Director of Finance ROLE: Director of Finance
COMPANY: UNICEF

LOCATION: Stratford. Hybrid (3 days per week in the office)
START DATE: September 2026
CONTRACT: 9-month Fixed-Term Contract

An exciting opportunity to make an impact!

Mackie Myers are exclusively partnering with UNICEF to appoint an experienced Director of Finance on a 9-month fixed-term contract.

This is a fantastic opportunity for a senior finance leader to join a globally recognised organisation and play a key leadership role in supporting UNICEF’s financial strategy, performance and decision-making.

If you’re an accomplished finance professional looking for a role where your expertise can make a meaningful difference at scale, this could be an exceptional opportunity to join UNICEF at an important time.

UNICEF:
At the UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK), we pull together to achieve the best possible results for children in danger around the world.  We believe in an inclusive workplace and in the power of fulfilled colleagues who share the same values and goals, enjoy their work and are motivated to do their utmost for children. 

Our work is guided by the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which recognise the universality of children’s rights.
 
ABOUT THE ROLE
The Director of Finance is a senior leadership role responsible for leading UNICEF UK’s finance function and ensuring the organisation has the financial insight, controls and capability needed to deliver its strategy. Working closely with the Chief Operating Officer, Executive Team, Board and colleagues across the organisation, the role will provide clear financial leadership, support effective decision-making, oversee planning, budgeting, forecasting and reporting, and help ensure resources are used responsibly to maximise impact for children. The role also provides leadership on financial compliance, ensuring that UNICEF UK meets its statutory, regulatory, tax, audit and charity governance requirements, and that effective financial controls, policies and assurance processes are in place.

ABOUT THE TEAM
The Operations Directorate brings together the teams that provide the organisational infrastructure UNICEF UK needs to operate effectively, responsibly and with impact. Within this, the Finance team supports sound financial decision-making, strong controls, donations processing, effective planning and reporting, and the responsible stewardship of resources so teams across the organisation can deliver for children.  The Finance team is evolving its operating model to provide stronger business partnering, better insight, clearer accountability and more efficient core processes.
  
WHAT WE WILL EXPECT YOU TO ACHIEVE
  
Over the course of this nine-month assignment, you will provide experienced and hands-on leadership to ensure the finance function continues to operate effectively whilst helping UNICEF UK prepare for its next three-year phase of development starting in January 2027. This is a role for someone who can quickly build credibility, maintain operational performance and provide a clear handover for the incoming permanent Director of Finance.
  
  
Maintain a Stable and Effective Finance Function

• Ensure the finance function continues to deliver high-quality day-to-day services, controls and support to the organisation throughout the transition period.
• Provide visible leadership to the finance team, maintaining engagement, performance and service delivery.
• Ensure all statutory, audit, tax and charity accounting requirements continue to be met.
• Maintain a strong control environment and ensure key financial risks are appropriately managed.
• Produce clear recommendations and handover for the incoming permanent Director of Finance.

  
Support Strategic Financial Planning

• Oversee completion of the 2027 budget and ongoing financial planning cycle, working closely with the Head of Financial Business Partners to ensure robust, strategic and timely processes.
• Provide clear financial analysis, insight and challenge to support Executive Team decision-making.
• Ensure financial plans are aligned to organisational priorities and available resources.

Strengthen Business Partnering and Financial Insight

• Provide leadership and support to the business partnering team during a period of temporary leadership transition.
• Help ensure continuity of support to budget holders and leadership teams across the organisation.
• Improve the quality, consistency and usefulness of financial reporting and management information.
• Support leaders to make evidence-based decisions through clear financial insight and advice.

Support and Enhance Unit4 Finance ERP system

• Work with colleagues to continue to improve and maximise value from recent Unit4 ERP investment.
• Identify opportunities to improve system utilisation, reporting, automation and data quality.
• Support ongoing enhancements already underway and ensure a prioritised roadmap is in place for future development.

Improve Cross-Organisational Collaboration

• Strengthen collaboration between the Finance, People, Culture, Strategy and Data teams.
• Support greater integration of workforce planning, financial planning, performance reporting and strategic decision-making.
• Identify opportunities for closer working and clearer accountability across these functions.
• Help establish ways of working that will enable more effective cross-functional planning and delivery going forward.

Provide continuity and a strong link between outgoing and incoming permanent Director of Finance

• Ensure transition between permanent posts is smooth, ensuring the incoming permanent Director of Finance inherits a stable, compliant and well-managed function.
• Leave a clear assessment of organisational and finance priorities.

  
Our Shared Commitment

• Demonstrate and model a commitment to our shared values, behaviours and inclusive practices (known as Our Shared Commitment) in all aspects of your work.

  
BEHAVIOURS, EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS
  
Effective behaviours
Supporter driven and mission aligned

• Is committed to children and their rights and motivated to work towards creating a better world for every child.

Creating and innovating 

• Establishes a vision and strategic view to support an efficient, compliant and high performing finance function, underpinned by our mission and values.  
• Empowers people to innovate and welcomes new ideas that are focused on the delivery of strategic priorities.

Leadership

• Promotes a results-focused culture, engaging and guiding others to achieve ambitious goals.
• Creates and encourages a cross-organisational teamwork and collaboration, acting as a visible role model for inclusive behaviours and practices.

Positive relationships

• Applies strong interpersonal and collaboration skills to build and leverage relationships and influence stakeholders internally and externally.  

Achieving change

• Demonstrates a flexible and adaptable approach to leading change and ambiguity.
• Communicates the reason for change and supports colleagues to embrace it, recognising that people will respond in different ways and at different paces.

Communication

• Presents complex and difficult messages clearly and with impact.

Relevant experience

• Deep experience of leading and developing multi-disciplinary and integrated teams, within a complex organisation, operating as a strategic partner to board, execs and across all levels
• Proven experience leading finance functions within a complex organisation, including responsibility for organisational compliance and assurance frameworks
• Experience providing financial guidance on commercial agreements, partnerships and income-generating activity, ideally within a regulated environment
• Credible experience providing financial direction and safeguards for new partnerships, ventures and operating models.
• Proven ability to balance financial risk with commercial and organisational priorities, supporting pragmatic and effective decision-making
• Strong understanding of relevant regulatory frameworks (e.g. charity accounting, gift aid, anti-money laundering, sanctions), or the ability to operate effectively within similarly regulated sectors.
• Proven judgement and the ability to balance financial risk with organisational priorities and practical delivery.

  
Specific knowledge and skills

• Significant senior finance leadership experience in a complex organisation
• Strong financial planning, analysis, and strategic capability
• Proven experience of influencing senior stakeholders, Boards and Committees
• Successfully led a finance function through operating model and technology change, building team capability while maintaining strong controls, compliance and service delivery
• Has led high-performing teams that have delivered over a prolonged period of time
• Qualified accountant