Head of Reporting & Compliance - Innovationrca; fte

Innovation RCA, Battersea, London

0.7 FTE (24.5 hours per week) | Permanent

Innovation RCA is the Royal College of Art's centre for entrepreneurship and commercialisation, supporting ambitious founders, transformative technologies and innovative ventures to create real-world impact. We are seeking an experienced finance and compliance professional to join our senior leadership team as Head of Reporting and Compliance.

This is a varied and influential role with responsibility for financial reporting, compliance, budgeting and portfolio oversight across Innovation RCA, its associated subsidiaries and the RCA Design & Innovation S/EIS Investment Fund. Working closely with the Director of Innovation RCA, colleagues across the College and external partners, you will help ensure the effective governance, financial stewardship and continued success of our innovation activities.

• Act as the first point of contact for all subsidiary and RCA Design & Innovation S/EIS Fund compliance matters, recommending escalation to external experts and our FCA Authorised Representative provider where appropriate.
• Undertake Company Secretarial responsibilities for three subsidiaries, providing recommendations to the Director of Innovation RCA and the RCA Chief Financial Officer regarding statutory monitoring, annual filings and governance requirements.

• Lead the day-to-day financial control of Innovation RCA, providing budget approvals in line with agreed plans and programme budgets.
• Act as the lead for finance matters, supporting the Director of Innovation RCA with budget preparation, financial forecasting, variance analysis and identifying areas of financial risk.

• Monitor Innovation RCA and RCA Design & Innovation S/EIS Fund company portfolios, analysing performance against key performance indicators.
• Provide expert guidance, support and compliance training to founders and new Incubator colleagues, including Directors' responsibilities and reporting obligations.

• Lead the preparation of high-quality reports and documentation for internal senior management and external organisations, including Research England and the Financial Conduct Authority.

We are looking for a qualified accountant with substantial experience in financial management, reporting and compliance. You will possess excellent analytical skills, experience of financial modelling, strong commercial awareness and the ability to communicate complex financial and regulatory matters clearly to a wide range of audiences. Experience of working with investment funds, start-ups or within the higher education sector would be advantageous.

This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in supporting Innovation RCA's growing portfolio of ventures and investment activities while contributing to one of the world's leading postgraduate universities for art and design.

Please see Information Pack for further details of this exciting role.

Closing for applications m on 1st November 2026

We acknowledge that AI can be a useful tool; however, these application questions have been selected to showcase the expertise and knowledge you will bring to the role. We value hearing your personal experience and ask that you consider answering them in your own words to demonstrate your background in this field.