Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA) works to save lives and stop economic abuse forever. To achieve this, it seeks to ensure that the policies and practices of financial services firms, domestic abuse support services, and government reflect the needs of all victim-survivors of economic abuse.

Launched in 2017, SEA is the only UK charity dedicated to raising awareness of, and transforming the response to, economic abuse. Over six years SEA has rapidly grown from one employee to 30, with an annual income of almost £1.5 million and the delivery of varied, impactful programs. SEA's 2022-25 strategic plan, Making Waves, reaffirms SEA’s survivor-led approach, and its commitment to developing a strong evidence base on the diversity of survivor experiences and needs.

SEA is looking for a new Finance Trustee to join the Board. This individual should have the potential to move into the role of Treasurer in due course.

Trustees steer the charity, hold the CEO and executive teams to account and proactively seek opportunities for the organisation. They act as ambassadors of the charity in partnership with the executive team.

The successful candidate will also have Board responsibility for oversight of SEA’s finances, ensuring legal compliance and financial risk management.

The main responsibilities of the Trustee Board include:

• Oversight and review of strategic direction, operations and financial performance
• Support and advice to help the charity achieve its purpose and vision and live its values
• Contribution and insight from individual Trustees' professional perspective and experience to enable the Board to engage in an informed way
• Supporting the Executive, when needed, to help drive delivery and improvement
• Contributing to the work of relevant Board committees

Additionally, the Finance Trustee will:

• Ensure annual budgets and quarterly forecasts are prepared and presented to the Board
• Advise the Board on the financial implications of the organisation’s strategic and operational plans
• Provide oversight and assistance to ensure accurate financial records are kept
• Ensure annual financial statements are prepared in line with relevant accounting standards, and the requirements of the relevant regulators and statutory bodies

The successful candidate will ideally have a management accounting qualification, but SEA is open to unqualified applicants with significant experience in applying the relevant financial concepts. Some previous exposure to the UK charity sector is also welcome but not essential. An appreciation of SEA’s work, and a recognition of its importance, is essential.

Applicants will:

• Have a strong financial management background and will have managed or overseen sizeable budgets and operations
• Demonstrate the ability to challenge and question budgets and operational processes
• Bring excellent communication skills
• Bring a strong understanding of statutory and internal audit, ideally gained as an auditor or audit client

The Board is open to applications from candidates without previous non-executive experience, as long as they understand the difference between executive and non-executive engagement, as well as have an appreciation of governance and risk.

There are four Board meetings per year, in addition to one strategy day and one ‘All Charity’ day per year. In addition, the Finance Trustee will join the Finance and Audit & Risk sub-committees, which also meet quarterly. The total time commitment is equal to approximately 10 days per year.

The Finance Trustee will be appointed for a three-year term with an option for renewal for a further one term to a maximum of six years. This role is unremunerated but pre-agreed, reasonable expenses will be reimbursed.

Successful candidates will need to be located in the UK. Ideally the Trustee will be present for Board meetings held in London, though occasional hybrid attendance can be accommodated if necessary.

SEA welcomes applications from everyone regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, faith or disability. As individuals from ethnic minorities, or of international heritage, are currently under-represented on the Board, applications from those candidates would be particularly encouraged. All appointments will be made on merit, following a fair and transparent process.