Finance Manager
Recruitment Pack
Finance Manager
Part-time position (2.5 days per week)
Summer 2026
Chair’s introduction
Thank you for your interest in the Finance Manager position at Cloudesley.
Our current Finance Manager is leaving in November 2026 and we are looking to appoint another experienced finance professional to take on this interesting and varied role. Responsibilities are wide-ranging, and include regular financial management tasks through to reporting, budget setting and liaison with the charity’s property and investment managers, as well as policy development and advising Trustees on strategic issues.
This pack provides information about Cloudesley, explains what the role of Finance Manager involves and what we offer, and explains how to apply. If you have any questions after reading the recruitment pack or would like an informal discussion about the role, please contact the charity’s Director, Melanie Griffiths (melanie.griffiths@cloudesley.org.uk) or current Finance Manager, Ross Holland (ross.holland@cloudesley.org.uk).
Adam Jenner
Chair of Trustees
July 2026
About Cloudesley
Cloudesley is an independent charitable trust that makes grants of around £2 million each year to people, organisations and churches in Islington. In the year to June 2025, the charity’s annual gross income was £1.5 million and we held assets of c. £57 million.
Our grants budget is split equally between two programmes:
o Health Grants to support Islington residents with health problems or who are disabled and struggling financially, as well as for local organisations
o Church Grants to support Islington’s Church of England churches
The grants budget is used in many different ways, including:
o crisis and developmental grants for individuals
o multi-year funding for local organisations
o small support grants towards research and capacity building
o grants for preventative repairs, major buildings projects and environmental adaptations for churches
Currently, around half of Cloudesley’s endowment is held in financial market investments managed by Cazenove, and the other half in c. 90 residential properties on the Cloudesley Estate in Barnsbury, Islington. The charity uses the income generated from both the investments and properties to fund its work. Since adopting total return accounting, we can now spend both income from the endowment and a prudent element of capital gains to fund our work. Total return has allowed us to significantly increase our grants budget, whilst also making sure we balance our endowment so we’re able to support Islington into the future. In the coming period, we’ll continue to consider the mix of investments and property assets held by the charity. As signatories of the Funder Commitment on Climate Change, we consider sustainability issues and, although we haven’t yet adopted specific net zero targets, the majority of the investment portfolio is currently net zero aligned.
As a local relational funder, we aim to add value to our grant-making by using our knowledge, sharing information, facilitating networking, learning from our grants and working with partner agencies. Cloudesley is a founder member of Islington Giving and belongs to the Association of Charitable Foundations and London Funders. We are also part of the Flexible Funders’ initiative for open and trusting grant-making and Living Wage Friendly Funders.
To find out more about Cloudesley and for a copy of our latest Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts, please visit our website.
Staffing, governance and history
Cloudesley has a small team of four permanent staff. Staff work on a hybrid basis with part of each week spent at the charity’s office in Voluntary Action Islington, 200a Pentonville Road in King’s Cross.
Cloudesley has up to 15 Trustees at any one time, who are jointly responsible for the charity and stewardship of its assets. There is also a single corporate Trustee, Richard Cloudesley Trustee Limited. The Board of Trustees meets three times a year, and the Finance and Endowment Committee and the Grants Committee meet quarterly. We also set up working groups of staff and trustees as needed to consider specific issues, such as investments and governance, in more detail.
The charity dates back to 1517, when Tudor yeoman and Islington resident Richard Cloudesley wrote his will in which he left two ‘Stony Fields’ to Trustees. In 2017/18, Cloudesley celebrated its 500th anniversary. Over the last 15 years, Cloudesley has undergone a period of transformation, which has included setting up a staff team in Islington for the first time, developing strong financial systems and appointing new advisers, introducing new funding programmes and raising the charity’s profile.
This is an interesting and exciting time to be joining the charity as it continues to balance its grants budget, implements its property strategy and helps respond to the multiple challenges facing people, organisations and churches in Islington.
Finance Manager role
The Finance Manager works to support the Director and Trustees by:
o Maintaining financial records and administering financial transactions, including those relating to grants and to the charity’s properties
o Preparing and monitoring the annual budget
o Producing management accounts and other financial, investment and property reports as required by the Director and Trustees
o Preparing draft annual accounts and working with the auditor
o Working with the charity’s investment and property managers
o Working with a range of external advisers on property managers
o Developing and advising on financial and endowment strategies
For full job description and person specification see pages 7-9 of this pack.
Working at Cloudesley
This is a part-time, permanent role (2.5 days per week), working at least one day per week from our office in King’s Cross. Occasional evening work will be required for Board and committee meetings, which usually finish around 7.30pm, and for other events.
Other key benefits includes:
• Flexible working arrangements
• 10% employer’s pension contribution, with employee’s minimum contribution of 3%
• 12.5 days annual leave (25 days pro rata) plus pro rata bank holidays
Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay
• Training and networking opportunities
• Access to a range of support through an employee assistance programme
Cloudesley is committed to valuing diversity, promoting equity and equal access, and ensuring inclusion in all it does. We recognise that we need to do more but are strongly committed to combatting racism, discrimination and inequality and ensuring that we work in order to achieve this.
