Assistant Director, Head of Finance and Operations

Chartered Society of Physiotherapy

Hours
35 hours per week

About the Organisation

Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) is the professional, educational, and trade union body for the UK's 65,000 chartered physiotherapists, physiotherapy students, and support workers, and one of the largest representative bodies in healthcare. At the CSP, our goal is to create a culture characterised by innovation, respect, encouragement, passion, and teamwork.

We all strive for continuous improvement and to be the best at everything we do. We aspire to work in a way that embodies our values of learning, courage, inclusion, and integrity. Our shared values are part of our organisational DNA and reflect the expectations we have of ourselves and others. They guide what we do and how we do it to have the greatest impact on our members.

About the role

An exciting opportunity to join the leadership group of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP), helping shape how we use our resources to maximise our impact for members and the patients and communities they serve. As Assistant Director, Head of Finance and Operations, you will provide strategic and operational leadership across finance, facilities, operations and procurement, ensuring the CSP has the insight, capability and infrastructure to deliver its strategy and remain financially and operationally sustainable. 

This is much more than a traditional finance leadership role. You will be a key strategic partner to the Director of Corporate Services and Infrastructure and the wider Leadership Team, providing constructive challenge, clear financial and operational insight, and practical recommendations to support confident decision-making. You will lead business partnering across the organisation, ensuring resources are aligned to priorities, opportunities and risks. 

You will lead financial and operational planning, including budgets, forecasts and management accounts, while maintaining strong controls, compliance and risk management. You will also lead significant organisation-wide projects and programmes of change, including procurement, business continuity, operational resilience and improvements to systems, processes and ways of working.

You will lead a team of around 10 colleagues, creating a culture of trust, empowerment, accountability and continuous improvement, while working across the organisation through matrix leadership. We are looking for a qualified accountant with significant senior-level experience across finance and operations, a track record of transformation and systems improvement, and the ability to communicate complex issues clearly. Above all, you will be an inclusive, collaborative leader, motivated by the opportunity to work in a values-led organisation and help the CSP make the greatest possible difference. 

Responsibilities

Strategic Financial Leadership:

• The lead finance role in the organisation, proactively supporting the Director of CSI, and working cohesively with the leadership team to:
  • Be accountable for all financial reporting to the leadership team, Council (elected CSP members), Finance, Risk and Audit Committee and regulatory authorities
  • Provide appropriate briefings and advise the Leadership Team, Council and Finance Committee on strategic finance issues, keeping members appraised of current legislative requirements
  • Design and implement finance strategies and associated policies that support the CSP Corporate Strategy, ensuring effective management of reserves, cash, assets and liabilities through forward scenario planning, enabling multi-year budgeting and operational planning
  • Accountable leadership of all areas of financial and operational compliance, including VAT, PAYE, pensions, accounting standards,
  • Trade Union Certifications Officer (TUCO), payroll, business continuity, Health and Safety.
  • Drive business partnering across the organisation to develop and support budget holders and provide meaningful financial insight, impact and enable robust decision making
  • Lead systems procurement, improvement and replacement projects across finance, HR/Payroll, procurement, as required.
  • Day-to-day management of critical relationships including investment advisors and managers, auditors, bankers, expert advisors, contractors
  • Lead delivery of significant projects and long-term work programmes
  • Oversee the production of annual budgets, quarterly management accounts and quarterly forecasts that enable us to track our performance and influence decision-making in a way that aligns with and is informed by planning, opportunity and risk.
  • Lead the Finance services provided to the Physiotherapy Benevolence
  • Fund, act as Charity Specialist Finance Director attending the Board of Trustees meetings.
  • Ensure the Financial Policies, procedures and financial control framework that govern the Society on all financial matters are up-to- date and actively applied

Directorate and Organisational Leadership:

• Develop and foster a positive directorate and organisational culture, demonstrated through the CSP Values and Behaviours that actively supports the delivery of our mission
• Act as a role model within the directorate and across the CSP to create a working environment that builds trust, empowerment, high performance and continuous improvement
• Support the effective management of the CSI Directorate, including business planning; workforce planning; performance management; budget management and change management to ensure its effective operation and best use of resources
• Deputise for the Director of Corporate Services and Infrastructure
• Any other duties as reasonably requested

Facilities and Operations:

• Ensure that Operations policies, procedures, training and controls that govern the CSP are up to date and in line with sector-wide best practice and actively applied
• Lead insurance arrangements across the CSP and its related entities
• Lead critical whole organisation operational projects including implementation of our procurement and contract management policy, ISO22301 implementation and maximising/procuring our CSP office space.
• Lead effective business continuity planning for the whole CSP
• Ensure the effective servicing of the organisation across office management, home working, travel, subsistence and other operational support in England, Wales, Northern Ireland
• Lead Cost Improvement across the CSP and drive cultural change over procurement and commercial contract management by embedding a specialist procurement function.

