Purpose of role
The hiring organisation (‘the client’) is a global network of 100+ philanthropic organisations funding education in low- and middle-income countries. The network is hosted by an international philanthropy support organisation (‘the client’s fiscal host’).
The Role
The network is seeking a Strategic Operations and Finance Manager who is highly organised, financially savvy and strategically minded to drive the operational, financial and membership development backbone of our global network. In this pivotal role, you will work within a small, fully remote team to steward relationships with finance leads across more than 100 member organisations worldwide, strengthening their understanding of the network’s value proposition and converting this into the sustainable funding that fuels the network’s mission. The role calls for initiative, agility and a can-do attitude, combining hands-on administrative responsibilities with opportunities to shape strategy and help the network grow. You will bring both precision and creativity to ensure the network remains well-resourced, compliant and prepared for long-term success.
This position sits at the intersection of strategic thinking and opertaional excellence. You’ll need the financial acument to manage complex budgets and navigate compliance requirements, the strategic mindset to shape the network’s revenue model, and the relationship skills to engage philanthropic leaders to translate the network’s value proposition into sustainable funding.
Hours: This role is full-time (35 hours/week) although the Client would be happy to discuss an appointment at 80% (28 hours/week). The Client is open to negotiating a working pattern that works for the successful candidate and for the Client. If you would like to discuss a part-time, job share or another proposal prior to application please contact us at contact@purposephilcareer.com.
Terms: Permanent, subject to 12-week probationary period.
Location: Home Based. Must have right to work in the country you reside in. The Client can employee in most locations.
Reporting: Reports to the Executive Director.
Remuneration: This role has been benchmarked at a UK salary of £47,000 (pro rata for a part time position).
A note for international candidates: Offer packages may vary dependent on location due to local legislations that we are obliged to adhere to. Variations to the advert are always discussed with candidates at the offer stage.
More about the client
The client is the largest global network of philanthropic actors funding education in low- and middle-income countries. They support its 100+ current members in learning (from the latest evidence and from each other) and in making strategic connections to advance their education grant making. They enable collaboration to drive the amplified impact of education philanthropy on education outcomes.
You will work within a small team, currently spread across five countries, and report directly to the Executive Director, while also working closely with other Core Team staff, Treasurer, and its fiscal host team. The Client has an excellent team working culture and work flexible hours to ensure a healthy work-life balance, appreciating its different time zones.
More about the fiscal host
The Client is hosted by an international philanthropy support organisation partnering with funders to advance rights, equity and diversity. Independent in status and global in reach, this fiscal host provides funder networks, collaboratives and their partners with practical support and technical expertise to create lasting change.
The fiscal host currently hosts seven large networks and collaborations, serving more than 100 independent funders, including Ariadne, the network of European funders for social change and human rights; the Funders Initiative for Civil Society (FICS); the International Education Funders Group (IEFG); Migration Exchange; Philanthropy for Social Justice and Peace (PSJP) and Hamrah, an initiative to strengthen the resilience and increase the impact of a cohort of Afghan civil society organisations in exile. It is proud to have incubated several influential, award-winning charities, including Each Other (formerly RightsInfo), IMIX and The Five Foundation.
Job Description
Strategic Operations and Finance Manager
1. Strategic Financial Leadership & Budget Management
You'll own the network's financial strategy, not just tracking numbers, but shaping how resources enable the network's mission:
- Oversee strategic budget management: forecasting, scenario modelling, and resource allocation aligned with network priorities
- Manage voluntary member contributions across 100+ organisations, building trusted relationships with their finance and leadership teams
- Translate complex financial information between the network and fiscal sponsor, ensuring alignment and compliance
- Lead annual financial planning, reporting to the Steering Committee, and coordinate audit preparation
- Maintain accurate bookkeeping in Xero (payments, invoices, expenses, reconciliations).
What this requires: You see budgets as strategy tools, not just tracking spreadsheets. You can explain financial implications to non-finance colleagues and present budget scenarios to senior leadership.
2. Revenue Strategy & Philanthropic Partnership Development
Lead the network’s evolution from a voluntary contribution model to diversified, sustainable revenue.
