About Us
London's Champion for Wildlife
Established in 1981, London Wildlife Trust is the only charity dedicated solely to protecting wildlife and wild spaces across the capital. We stand as London's primary voice for nature, managing 36 nature reserves and engaging more than 12,000 children annually through our award-winning education programmes. Approximately one million visitors experience the wonder of nature at our sites each year.
As part of a federation of 46 autonomous Wildlife Trusts across the UK, we benefit from a powerful collaborative movement whilst maintaining our independence and local focus. Our trading subsidiary, London Wildlife Limited, generates approximately £2 million annually through cafes and event hire, directly supporting our conservation mission. With an annual income of circa £8 million and strong unrestricted reserves, we're in an excellent financial position to deliver our ambitious vision.
Recent Highlights: Featured in Sir David Attenborough's BBC documentary Wild London, showcasing our ground-breaking conservation work across the capital.
36
Nature Reserves
Protected wild spaces managed across London
12K
Children Engaged
Young people inspired annually through education
1M
Annual Visitors
People experiencing nature at our sites
£8M
Annual Income
Resources invested in London's wildlife
The Opportunity
Head of Finance: Your Pivotal Role
As we scale our impact and ambition, we require an exceptional Head of Finance to reinvigorate, strengthen, and modernise our finance function. This is a hands-on, strategic leadership role where you'll be the most senior finance professional in the organisation, reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer and leading a dedicated team of three.
Key Responsibilities
01
Finance Transformation
Transition from historical transactional processing to a future-focused service providing strategic insight, business partnering, and sophisticated scenario planning to support decision-making.
02
Operational Excellence
Lead comprehensive operational improvements, enhancing systems, controls, and workflows to accommodate increased transaction volumes whilst maintaining rigorous financial governance.
03
Financial Stewardship
Oversee all financial management aspects including budgeting, multi-year forecasting, statutory accounts preparation, and seamless audit delivery for both the Trust and trading subsidiary.
04
System Optimisation
Maximise our modern Xledger finance system capabilities, driving automation, enhancing reporting quality, and delivering actionable insights to support strategic priorities.
05
Team Leadership
Line manage and coach our diligent finance team, fostering professional development, building collaborative culture, and creating an improvement-focused environment.
Your Profile
You are a fully qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, or CIMA) with significant leadership experience in the charity sector, ideally 3–5 years. You must be comfortable with a hands-on, practical role that requires engaging with daily transactional details whilst simultaneously guiding broader financial strategy.
You combine technical excellence with strategic vision, bringing a modernising mindset and collaborative approach. You're passionate about the charity sector and excited by the opportunity to support meaningful conservation impact across London.
Meet the Team
Benefits & Working Culture
We offer a supportive and flexible working environment based in a beautiful shared charity hub at Grosvenor Gardens, Victoria, combining the best of collaborative office culture with work-life balance.
Competitive Salary
£66,576 - £70,309 per annum, reflecting the strategic importance of this role
Flexible Working
Office-based 2 days per week (Victoria), with flexible working requests available from day one
Generous Leave
25 days annual leave plus bank holidays and discretionary Christmas closure period
Family Support
Enhanced maternity, paternity, and adoption pay demonstrating our commitment to work-life balance
Wellbeing
Free Employee Assistance Scheme and comprehensive benefits platform with retail and dining discounts
Pension
Current employer contribution of 3% (under review for potential improvement)