Team Leadership:

• Accountable budget holder for £2m budgets across Facilities, Operations and Finance, and oversee critical contracts including commercial lease management
• Act as the Nominated person for Health and Safety and member of the Health and Safety Wellbeing Committee for the CSP
• Line manager of 3-4 direct reports; lead the people leadership, operational planning, objective setting and cultural development of the Finance, Facilities and Operations team

Skills, Competencies, Experience & Attributes

Experience:

• Relevant senior leadership experience in Finance and Operations
• Scoping and implementing new processes and systems.
• Leading transformation projects and cultural change.
• Developing and implementing long-term finance and operations strategies.

Professional, Technical & Occupational Requirements:

• Highly analytical with strong problem-solving skills and relevant technical expertise in FRS102, Charity Commission SORP, procurement, payroll, Corporation Tax, Trade Union, PAYE (PSA), Health and Safety and VAT legislation.
• Advanced use of MS Excel and ability to use other MS programmes at intermediate level.

Skills & Knowledge:

• Highly developed communication skills to communicate technical content and strategic decisions in a clear and accessible way.
• Ability to develop and manage strong working relationships with external suppliers, regulators, advisors, colleagues and Committees.
• Integral leader with ability to develop and lead high-performing teams.

Other Requirements:

• Knowledge and understanding of equality and diversity principles and the ability to work with them in practice.
• Takes responsibility for ensuring that data is accurate and up to date, whilst being aware of sensitive and confidential data.
• An awareness of/commitment towards trade union principles.
• Ability to undertake the travelling and unsocial hours required of the post.

Required Qualifications

• Qualified accountant (ACA/ACCA/CIMA or equivalent)

Compensation & Benefits

• Season Ticket Loan: Interest-free loan for travel expenses.
• Cycle-to-Work Scheme: bicycle loan options and secure bike storage at our London office.
• CSP Plus Discounts: Saving on a range of everyday products and services, including insurance, health clubs, hotel stays, and more.
• Family Leaves: Enhanced maternity, paternity, and shared parental leave.
• Eye Care Support: You can claim expenses for eye tests and prescription glasses.
• Flu Vaccination Vouchers: Support for staying healthy during flu season.
• Annual Pay Award: Incremental increases and cost-of-living pay rises each April.
• Pension Scheme: A defined contribution salary sacrifice scheme with an employer contribution of 12%.
• Life Assurance: Coverage of 4 times your annual salary.
• Generous Annual Leave: 27days of annual leave plus statutory bank holidays, with annual leave increasing incrementally from your 5th anniversary, up to a total of 32 days. Christmas Office Closure: The office is closed from 25 December to 2 January.

Working locations

• Hybrid model, working in the London office and remotely

How to apply

• Please apply online and complete the online application form. CVs will not be accepted.
• If you have any questions about the role, please contact Jon Mawby, Director of Corporate Services, on 07879811505 or email [email protected].
• As part of the application process, candidates will be asked to provide written responses to five criteria, which can be found in the Candidate Information Pack. Please note, whilst the application form has space for 6 criteria, this role has specified five - please mark N/A in the final box. 

Interviews

• Shortlisting outcome is w/c 5th October 2026.
• First-round interview date is w/c 12th October 2026.
• Interviews are held either at our London office or virtually via Microsoft Teams or Zoom. Our recruitment process typically involves a single interview stage. On occasion, we may include a presentation task.
• We aim to notify you of the outcome within 2 working days of your interview. If we expect this to take longer, we will keep you informed.

Policies

As part of the Disability Confident Scheme, candidates who declare a disability and meet the six essential criteria we have selected will normally be shortlisted for interview. There may be occasions, such as having a high volume of applications, where it is not possible to interview all Disability Confident candidates who meet the six selected essential criteria for the role. We may wish to limit the overall number of interviews offered to both candidates with and without disabilities. In these circumstances, we will ensure that a proportionate number of disabled candidates are shortlisted for interview.

CSP is committed to equity of opportunity, aiming to provide a working and learning environment free from discrimination. We are taking appropriate steps to create a workforce that reflects the diverse society in which we work and live. Therefore, we encourage applications from candidates underrepresented in the CSP’s workforce, including those from Black, Asian, and minority ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities, and LGBTQIA+ people. Please note that all candidates will be expected to actively demonstrate their commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Belonging throughout the application and interview stages. To view our Equity Diversity, and Belonging strategy. 

Return to listing