers for Theatre & Performance, Asia, Design, Architecture and Digital, Word and Image (including the National Art Library), and Furniture, Textiles and Fashion. The V&A Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green is responsible for the V&A’s childhood collection, reporting in to the Director of Learning and National Programmes. The Board of Trustees of the V&A has statutory responsibilities to care for, preserve and add to the collections; to ensure that the collections are made available to the public; to add to the body of knowledge relevant to the collections through research; and to disseminate that knowledge.

 

Within the framework of FuturePlan - the museum’s world-renowned programme of restoration, refurbishment and regeneration of its building fabric, public galleries and visitor facilities - the V&A is committed to broadening access and is at the forefront of developing innovative ways to engage new audiences, overcoming cultural and physical barriers to wider public participation. The V&A has arrived at a moment of significant expansion beyond its two directly managed museums - the V&A at South Kensington (a five and half hectare site) and the Museum of Childhood at Bethnal Green – with the opening of the V&A’s first gallery overseas, in Shenzhen, China, and the opening of V&A Dundee in September 2018. Most significantly and excitingly of all, is the development of V&A East, made up of the Collections and Research Centre (CRC) at Here East and the Waterfront building at the East Bank, part of the planned Cultural and Educational District (CED) in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

 

Purpose of Job

​

The Director of Finance and Resources will lead a multi-disciplinary team of Finance, Procurement, IT, CRM and Human Resources specialists, to deliver an effective and proactive collection of corporate services, to enable the museum to achieve its ambitious goals.

 

This is a senior and strategic role with overall responsibility for resources, and for the finances of the museum. Working closely with the Deputy Director and COO and the Executive Board, there is involvement in all aspects of museum operations and activities, from day to day financial control to large capital projects. The role has many key and internal and external stakeholders, in particular Trustees and colleagues at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), and is expected to work with colleagues to facilitate business solutions through understanding of financial and resource implications of decision making.

 

Principal responsibilities

​

• To provide inspirational and clear leadership to the Finance and Resources Division, ensuring the full capacity of Finance, Procurement, IT, CRM and HR expertise is utilised through excellent leadership, management and development of people.

​

• Lead the development of financial plans aligned to strategic objectives and contribute to the overall development of the organisation, in particular in the development of V&A East, ensuring that the V&A’s ambitions are fully realised.

​

• Through a business partnering approach, ensure that the Finance department are seen as facilitator as well as controller, helping key managers to better understand their financial resources and to deploy them with both efficiency and imaganiation.

​

• Lead the financial control, statutory reporting and annual accounts for the museum, through review, analysis and challenge, ensuring processes are accurate, effective and timely

​

• Evaluate and improve internal controls to protect the assets of the organisation

​

• Lead the budgeting process, ensuring budgets are ‘owned’ and understood by line managers

​

• Proactively manage cash and funding needs, updating the Executive Board, Board of Trustees and Trustee Finance and Audit committees as required

​

• Nurture and develop relationships across the museum and externally, in particular with DCMS, through effective communication

​

• Manage the Internal Audit process, and the Trustees committees for Audit, Investment and Finance, highlighting areas of concern that need to be addressed and opportunities for improvement and efficiency

​

• Ensure all Resources Departments are able to utilise their individual areas of expertise to provide effective and efficient support to the organisation

​

• Assess the financial risks of proposed capital contracts and ensure that these are minimised and mitigated were possible. Monitor spending on capital projects in line with budget

​

• Ensure the approach to all resource strategies are aligned with and enable the ambitions and objectives of the museum,

​

• Ensure that all significant purchase contracts have been established within European procurement legislation and government requirements, represent value for money and financial risks and contingencies have been identified and mitigated

​

• As a member of the Executive Team and Management Forum, play a leading role in the development of corporate strategy and strategic planning for the Division and organisation.

​

Key stakeholders and contacts

​

Internal:

• Executive Board, Management Forum (Heads of Department) and all budget holders Board of Trustees and Trustee committees for Finance, Audit and Investment

​

External:

• Treasury, DCMS, National Museum Directors Conference, LLDC

• Professional advisors including Internal and external auditors, banking representatives, VAT and legal advisors

​