- Drive income diversification: Develop and implement the network’s medium-term revenue strategy, including membership fees, restricted/unrestricted grants, and potential fee-for-service models
- Navigate complexity: Work with fiscal sponsor specialists to address VAT, regulatory, and legal implications of new revenue streams; this is startup-style problem-solving in a nonprofit context
- Lead grant strategy: Manage all grant processes (applications, reporting, compliance), positioning grants as ecosystem-strengthening partnerships rather than traditional grantee relationships
- Build philanthropic relationships: Steward relationships with finance leads and decision-makers across 100+ member foundations, translating the network's value proposition into funding commitments
- Expand membership: Proactively identify prospective members, coordinate intelligence-gathering with Steering Committee and team, ensure strong onboarding and ongoing engagement.
What this requires: You understand how philanthropy works (the mindsets, incentives, and decision-making processes of foundations and donors). You can articulate why networks create value and convert that into sustainable funding.
3. Risk Management, Compliance & Governance
Build the systems that enable the network to operate with confidence and credibility:
- Develop and maintain comprehensive risk matrix across financial, operational, and governance areas
- Ensure strong internal controls and compliance with relevant laws, regulations, and best practices
- Monitor compliance obligations and translate requirements clearly for the team
- Lead operational liaison with fiscal sponsor, serving as primary contact and translating their policies (travel, AI guidance, sustainability, etc.) for team understanding
- Develop and maintain the network’s Governance Handbook, ensuring policies remain clear, current, and accessible
- Support governance processes: prepare Steering Committee papers, circulate documents, take meeting minutes at network events.
What this requires: You're comfortable with ambiguity and building systems where they don't yet exist. You can navigate compliance requirements without getting lost in bureaucracy.
4. Operational Excellence & Team Collaboration
Champion the administrative backbone that enables the network’s distributed team to work effectively:
- Lead high-quality file management, documentation, and information-sharing practices across platforms (SharePoint, Loop)
- Coordinate organised workflows, effective diary management, and smooth day-to-day operations
- Participate actively in weekly remote team meetings and semi-regular Away Days
- Uphold a culture of administrative excellence, ensuring the small details that make remote collaboration work.
What this requires: You're naturally organised and see strong operations as enabling strategy, not just ‘admin work’.
Person specification
Strategic Financial Management (not just bookkeeping)
- Strong financial administration including budgeting, forecasting, scenario modeling, and reporting
- Experience managing budgets strategically, understanding how resources enable mission, not just tracking expenses
- Proficiency with accounting software (ideally Xero); comfortable with invoices, expenses, reconciliations
- Grant process coordination (applications, reporting, compliance)
- High numeracy, accuracy, and attention to detail.
Philanthropy Sector Knowledge & Relationship Building
- Understanding of the philanthropic sector: How foundations make decisions, what drives grantmaking, how networks create value
- Experience engaging with philanthropic leaders, foundation staff, or nonprofit leadership teams
- Ability to translate a network's value proposition into funding commitments
- Skilled in building trust-based, long-term relationships with senior stakeholders
- Clear, confident communicator representing the organisation professionally with funders, members, and partners.
Revenue Diversification & Startup Mindset
- Experience developing fundraising strategies, membership models, or income diversification approaches
- Comfort with ambiguity and building systems in evolving environments, hence startup, social enterprise, or early-stage nonprofit experience highly valued
- Proactive, self-directed approach; able to take initiative and respond to emerging needs
- Can-do attitude combined with strategic thinking; comfortable wearing multiple hats.
Operations & Compliance
- Proven ability to manage multiple workstreams and shifting priorities in fast-paced environments
- Experience maintaining internal controls, governance structures, or compliance frameworks
- Understanding of risk management; ability to build and maintain risk registers
- Comfort navigating regulatory considerations (VAT, grant agreements) with specialist guidance.
Global Working & Cross-Cultural Competence
- Ability to work effectively across time zones and adapt to diverse working cultures
- Cultural sensitivity and confidence building relationships with international stakeholders
- Flexibility to adjust working hours occasionally for global collaboration.
Technical & Organisational Skills
- Excellent organisation, time management, and workflow coordination
- Strong digital literacy (Microsoft 365, SharePoint, Loop or similar tools, virtual collaboration platforms)
- Excellent written and verbal communication
- Commitment to strong documentation and information-sharing practices.
