Head of Finance and Operations

Kentown Africa Foundation
Head of Finance and Operations
Remote | 22.5 hours per week over 3-4 days | Flexible working
£55,000 - £60,000 pro rata

Kentown Africa Foundation is an ambitious UK grant‑making charity with a clear mission: to improve the health and wellbeing of children across Sub‑Saharan Africa.
Kentown Africa Foundation is looking to recruit a Head of Finance and Operations at an exciting stage in the organisation’s development.

Every child deserves the opportunity to survive, thrive and reach their full potential. Kentown Africa Foundation is a UK‑based grant‑making foundation dedicated to making that a reality for children across Sub‑Saharan Africa.
The Foundation provides funding to organisations, partnerships and innovative programmes that strengthen health systems, improve access to quality healthcare and create sustainable, lasting change.
Its approach is deliberately collaborative and locally led, working with trusted partners, healthcare professionals, researchers and community organisations to support evidence‑based interventions and stronger healthcare systems for the future.

This is a relatively small but ambitious organisation, with a team bringing together expertise across global health, philanthropy, grant‑making and programme management. The Foundation is supported by an experienced Board of Trustees and is now building its infrastructure and capacity for its next stage of growth.

This is a broad and influential finance role, reporting directly to the CEO and forming part of the Senior Management Team.

The Head of Finance and Operations will take overall responsibility for the finance function, providing high‑quality financial information, strong financial controls and effective financial governance, while also playing an important role in the organisation’s wider operations.

You will be a trusted adviser to the CEO and Board, helping to shape financial strategy, budgets and forecasts and providing the financial insight needed to support grant‑making decisions.

A particularly interesting aspect of the role is the grant finance oversight
. You will work closely with the Head of Grants to assess funding applications, monitor the financial performance of funded projects, review grantee budgets and reports, and help strengthen financial capacity within partner organisations.

The role will also have responsibility for statutory accounts and audit, Charity SORP compliance, tax, payroll and pensions, as well as company secretarial and governance responsibilities. There is also an opportunity to contribute to the development of IT systems, risk management and wider organisational processes.

We are looking for a qualified accountant or an accountant qualified by experience who combines strong technical finance expertise with a genuinely strategic and hands‑on approach.
You are likely to have senior finance experience within a charity, grant‑making organisation, international development organisation or another complex not‑for‑profit environment
, although relevant experience from other sectors will also be considered.
You will bring:

• Strong financial management, analysis and strategic planning skills
• Experience of budgeting, forecasting and financial risk management
• Experience preparing statutory accounts, ideally within the charity sector and under Charity SORP
• Experience of financial governance and reporting to Boards or senior stakeholders
• The ability to critically evaluate existing processes and identify improvements
• Strong Excel skills and experience with financial systems - ideally Quick Books
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to work confidently with both financial and non‑financial stakeholders
• High levels of accuracy,…