Director of Finance and Operations

About Action Tutoring
At Action Tutoring, we believe every child should be given the opportunity to succeed in school. But in the UK today, young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are less likely to

achieve the grades they need to progress in life. This isn't because they are any less able; they have less access to the tools to help them reach their potential.

We don't think this is fair. We know tutoring is an effective way of improving academic attainment and so we harness the power of volunteer tutors to bridge the gap and ensure this help can be accessed by every pupil who needs it, not just those who can afford it.

We specifically help pupils facing socio-economic disadvantage and who are at risk of leaving primary or secondary school without reaching national standards in their exams. We work in partnership with schools in different cities and regions across the UK, delivering weekly tutoring in English or maths to those pupils who need it most.

About the opportunity
The Director of Finance and Operations works closely with the CEO to build the organisation, operations and systems to enable us to scale and respond to emerging opportunities. A critical strategic role, they are a hands-on financial leader that brings strategic insight and challenge. Passionate about our mission, they lead a small team and use their experience and expertise to make our strategy a practical reality.

Closing date: Sunday, 17th May 2026
Interviews: Thursday, 28th and Friday, 29th May 2026, in our London office. There will be a second round of interviews.
Start date: Ideal start date is asap. However, we re happy to wait for the ideal candidate.
Contract and hours: Permanent. Full time. We offer flexible hours with 9.30-4 as core hours. A full working week is 37.5 hours.
Place of work: Hybrid/flexible. This role requires 6 days a month in our London Office, Fivefields, Grosvenor Gardens, London SW1W 0DH.

Duties and responsibilities

Finance

Lead financial strategy and long-term planning to support the development of the organisation, as well as holding overall responsibility for finance processes and controls.

Operations

Drive continuous improvement of operations to increase productivity, quality of delivery and value for money. With the operations team, provide oversight of all operational matters to ensure compliance and the smooth running of the organisation.

HR and team development

Action Tutoring has a Head of People & Culture who oversees day-to-day HR operations. However, with a permanent staff team of around 60, this role holds strategic responsibility for talent development and HR processes. This includes training and development strategy, effective diversity and inclusion policies and regular reviews of performance and reward systems.

Senior Leadership

As one of the four members of the Senior Leadership Team of Action Tutoring, you will contribute to leadership decision-making, representing your own areas of expertise but also advocating for the best strategic options for the charity as a whole.

Legal compliance, risk management and governance

This role ensures legal compliance of the organisation.

Line management

Overseeing a small team, this role has direct line management responsibility for the Head of People & Culture, the Operations Manager, and the Senior Finance Officer. You will also, with support from your team, manage relationships with external support agencies, including the outsourced management accountant, IT support company, and HR and employment law consultancy.

This role also plays a key part in a number of internal working groups, including leading the Digital Systems working group and serving as a member of both the Sustainability and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion working groups.

A full list of duties and responsibilities can be found in the job description attached to the BreatheHR advert.

Person specification

Qualifications criteria:

• The right to work in the UK.

We are looking for some of the following attributes, though you might be more experienced in some areas than others:

• Deep finance and operations experience as well as a track record of strategy development. You will have significant experience overseeing finances and managing budgets and be able to demonstrate a high level of understanding of financial management and forecasting within a fundraising setting. Familiarity with charity accounting and SORP will be essential.
• Someone with the ability to see the big picture and lead long-term strategy while being able to zoom into the detail and set high-expectations for the team and wider organisation.
• An excellent eye for detail and an experienced project manager who relishes delivering long-term projects through to completion, you will be a self-starter with a strong ability to take initiative to drive change.
• An ability to identify areas for organisational development and growth. You are someone who leads change and development. Alert to reputational risk, proactively preventing errors.
• An established track record in delivering results in a growing environment at the management level.
• Experience with a range of business functions and systems, including budgeting, finance, legal, IT and human resources or a willingness to build expertise in these areas.
• Understanding of developing policies and procedures; experience in good governance practices, including:
  • Familiarity with routine HR legislation and processes.
  • A good understanding of GDPR compliance and processes.
  • Familiarity with reporting at Trustee level (or equivalent).
• Excellent team leadership skills.
• A commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.
• A commitment to the mission and values of Action Tutoring.
• A commitment to promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children.
• Always aiming to help more pupils and have a bigger impact, we continually seek ways to improve tasks, processes and culture.

You will likely be more successful in this role if you have:

• Additional formal qualifications relevant to the role (e.g. qualified accountant, MBA, CIPD Level 7).
• Experience or knowledge of safeguarding procedures.
• Digital transformation project management.
• Experience in the charity sector or the education sector, particularly in charity legislation and accounting.
• Experience in monitoring and evaluation processes and/or school data.
• Experience in improving systems and processes.