We recognise the power, resources and advantages that Cloudesley has as an independent, endowed charitable trust and strive to act responsibly and fairly in line with our stated values.
We seek to develop and retain a staff team and Board that reflect the Islington community within which we work. We will identify and take positive steps to remove any barriers to participation and recruitment of people who are currently underrepresented as staff or Trustees.
How to apply
To apply, please email the following to info@cloudesley.org.uk by 10am on Monday 24 August 2026:
i. A supporting statement explaining why you would like to become Cloudesley’s Finance Manager and showing how your skills, experience and knowledge would benefit the charity. Please see the job description and person specification on pages 7-9 of this pack and write no more than two sides of A4.
ii. Your current CV
iii. Contact details of two people who can provide a professional reference for you. Please include their name, job title (if applicable), email address and phone number. At least one of your referees should be your current or most recent employer. Please explain briefly how you know them and indicate if you would prefer us to contact either of these only if an offer of employment is made.
iv. A completed recruitment monitoring form (optional). On receipt, your monitoring form will be separated from your supporting statement and CV. The details on your form will be used to produce an anonymised summary report for Trustees as part of our monitoring of recruitment practices.
Applicants will be invited to interview depending on how well their supporting statement and CV demonstrate how they meet the essential and desirable criteria in the person specification. These criteria will be further explored at interview and through a presentation task.
Shortlisted candidates will be informed by Friday 28 August and sent details of the presentation task for preparation before the interview.
Initial interviews: Friday 4 September 2026
We may arrange further meetings and conversations with shortlisted candidates before making a final decision about the appointment.
If possible, we would like the new Finance Manager to start in late October 2026 to allow for a thorough handover from the current postholder.
Job Description
Title Finance Manager
Salary £34,000 per annum (£68,000 pro rata)
Hours 2.5 days (18.75 hours) per week. Occasional evening work will be required, particularly for Board and committee meetings which may finish around 7.30pm
Annual Leave 12.5 days (25 days pro-rata) plus bank holidays pro-rata
Reporting to Director
Location Charity’s office (currently Voluntary Action Islington, 200a Pentonville Road) at least one day per week and as required, with option of remote working at other times. For review after three months.
Job Purpose
The Finance Manager will work to support the Director and Trustees by:
o Maintaining financial records and administering financial transactions, including those relating to grants and to the charity’s properties
o Preparing and monitoring the annual budget
o Producing management accounts and other financial, investment and property reports as required by the Director and Trustees
o Preparing draft annual accounts and working with the auditor
o Working with the charity’s investment and property managers
o Working with a range of external advisers on property matters
o Developing and advising on financial and endowment strategies
Main Responsibilities
Financial management & development
Administer payments and financial transactions and maintain financial records and accounts, in accordance with the charity’s financial procedures and other guidelines
Ensure that the charity’s financial procedures and policies are developed and implemented to support all aspects of the charity’s work
Manage cashflow, liaising with other staff, the charity’s property and investment managers
and a range of suppliers to ensure that all grant and other payments are made promptly
Ensure that the financial aspects of the charity’s grant-making database are kept up to date and reconcile with the charity’s other financial records
Liaise with the charity’s payroll provider and administer salary and pension payments
Reconcile bank accounts monthly and liaise with the bank as required
Work with the Director and Co-Chairs of the Finance and Endowment Committee to prepare and monitor the annual budget
Produce quarterly management accounts, including income and expenditure reports, cash flow and other financial reports for the Director and Trustees
Provide sound financial advice to the Finance and Endowment Committee, the Board and the Director, contributing to the charity’s financial strategies as required
Support and service the Finance and Endowment Committee and other finance related meetings and events
Prepare the statutory accounts and work with the external auditor for the annual audit
Provide statutory returns to the Charity Commission, Companies House, HMRC and other authorities as required
Other
Liaise with investment and property managers on operational matters as required
Liaise with a range of external advisers on property matters
Assist with the development and administration of financial elements of the charity’s grantmaking systems and database
Maintain the charity’s risk register
Draft and update other policies, e.g., counter-fraud policy, as required
Review contracts for services as required
Lead finance projects and working groups of staff and Trustees when required
Carry out occasional finance inductions and training as required
Support the Director and Trustees as required and carry out any other such relevant duties as might be reasonably required
Person Specification
Essential
Financial management experience in a comparable role
Fully qualified accountant (ICAEW, ACCA, CIMA, CIPFA, or a recognised international equivalent)
Excellent IT skills, including experience of Microsoft Office, Excel, financial software (currently Xero) and databases
Excellent communication skills and the ability to work professionally with a wide range of people
• Excellent written English and attention to detail, with report writing experience
Ability to think and plan strategically
Knowledge of charity accounting
Experience of organising and managing meetings
A commitment to the charity’s work
Self-motivated and capacity to manage a diverse workload
Desirable
Previous experience of working for a grant-making organisation
Previous experience of financial management relating to a property portfolio
Previous experience of financial management relating to investments