What Success Looks Like in This Role
You're the right fit if you:
✅ Think strategically about operations and finance: you see budgets as tools for strategy, not just compliance exercises
✅ Understand philanthropy from the inside: you've worked with foundations, donors, or philanthropic networks and understand their decision-making, incentives, and what drives funding commitments
✅ Thrive in startup-like environments: you're energised by building systems, comfortable with ambiguity, and proactive about spotting opportunities rather than waiting for perfect clarity
✅ Balance strategic thinking with operational excellence: you can develop a diversified revenue strategy AND ensure the invoices get processed correctly
✅ Build relationships that convert to outcomes: you can engage finance leads at 100+ foundations, articulate the network's value proposition, and translate relationships into sustainable funding
✅ Are naturally detail-oriented but don't lose sight of the big picture: you maintain strong documentation and compliance while advancing strategic priorities
You're NOT the right fit if you:
❌ Want a purely administrative finance role with clearly defined processes
❌ Prefer working in large organisations with established systems and hierarchies
❌ Need constant direction rather than taking initiative
❌ See relationship-building and fundraising as ‘someone else's job’
❌ Are uncomfortable with rapid change or shifting priorities
Statement of Equal Opportunities
The Client and its Fiscal Host value, welcome and respect all the differences that make us who we are and stronger, and recognise that the intersections of different identities enrich the network's community. This includes age, cultural background, disability and mental health, ethnicity and race, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, and social background. They also recognise that the interconnected nature of these social categorisations can lead to overlapping systems of discrimination. They have a robust Equality and Diversity Policy that is periodically reviewed, ensuring that candidates and employees are treated fairly.
When talking to their team, candidates can expect:
- To be asked questions that are relevant to the role.
- All recruitment materials to be written in such a way that avoids direct and indirect discrimination, for example, without the use of gendered language.
- To be given a chance to ask questions ahead of the interview.
- To be given a clear understanding of what to expect in the interview.
- To be compensated if asked to undertake an exercise that requires significant input.
- To be treated with kindness and respect in every stage of the recruitment process.
- Never to be asked irrelevant questions related to a protected characteristic.
- That reasonable adjustments will be offered and implemented at every stage of recruitment.
- Any concern or complaint raised to be taken seriously, investigated fully and managed in such a way that it would not negatively impact any recruitment decision.
Commitment to Safeguarding
The Client and its Fiscal Host want everyone connected to their work to be safe from harm and abuse. They therefore take their safeguarding responsibilities seriously and expect everyone interacting with them to support them to do this. There are measures in place through policies, procedures and practice to guide them in their efforts to promote a positive safeguarding culture.
They will undertake safer recruitment checks to ensure that all representatives are suitable in their role and do not pose a risk to others; and will continue to ensure suitability through the induction process, probationary period, and beyond.
How to apply
Application Deadline: 21 January 2026, 17.00 UK time
Required Materials:
1. CV/Resume
2. Cover Letter (to be entered in the cover letter field)
Your cover letter should outline your relevant experience and interest in the role. Please specifically address:
- Your strategic approach to operations and finance: How have you approached budget management or financial planning strategically (beyond administrative tracking)? Provide a specific example of how you've used financial information to inform organizational strategy or decision-making.
- Your philanthropy sector experience: What experience do you have working with foundations, donors, or philanthropic organizations? How do you understand the decision-making processes and incentives that drive philanthropic funding? If you've worked to secure funding commitments or engage philanthropic leaders, describe your approach.
- Your experience with startup environments and income diversification: Describe a time when you've had to build systems or approaches in an evolving environment, or when you've worked on diversifying revenue streams (membership models, earned income, grants, etc.). What was challenging about this work and how did you navigate it?
3. References (to be entered in the "additional question" field)
Contact information for two professional references (will only be contacted with your permission after interviews)
Submit your application via link below.
Need assistance?
The Client, its Fiscal Host and PurposePhil Career are committed to the employment and career development of people with disabilities. We are happy to consider any reasonable adjustments that candidates may need during the recruitment process, and you will be asked whether you require anything if you are invited to interview. If you need this information in another format or if there are additional options you’d like to request, please contact us at contact@purposephilcareer.com.
Privacy Notice
As part of this recruitment process, we collect and process personal data relating to job applicants. We are committed to being transparent about how we collect and use that data and to meeting our data protection obligations.
Recruitment support: The Client and its Fiscal Host are working with PurposePhil Career to support this recruitment. Applicants' data will be collected by PurposePhil Career for review and shortlisting. Selected candidates' profiles will be shared with the Client as part of the longlist. PurposePhil Career adheres to GDPR and UK Data Protection Act 2018 regarding the processing and retention of applications.
Your data: Your application data will only be used for this recruitment process and will be stored securely. If you are not selected for the longlist, your data will be deleted within 30 days of search completion. You have the right to access, correct, or request deletion of your data at any time.
Please read our Privacy Policy for job applicants here and the Fiscal Host's Privacy Notice here.
Questions about data processing? Contact: contact@purposephilcareer.com.
